Frontpage Article – Page 26

Singles on a Sock Machine

February 18, 2016/17 Comments/in Frontpage Article, Projects, Spinning /by Guest Blogger

Guest blogger Cindy Craft is here to share her experiments with using a Circular Sock Machine to knit single ply socks. She also uses a flatbed machine for color work using singles. If you’ve ever wondered about knitting machines, we think you’ll be very inspired by her post!

——————————————————————————————————–

I’m a hand spinner. I spin every night; it’s the way I wind down at the end of the day. As a result, I make a lot of yarn – there are several blanket chests in my house full of handspun yarn. I knit with my handspun yarn but I spin much faster and much more often than I knit. Several years ago it occurred to me that unless I wanted to die with a small mountain of handspun yarn, I needed to find a way to use my handspun faster.

A sock in progress on Cindy’s CSM.

Circular Sock Machines had been on my radar for many years, but I was reluctant to buy an antique as they’re expensive and not always functional, so I had never purchased one. Then one day I was vending at a local sheep shearing show and a vendor a couple of booths down had a CSM that they were demonstrating – and not just any CSM but a new CSM! So I marched down with a small skein of handspun to see if it would knit on the machine. It did, and within a month we had our own CSM and I was happily using it to knit socks out of my vast supply of handspun.

The resulting Navajo Churro socks.

On one of the Ravelry CSM forums I encountered someone who was knitting socks on their CSM from handspun singles. This blew my mind, because I had always been taught to ply my yarn for knitting. I had always thought it might be possible to use singles for weaving but never for knitting – there would just be too much biasing of the knitted fabric. I figured I’d give it a try; even if it was a disaster I wouldn’t have invested more than a couple of hours to make the socks. The resulting socks were just fine. If I looked carefully I could see that the loops were not quite even but the resulting fabric wasn’t twisted or misshapen.

If you look at the photo to the right, you can see that the right side of the knit loops is narrower than the left side but the shape of the socks themselves is even and not twisted. These socks were made from handspun singles of 50% wool of unknown breeding and 50% alpaca that I processed from raw fiber. This photo was before washing.

To the left is a photo of three different pairs of socks I made using singles yarns on the CSM. In this photo you’ll see three socks all made from handspun singles and knit on the sock machine. These are all socks that I have been wearing and washing by hand for at least a few months. The striped sock is made from a BFL x Romney fleece and was dyed – there is almost no biasing of the stitches present in that sample. The blue sock was made from a Dorset x Southdown. It might be 50/50 or 25/75 as it came from a fleece from a local flock but I don’t know which sheep. There’s lots of biasing in this sock to the point where you can actually see the stitches twist on the sock. The third sock is undyed Romney with a bit of sparkle blended in. This is the oldest of the three socks and you can see some of the wear in the right hand corner. This pair is starting its third year. I spun and knitted these socks in very similar ways – the only real difference is the wool type used.

When I started using singles for socks it got me thinking about using singles for other knitting projects. At the same time, using the CSM got me thinking about using a flatbed knitting machine to speed up my knitting. I’ve been knitting singles on a flatbed for the past couple of years now, and I have found the biasing to be nearly imperceptible. Below are a couple of photos of items knit on the flatbed.

The black and white hat is made from a black Shetland fleece, and I think the white is probably some of the Dorset/Southdown cross fleeces I got in 2014. I am hard pressed to see any biasing in this knitting. The blue and white mittens are made from the 2015 Dorset/Southdown cross fleeces, and the biasing is more visible in this knitting. Perhaps the all over pattern in the black and white hat helps to disguise any biasing that may be present.

Do you knit with singles? Have you ever used them on a knitting machine? What have your experiences been?

Meet Cindy: Spinning is at the core of what I do but yarn is not a finished object so I’m always exploring new ways and tools to use my yarn. You can see more of the ways I use my yarn at our website, www.subitofarm.com.

Spinning for Something Big

February 3, 2016/6 Comments/in Frontpage Article, Projects, Spinning /by 024688@

So I’m in the midst of this big project that I brought on myself. I probably have at least another year of spinning and weaving before I finish the original plan and since I began I’ve thought of new questions and experiments I want to look into.

The thing is there are many smaller projects inside the big project but the smaller projects aren”t even that small. You’ve probably heard that I’m spinning for weaving. I’m weaving yardage for skirts. The original plan has 7 skirts.

There are 4 blog posts about this project on my website starting here http://bethsmithspinning.com/the-great-skirt-project/

The Schacht Blog followed Jillian and I throough a weaving project. http://schachtspindle.com/smith-and-moreno-take-on-weaving/ There are 8 total posts there.

Now here’s the thing; each skirt needs a minimum of 5000 yards of 2 ply yarn. That’s 10,000 yards of singles. For the yarns I’m spinning for this skirts each bobbin takes 9 to 10 hours to fill. And I’d actually like to spin the next one a bit finer.

Please don’t misunderstand. I make my share of hats and scarves and cowls. They take a little less planning. But I’ve always like to go big. Big bags, big baskets and big projects.

See the card on top of the wool and bobbins and yarn? That’s my control card. It has singles wrapped around it and a 2 ply and 3 ply sample attached. See how it’s all bent up? By the time of this photo I had spun about 3000 yards of 2 ply plus those 3 bobbins of singles. So the card had been through a lot of handling. That’s how I make the same yarn over a long time.

But that’s not really what I’m here to talk about. Many, many people have asked me how I can spin that much yarn that is the same. Same size, same color, same everything. There’s no real secret. But I’ll tell yoou what I know now that I’ve finished three skirts and I’m spinning for the 4th.

After the first bobbin, the yarn begins to be something I can spin without a lot of thought. I’m not switching back and forth between projects too much so it’s not difficult to get back in the groove from one day to the next. I try to spin every day for at least an hour and usually 2 to 3 hours when I can. Practice makes perfect.

Also, I watch a lot of TV. I DVR plenty of things and there are also several series on Netflix that I watch. Since the yarn gets to be something I don’t have to think about I can watch the TV and spin at the same time. Lou is often amazed at that.

I’m very goal oriented. I like to set goals, and set a date for accomplishing that goal. Sometimes I am a bit late – ask Jacey! But usually I get there.

And finally, I like to spin. Come on, you can’t fool me. You have a favorite yarn size that you spin the most. So here’s what i would recommend if you have the desire to spin for a larger project such as a sweater…or crocheted pants. Begin with your favorite yarn. Once you finish the project, I promise you’ll want to do it all over again.

Want help planning your project? Let me know. Need moral support? I’m a great cheerleader!

Concrete shots and free fiber!

February 1, 2016/6 Comments/in Frontpage Article, Give-a-way, Photography, Reviews /by Jacey Faulkner

It was slow coming to you international folks, I know, but I think just about everyone (minus a few South American subscribers) has their Winter issue of PLY. What did you think? I have to tell you the truth, this one took the most for me to love but it wasn’t the content or articles or samples, it was our photoshoot venue!

We learn as we go, as usual, and what we learned this time was that grand, wide-sweeping locations aren’t for us. They just don’t work as well as the itty bitty gritty shots full of textures and detail. We shot at the gorgeous Longview Mansion in Lee’s Summit, MO. And just like the website implies by it’s own lovely photography — your bride will look stunning as she glides down the grand staircase beneath the crystal chandelier; your fish and/or chicken plated dinners will look delectable as your guest consume them along side copious amounts of champagne from the champagne fountain that’s placed under the twinkling stars; and never will you and your spouse feel so majestic and magical as when you walk down the column-lined promenade punctuated with extravagantly shaped shrubbery. The location was all of that and more.

However, when you’re attempting to capture the tiny felted corner of a Wendsleydale swatch, you tend to shoot a little closer. Heck, you tend to shoot a lot closer. With our specific photo needs, it’s hard to capture the grand staircase, the champagne fountain tower, the topiary shrub that’s skillfully pruned to look like an actual tree, and the imposing stone columns. In fact, when we what you see is mostly the wood on the staircase, a stump of the shrub, and the concrete at the base of the columns.

Bernadette and I worried and woe-ed. We did. We actually woe-ed. It’s a thing.
Woe: a feeling of great sorrow or distress.
to woe: to slightly sway back and forth while consumed with a feeling of great sorrow or distress.
Woe-ed: to do all the stuff I just said but, you know, yesterday, last week, in the past.

We woe-ed. We woe-ed all the while we waited for the issue to go through layout, then to go to print, then to make it through the USPS-mystery-system. And then we got it, cracked it open, and we thought and then texted each other “oh, that’s a pretty good issue.” I mean, it’s no “ruins of a castle” but in the end, it looked cohesive and it told the story it was supposed to tell.

So what do you think of the issue? And I don’t mean the photography in particular (Bernadette always does such a good job with what I give her, right? and she did rock those concrete shots!) but the issue in general. I love hearing and reading what spinners think of each issue! Plus, it helps people on the fence decide if they should give us a chance. So, if you’d be so kind, head over here and leave a review for the Singles issue of PLY!

On feb 15th I’ll pick one reviewer at random (I totally promise it’ll be random) and send him or her some of the fiber we used in the issue. That’s right, you’ll get 4 ounces of the same fiber used to spin and knit the Ondulant sraft by Carol Feller. The fiber is dyed by the wonderful June Pryce Fiber Arts and it’s the same light to dark gradient you see above. You’ll also get 2 Crosspatch Creations fiber blended batts. This is the same fiber Sue Tye and Jill Sanders used in their amazing Saori Tunic. You want this fiber, right? It also just so happens that it all goes together beautifully! Go, leave a review on the issue page (not here) tell us what you think! It makes us smile, keeps us striving to get better, and helps us keep on keeping on!

Spinning “Lopi” Singles

January 21, 2016/7 Comments/in Frontpage Article, Projects, Spinning /by Guest Blogger

Guest blogger Beth Abbott is here to share with us her experiences spinning “Lopi” style singles yarns and using them in her knitting. Follow along with her exploration of the history of these yarns and her efforts to engineer a way to spin them for herself.

———————————————————————————————-

When I started my study on Icelandic fleece, one of the first things I learned was that although traditionally the fleece had been separated into the two coats, thel (undercoat) and tog (long hairy outer coat), currently in Iceland, to my knowledge, there was/is no one spinning the coats separately. The two coats are now spun combined into several styles of singles yarns.

Lopi in History

In the late 1980’s there was “Lopi” under the brand name of Alafoss and a yarn that was mostly used in Iceland called “eingirni” meaning “singles”, a fine fairly firmly twisted yarn used in lace knitting. In early 2000 there were two more yarns added to the collection called Lett (light) Lopi (about half the diameter of the original Lopi) and a Heavy Lopi which was about twice the diameter of the regular Lopi. The company has undergone a reorganization and is now Istex.

A lopi plate showing the size of the strand – note the lack of twist.

The word lopi means roving in Icelandic and the plötulopi plates that the Icelanders use for knitting their popular patterned yoked sweaters are actually just the last roving step in the process of spinning the fine “eingirni.” Usually three strands of this roving are worked together and the result is a very bulky but very light airy sweater, very warm, because the air is trapped in the yarn. The Lopi yarn was developed for the export market because they thought it would be easier for non-Icelanders to knit.

a hand knit sweater from real lopi plates

An interesting point is that those yoked sweaters have only been a tradition in Iceland since the 1920s, when a creative spinner decided to try to knit on her knitting machine with the rovings as they came from the mill, without spinning them. When she found this was possible, it opened up a whole new area of knitting for the hand knitter as well as the machine knitter.

Re-creating a Lopi style yarn

The original Lopi yarn has about one twist per inch and a twist angle of 15º. The diameter is about 8 – 10 wraps per inch. As many of you will know, it is difficult to spin a yarn this soft and thick consistently, and with some air to prevent it from being dense and heavy. I found that preparation was key to success in spinning a Lopi style yarn.

handspun Lett lopi and regular lopi style yarns

To prepare an Icelandic fleece: wash, dry and then carefully tease out the locks, paying special attention to the butt ends which tend to clump together during the washing. It is worth noting that the “thel” or undercoat is extremely fine and short and felts very easily, so that care is also needed in the washing process – NO playing with your hands – while the fleece is in the hot soapy water. Carefully lift the fleece from the slightly cooled water to empty the tub and fill with rinse water. Try to keep the temperature of the rinse water close to that of the slightly cooled wash water. Again – no movement while it is rinsing. Carefully lift out of the rinse water and either roll in a towel and dry flat or put in the washer on JUST SPIN – no rinsing process – to take out the excess water. Then lay flat on towels to dry. Once the fleece is dry, the teasing is fairly easy, though time consuming. However, the time spent in this part of the process will save time and agony later.

After carefully teasing out the locks I put them through my drum carder. I usually use a Louet drum carder for Icelandic as it has longer and finer teeth and will take the loft of the combined coats more successfully than many other carders. Usually I put the fleece through at least twice, splitting the first batt into two lengthwise and then putting each through again. I hold the batt up to the light and see if there are neps and lumps that need further carding.

Once the fleece is well carded, I split the batt into narrow strips and predraft these into a sort of roving form. These I spin on a Louet wheel, because of its larger orifice and bobbins. Using the lowest bobbin/flyer ratio you have, work slowly to draft a bulky yarn, as consistent as possible. Any lumps often tend to drift to the outside of the yarn and can be picked off. Aim for one twist per inch. If need be, because you have only a high ratio wheel, you can put the yarn through the wheel again in the opposite direction to remove a little of the twist.

It is not easy for the hand spinner to create the roving style of Lopi but, by using my fingers to fan the fibres and letting the twist pick up the fibres, I am able to create a very light and airy, softly spun singles yarn. If I put in a little more twist, I can ply two strands together and get a Lopi diameter yarn that is airier than the original Lopi yarn, and one I like better.

closeup of hand knit real lopi sweater – purchased in iceland – long hairy look is due to the long tog fibres in the yarn

The next time someone tells you that you must cut the fibres to be the same length for blending, or that fibres should be compatible for blending, remind them that the Icelandic fleece, with its strong outer coat like a long Lincoln and its fine under coat, more like the finest, shortest Merino, are regularly blended and spun in Iceland.

Beth Abbott has been spinning since 1975 and earned her Master Spinner Certificate from Georgian College, Owen Sound Ontario, in 1990. Her in-depth study is now in print as a book. Beth teaches in the Spinning Certificate Course at Haliburton School of Art on a regular basis. For more information on the Icelandic Fleece, consult her book “The Icelandic Fleece – a Fibre for All Reasons”. It is available from Beth and Ron Abbott – contact elizabethandronabbott@gmail.com

Keeping Track While Spinning and Lazy

January 14, 2016/1 Comment/in Frontpage Article, Spinning /by Jillian Moreno

There are a lot of different ways to keep track of your yarn for consistency while spinning. I like the lazy ways. Here are four ways to keep track that I use when I spin.

On the left, WPI gauge: I love this one from Nancy’s Knit Knacks. I find I get a more consistent reading with this one because I roll the yarn on rather than wrap it, so it goes on gently not pulled tight. I use this way of measuring while I spin the least.

On the right, Spinner’s Control Card/WPI Gauge: This is a piece of clear plastic that has lines painted on it approximating the WPI of yarn. To use it, hold your yarn either on top or under the plastic and see where your yarn fits but doesn’t extend past the lines. I used to use this one a lot, but I kept forgetting what number my yarn was supposed to be, so I moved on. This is my third favorite way of measuring.

In the middle, Card of Laziness (two ways of measuring in one): Some spinners call these control cards, but I’m not about control, I’m about lazy. I use card stock tags. On the top I wrap unfinished singles. While I spin I can compare the singles I’m spinning to the ones on the card, by holding them side by side. On the bottom of the card on the left is a ply back sample made from fresh single twisted back on itself and pretending to be a balanced 2-ply. Every so often while spinning, I pull a length of single from the bobbin, let it twist back on itself and compare it to my ply back sample. (The yarn on the bottom right is 2-ply that has been finished.) I use these two way of measuring almost interchangeably, but the singles wrapped on the card wins as my #1 because it really uses the least effort, skipping that time-consuming plying-back stage.

I can’t spin without measuring now. While I do like my yarn to be mostly consistent, I’m not anal about it. I’ve spun too many yarns that start out worsted and finish less than DK to shun measuring while I spin. I’ve reluctantly become a measurer, but a lazy one.

Tell me your measuring stories!

finishing

wristbands or tyvex envelopes cut down

Scouring

January 7, 2016/10 Comments/in Frontpage Article, Projects, Spinning /by 024688@

It’s January and around my house that usually means a lot of wool washing is going to happen. I have 8 teaching appointments this year and almost everyone chooses classes that require unprocessed wool. That’s because around 75% of my class list consists of classes that are about processing wool from raw. I love it. I think the yanr you get when you do your own processing is better than the yarn you spin from mill processed stuff – that’s not to say that i don’t spin plenty of mill process wool. It’s like thinking about cakes. The completely home made from scratch cake will always be better than the box mix but that box mix surely has its place on my shelf.

Anyway, when I get to scouring I usually wash about 60 to 80 pounds per week. This year my list has 21 breeds that need a good dunk in the hot water. That will take me about 3 weeks to complete.

Everyone has their favorite method for scouring raw fleece and I thought I’d talk about mine today.

I’ve read every article that has come in my view about scouring and talked to other spinners who love raw fleece and from all of them I developed the method that works best for me and my space. I tried doing the whole fleece in the bath tub and I hated it. I ended up wet from my shoulders to my waist. Plus all that getting down onto the floor made me sad.

I tried it in the washing machine tub but I hated it because at first it was too scary and then it was just too much moving the wet wool in and out of the tub. as the water filled and drained.

I haven’t tried the fermented suint method because I need to get the wool washed now and it takes too long…plus it stinks.

In addition, I have tried most of the wool scouring products plus Dawn and Orvus and found that my favorite is Unicorn Power Scour. One of the main reasons I love it is because there is no need to boil water to get the temperature high enough to melt the lanolin. There is some kind of magic ingredient that makes that not necessary and since I wash wool in my laundry room on the second floor, heating water would make me crazy.

So after all that, what do I do? I have 4 tubs that I use. I got them from the people at Soak. They call the ones I use Phil. You can get them from the Soak website or your local shop that sells Soak products. These basins hold between 1.5 and 2 pounds of wool depending on the breed and how fluffy it is. That’s why I have 4. If I have a fleece that weighs 8 pounds I can almost always wash the whole thing all at one time.

So, I line the basins up using my washer and dryer as a counter top. I have a utility sink next to the washer and I have a cut off garden hose attached to the faucet. This way I can direct the water to the tub that is furthest away without having to move it an extra time. (ignore the messy stuff around the sink, please.)

I turn on the hot water and let it run a bit until it is as hot as it will get. We have our hot water heater set to 120 degrees F. (Unicorn recommends 140 but this temp works for me.) Then I start filling the buckets until they are a little over 3/4 full. It seems like a lot when you are going to put the wool in but the wool soaks up some water and often I have to top them off a bit after the wool is in.

But before I add the wool I add the wool wash. The Power Scour works sort of like dye as far as how you determine the amount to use. It is based on the weight of the wool you want to wash. For these basins when I am washing about 2 pounds I add around 2 to 3 tablespoons in the first soak.

When I add the wool I push it down into the water. I have a couple of paint stirrers on the shelf for this purpose.

I soak the wool in the hot water and scour for at least 15 minutes. It’s important to not forget about the wool at this point because if the water cools and the lanolin sets back onto the wool it can be much more difficult to remove.

So, after 15 minutes I take the basin to the sink and dump it out. I squeeze out a bit of the water and refill the basin with hot water. At this point I add half as much of the scour to the basin. After all 4 have been emptied and refilled I let them soak for another 15 minutes.

I repeat the process 2 more times but with only clear water. So that’s 2 washes and 2 rinses. After the last soak the water may not be clear. There may still be some dirt showing but I don’t worry about it. There are several more opportunities to get the last bit of dirt out.

At this point when i dump out the basin in the sink, I transfer the wool into lingerie bags. I used to just squeeze out as much water as I could and then roll the wool in towels but I like to spin it out in the washer now. It gets out more water and I don’t have as many sopping wet towels laying around.

One bag will hold all of the wool from one basin.

I let it go through the whole spin cycle. Make sure that your washer doesn’t spray water during the spin. If it does, you can turn off the water going to the washer during this part.

And finally I take the wool to the drying racks. These are just sweater drying racks that are stackable. I have several of them and if I run out of space i move to the floor. I wash wool until there is no more space and then I may need to take a a day or off while the fleeces dry and some space is available. I make sure to write the breed on a card and place it next to the wool. Sometimes if you have several white fleeces drying next to each other it can be a little confusing so the labels are important.

All of this takes about 90 minutes from start to finish and I feel pretty accomplished.

Do yu have any special things you do to wash your fleece?

If you are interested in playing with the fleeces i’m scouring now, come and see me in Boulder Colorado! I’ll be ther in February. Here’s the link for registration. http://www.handweaversofboulder.org/explore/forms/HGBBethSmithRegistration.pdf

Facts about PLY – What makes us different?

December 24, 2015/4 Comments/in Frontpage Article /by Guest Blogger

Lately we’ve been working on outreach – getting the word out about PLY so that we can get our magazine into the hands of more spinners – and in that process, we’ve put together a little list of “fun facts” about PLY as a way to introduce ourselves to new people.

Even if you’ve been with us for a while – subscribing, reading this blog, following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – we think you might find this interesting!

——————————————————————————————————–

We’ve all probably heard (or used) the phrase “Spinning – because knitting isn’t weird enough!” And maybe that’s one of the greatest things about being a spinner – embracing the “weird,” and doing something a little bit different from what everyone else is doing.

Here at PLY, we like that we’re different from other magazines on the market. And if you’ve been reading our magazine for a while, chances are you like our differences, too! Here are some ways we embrace our own “weird” and strive to stand out in the magazine publishing and fiber arts industries.

Facts about PLY Magazine

PLY Magazine is owned and run by Jacey Boggs Faulkner, an avid spinner. No other company or person owns, operates, or has a stake in it.
PLY has a main staff of 3: Jacey (editor in chief, director, ads, accounting, etc), Kitten, Jacey’s ex-husband and good friend (layout and design), and Bernadette, Jacey’s best friend (photography). There are 5 other people that help out: Utah, Jacey and Kitten’s 13 year old does some graphic work; Levi, Jacey’s husband, packs and ships all the back issues; Karen who does all the freelance copy editing; Jessica B. upkeeps the website; and Jessica C. does much personal assisting.
PLY is proud to pay everyone involved in making it great a living wage, almost 4 times the industry standard. That means that all writers, designers, illustrators, and photographers get paid. (The only person not getting a regular salary is Jacey.)
PLY is always themed, printed on thick, archival, white paper, has a printable spine, and is shipped in a recycled plastic wrapper to protect it from damage.
PLY believes that it’s not just known names that have something valuable to contribute to the spinning world and to that end we accept article proposals from every spinner!
Jacey believes in transparency and strives to always be fair and truthful.
PLY started at 104 pages and was recently upped to 112 pages.
Each issue never has more than 15% advertising (most magazines are 50%-75%).
PLY’s advertising ads are affordable, to allow indie fiber companies to have feasible advertising.
Because of the low percentage and price of ads, PLY’s subscriptions make up the majority (80% – 90% instead of the normal 10% – 15%) of revenue. That means that every single subscription counts and also explains why the subscriptions are a bit more than other non-independent magazines and why PLY never goes on sale.
PLY is published 4 times a year (March, June, Sept, and Dec). The price for a subscription in the US is $36.
PLY was started with the money from a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $37,000 in a week. That’s when we knew we were really onto something.
Currently, each issue of PLY takes $75,000 to produce. That includes everybody getting paid (except Jacey). Each issue brings in $12,000 in ad revenue which means that the subscriptions have to make up the other $62,000 each issue ($248,000 annually) at the current subscription number. So when we tell you that we really appreciate that you’re a subscriber – we mean it!

——————————————————————————————————–

If we’ve convinced you that this publication might just be worth a read, you can head here to subscribe or pick up a back issue in our shop.

If you love what makes PLY different and enjoy reading the magazine, we hope you’ll share our message with your spinning friends!

“Hey spinners! Have you heard of @Plymagazine? Read all about what makes them different, in a good way: https://plymagazine.com/?p=8285”

(Click to tweet this!)

What’s inside the Singles Issue?

December 24, 2015/in Frontpage Article, Issue Preview /by Guest Blogger

The Winter 2015 “Singles” 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!

—————————————————————————————————

Jacey’s opening article in this issue starts – “Any yarn is possible, even singles!” And in this issue, that’s the goal – to show you that spinning a singles yarn is definitely possible, even if you’ve struggled with it in the past. The issue is full of “how” articles that’ll get you spinning, but it’s also got a fair number of “why” articles that’ll get you thinking!

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, humor by Franklin Habit, and how to keep your spinning body happy by Carson Demers! Take a look at what you’ll get!:

Singles: Fiber Matters, by Beth Smith – Though it’s true you can spin a singles yarn out of any fiber, Beth Smith tells us what’s what when it comes to choosing a fiber that will give you the best results in a singles yarn.
The Race is On: Singles vs. 2-Ply Yarns, by Jillian Moreno – People say all the time that spinning singles is faster, is it true? Jillian finds out!
Bias Point, by Elizabeth Watt – Ready to have your spinning mind blown? Read this slowly and then read it again! It’s illuminating!
Journal of a Singles Sock Yarn, by Grace Shalom Hopkins – Read the journal of a girl wearing 2 socks, one is singles yarn and the other is plied. You might be surprised by the last entry.
Single and Free, by Katherine Johnson – Singles yarns aren’t just for knitting, you know! Katherine Johnson takes on tatting, tri-pin loom weaving, and naalbinding with singles yarns and it was awesome enough to make the cover!
Weaving with Singles: A Test of Abrasion, by Carol G. McFadden – Carol breaks out her rigid heddle loom and tests how 5 different types of singles (different fibers, preps, and spins) hold up in scarves.
Taming the Wild Single, by Stephenie Gaustad – Nobody can tame a wild single like Stephenie and she walks you through various methods and how they work.
Hot Button: Tension-Set Yarns – Several experts sound off this issue on the controversial issue of setting a yarn with tension.
Spin it! Color-Changing Singles, by Melissa Yoder Ricks – Melissa loves color changing singles yarns and shares several ways of spinning and using a singles yarn.

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:

Veila Scarf, by Susanna IC – This lacy, crescent-shaped scarf is knit out of a soft gradient singles yarn. Ann Krieg explains how she spun the yarn for this project using a Falkland wool.
Nebel Hat and Cowl, by Susanna IC – Ann Krieg spun the same fiber for these projects, too, but the resulting project is more striped and textured than the gradient scarf. These projects knit up quickly and really showcase the softness of a singles yarn in a project where it’s single-nature won’t be a drawback.
Ondulant Scarf, by Carol Feller – A smooth, subtle waving shape makes this scarf graceful and understated. In the accompanying Spin It! article, Kathryn Benavides will guide you through the process of spinning for this project.
Bad Girl Scarf, by Sylvia Becker – Sylvia uptwists on purpose, and shows how awesome it can be when a good girl yarn goes bad, especially if you just have the right pattern to go with it.
Tapestry Weaving, by Deborah Behm – The wonderful and dear Deborah (whom we will all miss) walks you through an explanation of how to spin singles for tapestry weaving, and also provides a simple and fun project anyone can weave (seriously – you make your own loom!).
Weaving on a Peg Loom, by Ann Mickow – A single and fun way to weave — on a peg loom! Ann demonstrates the process and explains how to make a quick and great loopy scarf out of singles yarns.

All Everything Else!

You’ll also find Jacey’s article where she talks about how she experiments as a way of learning more about her spinning. Tip Jar is where you’ll find your fellow PLY readers explain how they control the twist in a singles yarn. In Ergo Neo, Carson tells us to take care of our body when spinning on a spindle. Who’s That Spinner? introduces us to Johanna Carter, who takes us on her journey of learning to knit in childhood and expanding her skills to include spinning as an adult. Check out her spindle-spun sweater! Scene is full of things on the spinning scene that you’ll want to know about including the upcoming Ply Away retreat, lotion bars, and books and DVDs to enhance your spinning education. Franklin Habit and his pal Lazy Kate are back again with another adorable comic, and in Follow the Fiber Sue Tye and Jill Sanders take us along for their Saori weaving tunic project from fiber to finished object. It’s a beautiful and inspiring story of making no mistakes.

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)!

Use Your Yarn

December 18, 2015/25 Comments/in Frontpage Article, News, Projects, Spinning /by 024688@

I teach a lot of classes and I am always surprised at how many spinners I meet who don’t use their handspun yarns for projects. They give me lots of reasons for it. (1) They don’t think they have enough yarn for a project or (2) they don’t have enough matching skeins or (3) they think their yarn is crappy or (4) they don’t really know how to use it or (5) they sell it.

I have answers for all of this and I hope if you are a person who doesn’t use their hand spun yarn that I can help you change your mind. Let’s go through the reasons one at a time.

Number 1: Not enough yarn for a project.

For this problem, if you are a knitter or crocheter, I love Ravelry. If you go to the Patterns section you can search based on yarn size and yardage for projects and you would be amazed at how many projects there are available for small amounts of yarn. I just finished this Lucky Cowl designed by Amy King with a teeny tiny skein.

Number 2: Not enough Matching Skeins

It’s funny how we all have some kind of color scheme that we stick to when we buy fiber. what that means is that most of your fiber will coordinate. It doesn’t need to matche exactly to make a project. In addition, this shawl was made with 3 different thicknesses of yarn. and it worked and it’s warm and I love it. This shawl was made using the Knitting Lace Triangle Shawls book by Evelyn Clark

Number 3: The Yarn isn’t Good Enough

This is a terrible excuse! Here’s the great thing about using your yarn – The lumps get hidden in the fabric or make a nice texture. See the yarn on the right? It’s Columbia, three ply, spun with a long draw which is less consistent than short draw. It also is a roving that has a lot of neps in it so that adds to the texture. I used it for the Hiro hiro Sweater which was designed by Julia Farwell Clay. But check ouot the finished sweater! All of those lumps disappear!

I wear this sweater all the time! You can even see the dirt stains in this photo because I don’t want to take it off long enough to clean it. I love it so much I’m thinking of making another one. Probably with lumpy yarn, too.

I used the same fiber for a weaving project I’m working on. I made the yarn a bit thinner but it still is not very consistent but I made a beautiful skirt from the woven fabric! (Ignore maggie’s messy room behind me.)

Number 4: Not Sure What to Do With It

This is where sampling or trying things or just swatching comes in. Maybe you need a beginning knitting/crochet/weaving lesson. Maybe you need to find a group of people who are also interested in yarn. Maybe you should pick out a project from a Ply Magazine issue and work on it.Most of us are spinning smooth yarns and the magazine reflects that but there are plenty of articles, the current issue and a couple of issues coming up that will inspire those of you who love textured yarns.

Number 5: Sell The Yarn

Here is where I will climb atop my very tall soap box. And these words go for even those who don’t sell their yarn but aren’t using it. How can you know how to improve your yarn if it isn’t being used in any projects or swatches? How do you know that it even works as intended? Please, please, please! Use your yarn. See how it acts in the fabric. See if it softens or gets more firm. check if the plying is too tight or too loose. Make sure it doesn’t fall apart or begin to pill before the skein is even used up. These things will make you a better spinner.

If you don’t know how to weave/knit/crochet, ask a friend to try some out and give you feedback. You can always use these samples and swatches to help sell future yarns.

Yarn is not a finished object.

What are you working on with your handspun yarn? Let me know!

And the Winner Is!

Thank you so much for all of you who took the time to review the Texture Issue of Ply. The winner of the batts is Christina Bowers!