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.
Oil That Spinning Wheel
The week before Christmas I went to Jillian’s house to spin with some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. We were all spinning along and soon Jillian stated to struggle with her wheel. I don’t remember exactly what was happening (something about noise I think) but I do remember saying to her, quietly, in my most respectful voice, “oil it”. She said back to me in that way that she does, “I just oiled it!” I smiled at her.
She struggled for a few more minutes and then got out the oil bottle and oiled the appropriate spots. I tried to look natural and not gloaty as her problem was fixed. just a few small drops of oil and 30 seconds.
I’m not saying that oil fixes everything but it is definitely my first step when things begin to go down hill.
This same scenario happens often in classes while I’m teaching. Some people didn’t even realize they needed to oil their spinning wheel at all ever. Then 3 or 4 drops later the whole experience changes for them.
Where?
This is where it can get tricky because it depends on your wheel but I will say this. Every bobbin shaft needs to be oiled. I just put a drop of oil at each end of the bobbin if the bobbin is already on. If I’m changing the bobbin, I wipe the shaft clean and add a thin line of oil along the shaft before I put the bobbin on.
Also a drop of oil where the orifice goes through the front maiden and a drop where the bobbin shaft fits into the rear maiden.
If you have a wheel with sealed bearings then the wheel hub doesn’t need oil. If it doesn’t then a bit of oil there periodically helps.
Also, once in a while I put a drop of oil where the footmen attach to the crank.
How Often?
I oil 4 places on the mother of all on my wheel about once every hour to hour and a half of spinning and always right at the beginning of spinning even if the last time was only 15 minutes.
The rest of the places I oil about once per week or so. Sometimes more if I’m spinning a lot – like more than 20 hours in a week.
What to Use
I have two favorites. 30 weight motor oil which is what many wheel manufacturers recommend is the one that is most available. Gun oil is also great to use.
What not to use is sewing machine oil, or 3 in 1 oil. These are too thin, they break down faster resulting in having to oil more frequently. They also aren;t made for the amount of friction you get with a spinning wheel.
Also, I don’t recommend vaseline. It’s super thick and goopy and attracts dirt. The dirt that gets in there is gritty and will break down your spinning wheel parts more quickly.
Why?
Oil because it will help your wheel to last longer and wear better. You wouldn’t drive your car without oil. The oil in your car is there to lubricate all of the parts that are moving against each other. The same with oiling your wheel. There is a lot of friction and sometimes a little heat happens if it isn’t well lubricated.
If you aren’t sure about where to oil your particular wheel, most modern wheels wheels have a manual which you can probably find on line. If it is an older or antique wheel you can feel comfortable just putting oil anywhere there is a moving part.
I promise, you’ll thank me.
HansenCrafts introduces a whimsical history of spinning – REVOLUTION!
We are so happy to have the owners of HansenCrafts visit us today, along with Andrea Love who created a prety amazing project for them recently. We’ll let them tell you the story!
We, (Kevin and Beth – HansenCrafts owners) were talking about the history of spinning, and how tiny the present epoch is in the realm of a history some 30,000 years long. We were trying to think of a way to present the evolution of the craft leading to the introduction of the miniSpinner, when we saw a video short by Andrea Love, and BLAM, we decided to produce this story in conjunction with her wonderful use of stop-motion animation. We thought that it would be great fun to share Revolution with the world… well, at the very least with the world of fiber enthusiasts!
The result is a whimsical view of the timeline of spinning using fiber to create the actors and sets! It shows (in an entertaining way) where we came from, where we are, and maybe gets us thinking about where we will go to keep the craft of spinning vital and moving ahead.
Here’s Andrea to tell and show you how she did it…
My trunk of wool. I included sheep, goat, llama, camel, silk, cotton and grass.
When Kevin and Beth contacted me about a video, I saw the potential to try something I had been dreaming about for a while- a fully felted animation. I thought of it like claymation, but with wool. Wool-motion? I have been incorporating fiber into my work for the past six years, but I decided it was time to take it to the next level. The Olympic Peninsula is incredibly rich with fiber producers, which gave me a huge array of colors and textures to work with, from unprocessed goat fleeces to dyed and carded blends.
Egyptians drop spindling by the Nile River.
Having no prior knowledge of handspinning, I conducted a fair amount of research. I scrolled through Pinterest pages, watched videos on YouTube, and consulted books and online articles. I was blown away by all the painted portraits, pictures and videos of women spinning from all over the world. It emboldened me to include not just the spinning implement, but the women, landscapes and cultures as well.
Setting up a panning shot.
Once sufficiently inspired by the rich history and tradition of handspinning, I started making scenes. This involved needle felting sets onto sheets of rigid blue foam sometimes upwards of two feet wide. The wire armature puppets were secured to the set using felting needles. The spinning wheels were felted over all sorts of things- wire, toothpicks, cardstock, scotchbrite, foam- anything to give it a stable structure. Kevin and Beth lent me a miniSpinner, so I was able to work in some handspun yarn as well. I enjoyed experimenting with short strands of different diameters and color combinations.
Using the HansenCrafts miniSpinner to wind some thread onto my felted spinning wheel
I filmed these scenes more or less in sequential order, so you can watch my technique evolve alongside the spinning implement. For the most part, these scenes originated in my imagination, but I did include one direct reference. The introduction of the spinning wheel in China is a felted homage to “The Spinning Wheel” by Wang Juzheng, one of the earliest illustrations of a spinning wheel, dating back to 960-1125 AD.
My felted homage to Wang Juzheng’s scroll “The Spinning Wheel”
There are 10 unique frames per second, all manually arranged frame by frame. If this seems tedious, it’s because it is! It took me three and a half months to make this. I used the music (an original song by my friend Eric Kuhn) as a guide, determining the rhythm and timing of the piece. It’s fun to imagine this as a music video, with the spinners masterfully playing their instruments. Revolution is very dear to my heart, and I feel like I’ve only just begun on this journey into fiber animation. 2017 is shaping up to be a fiber-full year, and I will be sharing more behind-the-scenes pictures and clips of my current projects through Instagram, as @andreaanimates.
Be sure to check out the full video to see it for yourself: Revolution!
Andrea Love is a stop-motion animator and fiber artist, living and working out of her home in Port Townsend, WA. Her work can be found at www.andreaanimates.com. Here she is pictured between Kevin and Beth Hansen.
What’s inside the Plying issue?
The Winter 2016 “Plying” issue is busy making its way to various destinations around the world. Whether you’re a subscriber waiting for your copy to arrive, or you’ve been thinking of subscribing and you’d like a preview before you buy, today’s post is here to give you a sneak peek inside the issue!
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In Jacey’s introduction to this issue, she talks about the idea that as a spinning community, we’re like plies of yarn: we’re stronger together. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that we end the year with an issue all about Plying. What combinations will you come up with in the new year? Here’s a look at the rest of this issue:
Great Articles!
We’ve rounded up the a talented group of spinners and asked them to share their insights and experiments with us, and as always we’ve got a tip jar full of helpful hints from our readers, new information on the spinning SCENE, and how to keep your spinning body happy by Carson Demers! Take a look at what you’ll get:
- Plying Primer, by Beth Smith – Everything you ever needed to know about plying!
- Plying by Numbers, by Michelle Boyd – Michelle’s controlled experiment on the numbers involved in plying, from ratios to bobbin size.
- The Law of Diminishing Returns, by Sylvia Becker – Sylvia explains the variables in plying that matter most to the finished yarn you’re trying to create.
Plying my Longest Thread, by Kaye Cooper – One spinner’s perspective on the Longest Thread Competition of 2017.- Spin It! The “Miss America,” by Patsy Zawistoski – Patsy explains her alternative to Andean plying.
- Flock to Fashion, by Katrina Walker – Katrina tells the story behind the Shepherdess Cardi, a project featured in this issue. It all began on Katrina’s farm with a sheep named Luke.
- Spin It! Shepherdess Cardi, by Jason Mullet-Bowlsby – A how-to on spinning for the gorgeous crocheted cardigan featured in this issue.
- Spin It! Plying through Rings, by Kim McKenna – Kim’s contraption for spinning a multi-plied yarn, inspired by her mother-in-law’s love of Aran sweater knitting. It involves the use of a ring, several bobbins, and a curtain rod – you’ll be amazed at the results!
- Plying for Stretch, by Kara Perpelitz – Does adding plies to a yarn increase or decrease the elasticity? Find out with Kara in this experimental article.
- Spin It! Illegal Plying, by Patsy Zawistoski – Do you just love to throw the rule book out the window? If so, you’re one of Patsy’s tribe. Read along with her and ignore the Spinning Police when they knock on your door! You’re too busy plying YOUR way!
The Mystery of the Elastic Cotton, by Stephenie Gaustad – Cotton fiber isn’t, by nature, elastic. So how can you spin a stretchy cotton yarn?- Match Making: Testing Different Singles with Ply Structures, by Esther Rodgers – An experiment using the same singles with three different plying techniques. What a difference a ply makes!
- The Skirt Project, by Beth Smith – Beth set out to spin, weave, and sew herself a skirt: here’s how she did it.
- Spin It! Plying for Color, by Jillian Moreno – We tend to think of plying as something that adds size, durability, or texture to our yarns. But what if we thought about what it does to the color of the knitted fabric?
- Use Your Yarn, by Beth Smith – Don’t just let your handspun sit on a shelf – use it! Beth shows you some great pattern choices in this mini feature.
- Spin It! Chain Plying, by Gwen Powell – Some debate on the validity of this yarn (is it even plied?), but if you’d like to give it a try, Gwen shows you how! It can be a fun and easy way to ply from a single bobbin and to maintain color striping, so we recommend giving it a go!
- Spin It! Mendenhall Muff, by Carol G. McFadden – The how-to article on spinning for this issue’s muff project.
- Spin It! Spin, Ply, Cable, by Mary Berry – How to cable ply your yarns, from start to finish.
- What Went Wrong? by Maggie Casey – Plying should be the finishing touch on a fabulous yarn, but what if instead it’s more like a nightmare? Maggie walks us through some common problems and how to prevent them.
Fantastic Projects
In every issue of PLY, you’ll find a handful of projects for knitting, weaving, crocheting and more – along with instructions for how to best spin the yarns you’ll use in those projects. Here are the projects from the Winter issue:
- Shepherdess Cardi, by Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby – A cozy yet lacy crocheted cardigan that’s sure to be a show-stopper.
- Mendenhall Muff, by Carol G. McFadden – You’ll feel like a March sister in this cozy layered muff.
Everything Else!
Sometimes it’s hard to get plying just right, so in Tip Jar we’re rounding up the best tips from our readers to help you ply a little bit better. In Ergo Neo, Carson explains how to manipulate your setup and stance to make plying a pleasure. Scene is full of things on the spinning scene that you’ll want to know about including an animated film from HansenCrafts and a new spinning device (of questionable origin) from Abby Franquemont. In our Hot Button feature this issue, three different spinners tackle the topic of Lazy Kates. And don’t forget to check out our Independent Spinner page to find all the details on the products featured in this issue!
If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that right here on our website! And be sure to pick up a copy of this issue if you don’t already have one (or it isn’t on its way to you)!
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