Mixing Things up for a Sweater
words and photos by: Johanna Carter
I always admire those who are able to spin mountains of yarn for a big project, ready to knit a wonderful sweater or cardigan. It is a satisfying feeling when you finish all that work, especially if you started with washing and combing the wool or even raising your own sheep.
Mixing spinning and knitting
The typical way to work through a larger project is to spin all the singles first and ply them in a particular order so you get the yarn even throughout the whole project. I don’t have so many bobbins, but my bigger problem is that I am quite impatient and want to get on with knitting once I have an idea. And normally, my brain is full of ideas for fibre work and the limit is the time, as I am a musician and teacher. I can’t sit at the spinning wheel for a long time if I’m not on holiday, so during the school year I mostly knit, and during the holidays I can dye, spin, use my drum carder, and do lots of fibre work. The only time I was able to produce bigger quantities of yarn before I knitted them up was during the Tour de Fleece in the two years during the pandemic, when we did not go on holiday at the beginning of July.
A highly photogenic collection of naturally dyed fibres.
I like to finish knitting one big project like a sweater or cardigan before I start the next one, or at least until I can’t carry it in my bag easily anymore, so I have an excuse to begin the next one. Sometimes it is good to have a second project on the go – I call it mindless knitting, where I don’t have to look very much – which I can keep my hands busy during Zoom or other meetings, which helps me listen.
Mixing colours and fibres
Usually I dye my yarn with plants which I collect in the woods or get from garden flowers. I also use cochineal and indigo, which I buy, to get lots of different colours. I really love the greens and blues I get from dyeing with indigo. I have lots of dyed wool, and all those colours give me inspiration for further projects.
Beautiful greens and blues dyed by the author using indigo and other natural dyes.
Blending the wool on the drum carder I can get even more shades. I like to blend with fibres like silk, alpaca, or plant fibres, and I love sari silk, to get those little bits of colour in my yarn.
Fibres of different types and colours are blended on a drum carder for elegant results.
When I have an idea for the next sweater, I start carding, and then I can begin to spin. Once I have spun enough yarn – say, for one day – I cast on and start knitting, usually top down, so I don’t have to decide too much in advance about length and width.
An idea for the author’s next sweater in the gathering stages.
When I spin on my wheel, I have to sit at home, but while spinning I can read a book or talk to others during online meetings. I also like to spin on my spindles, and that works on a walk, or a museum visit. I take them on holiday as they don’t need much space, and when I spin for a lace shawl, I don’t even need much wool either. At home there are spindles all over the place; I can spin when I am waiting for the kettle to boil, when the computer is slow, when I am cooking. Like that I can make good use of a short time and the yarn still grows.
Knitting as soon as the yarn is spun helps the author complete sweater projects in a timely manner.
I can take my knitting almost everywhere, which is why I don’t want to wait to get started until I have spun all the yarn for a whole sweater. I knit at home, on the bus or train. The only thing I have to make sure of is to be one step ahead with the yarn.
I love to knit Fair Isle sweaters. My favourite method is to use only one bobbin, which I don’t even fill, because I need smaller quantities of lots of colours. Then I wind a ply ball and ply it on itself. For that I put my thumb through the ball, so I can tension the two singles with my fingers and they don’t get tangled, as long as my thumb (or a cardboard roll or a pencil) stays in the middle. I don’t have any leftovers from plying, and it is quick when I suddenly need more yarn.
Several charming sweaters dyed, spun, and knit by the author.
I have never had problems with the yarn not being consistent enough throughout a project. I just know what yarn I want and my fingers seem to remember what to do. I am sure it is good advice to have a little card tied to the spinning wheel with a bit of the singles you are aiming for, so you can check and make sure you are spinning a consistent yarn.
Mixing breeds
There are so many different breeds, but some of my favourites are Shetland, BFL, and Jämtland – a Swedish breed. After dyeing them, I often forget what I have used, so when I do a new project it often turns out that I have used different breeds and fibres just to get the right colour. For the Fair Isle knitting I want to juggle lots of colours, which is more important to me than making a sweater out of only one breed.
Recently I made a pullover for my husband using about 12 different breeds and colours, even mixing short and long draw. For me it was a breed experiment and a way to use up lots of smaller quantities of wool I had in my stash. For that sweater I used combed top without blending.
Mixing in knitting during the spinning process is a wonderful way for a spinner to avoid being overwhelmed during a sweater project.
My feeling is that some people don’t dare to start spinning for a bigger project because they get overwhelmed by the quantity they have to spin and then all the knitting there is to do, especially when you want to spin the yarn entirely on spindles. Mixing the spinning and knitting for the same project is more interesting; you get more variety and more freedom to choose what you want to do next as long as you don’t run out of yarn. It breaks the project down into smaller, less daunting parts. The only thing you might want to plan is to have enough fibre at the start, but even that is not necessary, there is always a sheep growing more wool.
Meet the New Editor in Chief: Karen Robinson
With the publication of the Spring 2025 issue, the news is now official. PLY Magazine has a new editor in chief.
Jacey has served in that role since PLY began. Don’t worry! Jacey isn’t going anywhere! But the addition of the PLY Spinners Guild and WEFT Magazine mean that Jacey has been making adjustments to her role. Officially, she’s the Publisher and Director of all things in the PLY/WEFT universe. And she very much has a large day-to-day role in the running of each of those entities. But she’s also supported by the rest of the team for PLY, the PSG, and WEFT.
Enter Karen Robinson. That’s me! I’m not new to PLY. Back in 2014 (I got the news on Thanksgiving Day), I started working for PLY as the magazine’s copy editor. The first issue I worked on was the Leicester issue (rather appropriate since BFL is one of my favorite fibers to spin). In 2018, Jacey asked if I wanted to take on more tasks, mostly involving coordinating with the authors. We briefly thought about calling this role Author Wrangler but decided on the more typical (although less exciting) title of Managing Editor.
Since that time, I’ve taken on more and more responsibilities at PLY. The one that has been most exciting is meeting with Jacey and Jillian Moreno (our developmental editor) to decide on the articles for each issue. We’ve updated and revised some of our processes – and updated and revised some more. We’ve added new ideas for article series to the pages of PLY and retired others. Holding the print version of each issue in my hands is always such a delight in thinking about everything that went into putting it together.
So in many ways, this move to editor in chief feels natural in how my role has evolved over my past decade with PLY. And in many ways not much has changed/will change.
Issue development
Jacey, Jillian, and I are still meeting each quarter to put together the contents of each issue. Actually, we have made some adjustments here. Now we meet three times for each issue: once to come up with our dream issue, everything we’d love to see in the issue if we could fit it all in. And now after that meeting, I write up the mood board for that issue. Then we meet closer to the submission deadline to start structuring the issue and turning that dream issue into something closer to reality. And we meet a final time after the submission deadline and make final decisions and assign articles to authors.
Usually after that meeting, Jacey would email authors/potential authors to either clarify an article’s content or to ask if someone would like to write a specific article that we wanted to include but did not yet have a writer for. Contacting authors/potential authors is now my task, and I got to do it already for the upcoming Long Draw issue (Winter 2025), which means I got to make the final decisions on which authors to assign to which articles. None of those were decisions Jacey was against, but it’s possible she would have made slightly different decisions.
Jacey has always been the one to set up the order the articles will appear in each issue, plotting out how a reader might work their way through the articles in a way that makes sense and adds to the experience. I got to do that for the first time with the upcoming Tension issue (Summer 2025). I did get feedback from Jacey afterwards and made a few changes, but for the most part I’ll be making those decisions for future issues as well.
One of the other decisions I have more input on is the selection of the cover for each issue. Although she’s gotten feedback from the rest of us at PLY, Jacey has made the final decisions on the photo/illustration for the cover. For the Hue issue (Spring 2025), I made that decision – and it wasn’t a cover that Jacey hated but it also wasn’t what she would have chosen (as she finds it “too cute”). She wanted to use an image that was similar to the cover way back on the Color issue (we originally used that image on the back cover of Hue but made a change to the back cover to honor Stephenie Gaustad).
Behind the scenes
I’m learning a lot more about the back end of putting together a magazine. Previously, I didn’t deal with the subscription software or the printer at all. Now I’ve gotten really comfortable with that software (good thing my original major in college was computer science!), and I’m much more in the loop with the communications with the printer. I’ve been learning how Jacey decides how many copies of each issue to print and she’s been asking for my thoughts on a lot of the rest of those types of decisions.
For a few months, I answered the emails that came into our customer service email address. Our previous customer service person left the magazine toward the end of last year, and instead of hiring someone else right away, I took on that role. It really helped me see the interactions that happen with you, our readers, and the types of problems that come up (as well as compliments!). Although I’m glad now to turn that job over to our new customer service person, Sarah, it was really good to have that experience so I could learn even more about running all parts of the magazine.
I’m much more involved with the other members of the PLY team, coordinating with everyone to make sure they have what they need to fulfill their work. I’ve been meeting one on one with them, and it’s been so wonderful to get to know each one a little better and have more interaction with them. And I took the lead on the search for our new editorial assistant, reading through the applications, making interview decisions and doing the interviews, and then making the final hiring decision.
Ultimately, although there are some decisions that might be different from what Jacey would have picked, such as the cover art, since Jacey and I have worked so closely (and so well) together for so many years, and will continue doing so, I don’t know that you’ll really notice very many changes to PLY. It will very much remain the magazine you’ve known and loved over the years.
Quick facts about Karen
- Karen has been knitting since 2004, spinning since 2010, and dabbling in crochet here and there
- She and her husband will be celebrating their silver anniversary this year (has it really been that long?)
- They have a teenage son who loves video games (especially Minecraft and Roblox) and history (especially World War II); his career goal is to be a video game designer and create historically accurate games
- They have three Boston Terriers (Luna, Nugget, and Oliver) and two cats (Wall-E and Eva)
- They live in Texas (Karen was born there and left the state for graduate school but returned)
- Karen has a PhD in English, with a focus on medieval literature especially the legends of King Arthur
- She ran a yarn dyeing business, Round Table Yarns, for 6 years (yup, it was Arthurian themed!)
- She designed knitting patterns as well, under KarenDawn Designs, and self-published two knitting pattern books (Gawain’s Shield and Parliament of Cowls)
- She hosted a knitting podcast called T-Shirts and Shawls for a couple of years
- She teaches copyediting classes through the UCSD Extended Studies program
- She copy edits fantasy books, usually by indie authors, although she’s currently not taking on new clients
- She loves to read, especially fantasy and science fiction, and is always happy to help recommend a book in those genres to you
- She really wonders how she finds time for all of the above!
New Monthly Spin-In for the Guild!
New Monthly Spin-in focused on building foundational spinning skills!
There’s nothing like spinning with friends. As spinners, we love to learn from, share with, and generally support each other. Spin-ins provide all those things and the twice monthly PLY Spinners Guild spin-ins (via Zoom) have been one of my favorite regular happenings this past year. We meet for 90 minutes on the first Sunday of each month at 5pm pacific and the third Sunday each month at 10am pacific. We chat and spin, ask questions, show off what we’re working on, and often deep dive into a specific spinning technique or fiber.
These Sunday spin-ins have really focused on building community, SALs, show and tells, Q/A sessions, and special guests (PSG teachers, PLY Magazine authors and designers). While we’ve always welcomed newer spinners and celebrated spinners of all skill levels, we do understand that it can be intimidating to join in when you aren’t confident about your skills.
For anyone that has felt like that, even just a little bit, we encourage you to check out our new spin-in on the third Thursday of each month at 5pm pacific. These third Thursday spin-ins are dedicated to helping you develop the foundational spinning skills and fiber confidence you want. So if you’re looking for something a little more foundational, in addition to, or instead of, Sunday spin-ins, we’d love to see you on third Thursdays starting on March 20th.
All of the spin-ins are put on by the PSG. Third Thursday spin-ins will be hosted by one or two of our PSG hosts: Lori Paterson, Donita Westman, and Terri Guerette while Sunday spin-ins will still be hosted by Laura Linneman and Jacey.
Donita Westman knits, spins, weaves, and teaches fiber arts in central Ohio. When she isn’t creating with fiber, she’s likely playing with her dog, reading, literally herding her husband’s cats out of her fiber studio, and sometimes blogging at donitawestman.com.
Terri Guerette learned a variety of fiber arts from her mom at a young age and began spinning in 2004. She quickly developed a passion for her newest hobby. Terri teaches and demonstrates spinning and other fiber arts in many different settings (living history events, schools, farm days, fairs, etc.) and is always happy to share her knowledge. She was a SOAR Scholar in 2011.
Lori brings her love of Black history and teaching to everything she does. Lori finds spiritual sanctuary in the meditative nature of knitting, spinning, and dyeing. Since 1990 when she saw a woman wearing handknit socks, she has been determined to not only make her own socks but to make so many things from fiber. Lori hand paints yarn for knitting and fiber for spinning in her Portland studio (a converted garage) and sews together pretty colored fabric in her (very little) spare time.
Heavenly Bresser is an award-winning handspinner, spinning wheel restorer, and international fiber arts instructor. Some of her areas of passion include a love for working with color, working from fleece, and researching historical information for antique spinning wheels.
We can’t wait to see you there! Please remember that the PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.
What is luster?
Oh, no! Meagan is at it again! Can we tackle an easier topic, like the cure for cancer or world peace, please? While the word luster brings to mind pearls and diamonds, it can be difficult to nail down exactly what luster means in regard to fiber. This is complicated by the fact that luster is most commonly used to describe mineralogy. Most of us can gather that it has something to do with shininess and light and that some fibers are shiny and some are not. This is a good place to start our exploration!
| Luster is… how light reflects off a surface Words we use to describe luster… shine, brilliance, glow, radiance, luminosity |
While that sounds like a simple explanation, this is where it gets complicated. Light may reflect off the surface layer or may pass through the top layer and reflect off the layers beneath, presenting a different reflective quality.
| Commercial production of rayon and wool use a full list of official descriptors applied to luster: 1. Clear 2. Bright 3. Semi-Dull 4. Semi-Matte 5. Dull 6. Matte 7. Extra Dull 8. Super Dull |
Luster in fiber is often expressed as a range from shiny to dull, with the most shiny and most dull fibers easily identified near the ends of the spectrum and all other fibers somewhere in the middle. Lincoln and Teeswater might be at one end while Southdown is at the other. However this doesn’t take into effect how the light is reflected. How would silk compare to Teeswater? Not all shiny is equal. For today, let’s stick to wool.
Luster in wool
The microscopic structure of wool is one of the primary factors in determining the luster of the fiber. For example, high-luster wools like Coopworth, Teeswater, and Wensleydale are fundamentally different from low-luster wools like Merino, Cormo, or Southdown. Beside crimp structure, the main difference between these wools is the size of the scales that make up the surface of the fiber. High-luster wools have larger scales which cover more surface area. When light hits these larger scales, more light is reflected in one direction, creating more shine. Low-luster wools have smaller scales. This causes the light to diffuse in different directions, so less light will be directed toward the eye.
I mentioned crimp. Crimp can also impact how lustrous a fiber appears. A higher crimp wool redirects light in many more directions than a low crimp wool, resulting in a more matte appearance.
What suppresses luster? How it is spun!
It is important to understand how luster changes when spun. In the most basic sense, worsted spinning makes use of a short forward draw and a combed fiber preparation to create a smooth, dense yarn. Woolen spinning makes use of a long draw and a carded fiber preparation, usually rolags, to create a light, fuzzy, warm yarn.
A worsted yarn will always be more lustrous than a woolen yarn of the same type of fiber. In a worsted yarn, we smooth down the fibers, helping them to align more parallel to each other. When the fibers are aligned, light tends to reflect in the same direction, making the fiber appear more lustrous. More light reaches our eyes. On the other hand, a woolen yarn has fibers crossing and going in all different directions. The different angles and bends of the individual fibers redirect light in all different directions, resulting in a duller appearance.
In addition to woolen and worsted techniques, the amount of twist you add can impact luster as well! The more twist added, the less luster. Why? The more bumps there are, the more light is diffused in different directions.
Try this!
Luster is impacted by how we spin. If we take a fairly lustrous fiber, how will the luster present in the finished yarn if we spin it with a worsted method vs a woolen method?
You will need:
- A sample of lustrous wool, like Teeswater, Wensleydale, or Cotswold
- A spindle or spinning wheel
- Spin a sample of yarn using a woolen long draw.
- Spin a second sample of yarn using a short forward draw.
- Compare the two samples.
- Which one appears more lustrous?
- What words would you use to describe the luster of each?
- Can you think of a reason you might try to reduce the luster of a high-luster fiber by spinning it woolen?
- What other tricks could you try to increase or decrease the luster of your samples?
Challenge!
Take the same fiber and wet spin it. How does this sample reflect light when compared to the first two?
Tell us in the comments!
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