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.
How to Choose a Second Spindle
words and photos by Amelia Garripoli
Great! You got your hands on a starter spindle and have been impressing friends with your new-found skills. But you know there’s more. You see lots of other spindles online and among your spindle-spinning friends. How do you choose what to get next?
Upgrade
For me, the answer was easy – my son, a toddler at the time, sat on my first spindle, a homemade CD spindle. So I went to the only local fiber store at the time and bought the only spindle they offered, a top-whorl Mongold spindle. I got lucky as the Mongold was one of the best spindles available at the time. I didn’t mind the price as I was adoring this new skill and knew I would be doing it a lot. And it was worth it!
So, one approach to take is to choose an “upgrade” from your starter spindle, toddler-damaged or not. Given you have put in time on that spindle already, the most straightforward upgrade is a well-made spindle of the same type so you can continue applying the skills you are developing.
Try a different type
But perhaps you are more adventurous than that; if so, you might want to choose a different type of spindle as your second spindle. If you started with a top-whorl, perhaps try a Turkish spindle. If you started with a tahkli, perhaps try a Navajo spindle. If you started with a bottom-whorl, perhaps try a Tibetan spindle. You will find you have a lot more to learn, as each type of spindle has its own techniques to master. But having 2 different types of spindles also means you can put one down when you get overwhelmed by it and try the other.
My third spindle helped me – after the Mongold, I got a Navajo spindle. Having the chance to put one down and try the other, I could apply skills common to all spindles such as drafting, while moving between suspended and supported spindle skill development. This let me persevere. When the Navajo spindle frustrated me, I would return to the Mongold spindle.
Match your skills
Your current skills may also be pointing you to a second spindle. If you are spinning super-fine and fighting your spindle to do so, try a featherweight – Bosworth makes excellent ones, or look for an Ahka spindle, which are typically also light. Or if you are loving chunky yarn, you may want to try a Navajo spindle or a Portuguese spindle. These supported spindles are good for spinning thicker yarns, as are heavier suspended spindles. Focus your choice to focus your spinning, choosing the spindle appropriate for the yarn you want to spin.
Choose lightweight spindles for finer yarns, heavier spindles for thicker yarns. Or look to the historical spindle used for the yarn you want to produce – spinning is such an ancient skill that historically appropriate spindles often are the best tool for the job.
Watch a friend
A fourth way to make the choice is to see what your spindle-spinning friends spin. Find out what spindle type they like, and get one of those. Your friend may happily help you learn its techniques and provide you with ample demonstrations of how to spin on it. In fact, learning by mimicking those who already have the skills is a time-tested way of developing spinning skills.
I have a friend whose favorite spindle is the tahkli. The tahkli is not a common beginner spindle, but she gravitated toward it due to her love of cotton. Her demonstrations, calm technique, and results convinced me I could master this spindle’s needs and kept me going when I struggled to become a supported spindle spinner.
Make one spindle work for you
I have run across people who have only one spindle and do not desire to own more. I applaud their minimalism, and with persistence you can make one basic spindle spin a wide variety of yarn, despite everything written to encourage you to own more than one spindle, including this article! That one spindle could be a simple homemade spindle; it could be a suspended spindle or a supported spindle. My go-to “solitary” spindle would be a Turkish spindle just under an ounce with a long enough stem below the arms that I could use it supported or suspended. This would let me spin fine spindles, and it would also spin thicker yarns and ply, albeit a little slowly at first until the weight of the yarn on it helped speed it up.
Now, these 4 sensible options – upgrade, adventure, focus, or friend – may all fly out the window if you get the opportunity to go to a wool festival vendor hall, in person or virtually. If you see a spindle that appeals to you, it may become your second spindle. Like choosing fiber that appeals to you, having a tool you like will help you persist as you learn.
Happy spindling!
Amelia Read Garripoli spins, weaves, and dyes near her parents in Colorado, having recently relocated her stash, spindles, and lots more from Washington. She’s spinning and weaving her way through the pandemic at home but can’t wait to attend and teach at Colorado guilds and festivals!
The tahklis and a leather strip to spin them on. With the strip on my leg, I can spin in a small space.
I was interested to try out some of the beads I have; the conic ones are African and the round one is South American – or so I was told at the point of purchase. The one on the double-pointed knitting needle spun the best, nicely balanced. A little fimo bowl travels with these in a pencil case for use while spinning. I still like my tahklis better but was pleased with the bead that spun well.
Ahkas! These are my favorite support spindle, though you wouldn’t know that from their nakedness.
Spindles can be special just because someone cared; the red ladybug style was made by my BFF Debbie, and the black polka-dotted one was made by my daughter Natalie when Debbie gifted her the paints and parts. They are sweet spinners, at just about an ounce in weight, and the dots on the shaft give them a nice grippability for flicking. Even toy wheel spindles rock!
Bosworths!
A flight of spindles! Lovely Turkish/cross-arm spindles, along with a metal bowl and dimpled wooden saucer to try out support spindling. As you can tell, I got mesmerized winding the mandala on the Snyder weighted-arm spindle.
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
Antique Wheel Resources
gathered by Danielle Bombard
Danielle’s article on Antique Wheels is in the Basics (Autumn 2020) issue of PLY. She’s collected these resources as a companion piece to her article.
It can be very confusing and daunting when starting with antiques, such as where to find the maintenance kit items, parts, and even knowledgeable people. This is my top list of references and supplies to help you amass a herd and to maintain it.
Books
A Pictorial Guide to American Spinning Wheels by David A. Pennington and Michael B. Taylor (ISBN-13: 978-0915836017)
This book is essential to finding the history, missing parts, and the dating your wheel and can help you figure out how to price your antiques for sale. Although I won’t be parting with my wheels anytime soon, it is great to know the value of them.
Spinning Wheels and Accessories (Schiffer Book for Collectors) by Michael B Taylor and David A. Pennington (ISBN-13: 978-0764319730)
This is the book that helped me find a definitive answer to the mystery of my wheels. It has colored pictures and pricing of wheels. However, keep in mind that the prices listed are at least 10 years of age.
The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning: Being A Compendium of Information, Advice, and Opinions On the Noble Art & Craft by Alden Amos (ISBN-13: 978-1883010881)
While this book has no identifications of older wheels, it does provide key terms and the history of the spinning wheel.
Forums
Forums are great for quick and more in-depth information. (I also list my wheels in the handspun section of Ravelry. It is easier to keep track of parts and when they were serviced by Skip. Plus, I am always perpetually losing paperwork in regards to my fiber arts.) These forums are the first places to start.
This Ravelry group is great for initial identification and for even purchasing old wheels on the Wheel Railroad. This is where I was able to identify my J.Jacobs wheel and to find out about some missing parts.
This Ravelry group strictly deals with Great Walking Wheels, pendulum wheels, and wheels with spindles on them.
The Ravlery CPW Lovers strictly deals with Canadian Production Wheels. The hallmarks of a CPW are metal treadles, a metal sliding tensioner, and sometimes a metal footman. The wheels are sometimes marked with a maker’s mark. Most CPWs come from the late 1800s to early 1900s.
Great all around information on wheels and, in particular, antiques. They also cover antique looms. It is worth purchasing a subscription.
Antique Spinning Wheels, Looms and Fiber Equipment
This Facebook group is the largest and most knowledgeable group. You will get answers within 8 hours. Some members of this group do Wheel Railroad transporting.
Wheelwrights
I’m sure there are more wheelwrights out there, but these are the 2 I know of. Skip Watt of Watt Heritage Fiber Tools is my go-to guy because he is local and is good at what he does. Note: Most antique wheels are not recommended for shipping via postal systems of any kind. More than heartache will come to you if shipping. I have seen pictures of nearly 300-year-old wheels in splinters because of careless shipping, no matter how well packaged they were.
Watt Heritage Fiber Tools, Greenville, NY. Once on this website you will need to click on Products and then scroll down to the Fiber Tools section (note: website automatically plays music upon visit). Skip also has a Facebook page.
Bobbin Boy, North Carolina
Supplies
I have a wicker basket full of my supplies for keeping my wheels going. It’s helpful to keep extra parts nearby since help may not be anywhere close to hand.
Howard’s Feed and Wax is my go to for reconditioning old wood and making it glow like new. I can find this at True Value or at Lowe’s for under 10 dollars in the paint department.
Cloth Baby Diapers
These make fantastic rags for cleaning. The featured cloth diaper was my own as a baby, and my parents and I reused them for all the wood polishing we have.
Tandy Leather is great for those bearings and other leather parts. Depending on where you live, you might also look for local Amish makers that have leather goods and are willing to work with you.
Cotton Kitchen or Butcher’s Twine
Good old cotton kitchen twine on the cone has saved me on more than one occasion. I try to precut a few drive bands and put them into a kit if I go traveling. I even keep a few drive bands in my car just in case I pull over to stop at an antique store for that special wheel to try out. I can find butcher’s twine at my local kitchen/restaurant supply store. There are a variety of weights of twine. For the Saxony and table styled wheels, the thinnest ones possible without being thread are best, in my opinion.
I use Hoppe’s Gun Oil or Grease as an alternative to regular spinning wheel oil since I live in the middle of nowhere without the benefit of a local yarn shop. My wheelwright approved of the notion. Plus, it is half of the price tag of regular spinning oil. More money for fleeces!
Some people use Danish Oil to seal in the final cleaning.
Beeswax
Beeswax bars are great for waxing down drive bands so they do not slip when in use. You can also melt down the beeswax and use it in a homemade recipe for polishing old wood. Better Bee is a local company to me that has excellent customer service and can answer the most far-out questions.
For the Great Wheels and their maiden bearings
Most of the Great Wheels use corn husks for bearings and to hold the spindle in place. You can pick some up from a Mexican grocery store or even many other grocery stores.
Happy antique shopping, spinning, and finding another deep rabbit hole!
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
Coronavirus Spindles
A few months ago in a spinning group on Ravelry, a spinner posted about how the image of the coronavirus might make a good spindle whorl, with the weight on the outside. She made one out of a wooden bead and wood screws. Inspired by this post, Jame A. (distaff on Ravelry), decided to make her own version out of polymer clay, wood toothpicks, and dowels. (“I chose to make the spindles with old polymer clay I had on hand as a reflection of the need to isolate and stay close to home. For me, spinning has been a comforting constant during the disruption of this pandemic.”) She says the spindles are a bit fragile and need more glue or something, but they are effective spindles. Here’s what Jame wrote on the forum post about creating her own version of a coronavirus spindle:
“For me, making a model of a virus and using it for a spindle serves a couple of purposes. One: the creative act helps provide a distraction from current events, and two: the fact that we know what the virus looks like represents all the scientific knowledge that is available about viruses and provides some comfort that the medical community will be able to come up with appropriate measures to alleviate the illness.
“There is also some bleak humor in watching a whole lot of people realize that the term ‘viral’ does not just apply to a cute meme becoming very popular. Going viral has real and serious consequences. ([The original poster] had expressed the thought that if others picked up on and spread the idea of making a coronavirus spindle, it would ‘go viral.’)”
PLY Magazine believes that Black lives matter, as well as LBGTQI+ lives. Those most vulnerable and persecuted in our communities deserve our love and support. Please be good to each other.
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