Emily Davis-Hale

Mood Board: Autumn 2026 – Sericulture

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Mood board: Autumn 2026 – Sericulture

Proposals due by: September 1, 2025

Final work due by: March 1, 2026

Got something to say about silk? We sure hope so because we’re planning a big silk – sericulture – issue for Autumn 2026, and we want you to share your tips, experiences, techniques, and anything else you love about working with this amazing fiber. 

Do you spin silk by itself? What methods have you found work best for spinning silk? What about the differences between spinning different kinds of silk, such as Bombyx or Muga? What about spinning silk from different preparations, such as silk hankies, bricks, laps, caps, or directly from the cocoon? 

Silk is frequently blended with other fibers, so we want to hear all about blending. Which fibers do you find work well with silk (including protein and plant fibers)? How does the percentage of silk in the blend affect the final yarn/project? Does silk strength have an impact when blended with delicate fibers? Do you have tips for spinning a silk blend to make sure the silk stays blended and doesn’t separate from the other fibers during spinning? 

What kind of fiber prep do you do for silk? What tools do you use: combs, hand cards, drum carder, blending board? What about cutting silk as part of fiber prep? How do you create mawata (silk hankies)? How do you card silk to avoid neps and noils? Or when might you want to use neps and noils in your yarn? 

Silk has such a vast, rich history. Can you tell us about the development of silk or explore the history of the Silk Road? What about all the military uses for this material, such as parachutes during World War II? Silk features in various folktales as well, and we’d love you to share some of those stories. 

What about experimenting with silk? How can you make sure to get the drape and sheen silk is typically known for in your yarn and project? What about minimizing wear and abrasion? Is it about prep, drafting, twist, adding plies? How about silk’s durability, such as using it as a replacement for nylon in socks? What about warmth as a property of silk? What about shrinkage? How much twist does silk need? How can you make silk elastic? We have so many questions and can’t wait to see the explorations you come up with. 

What about dyeing silk and any special considerations when dyeing it alone or as a blend? What are the vulnerabilities silk might have, such as damage from exposure to sunlight? What type and weight of spindles work best for spinning silk? Do you have experience raising silkworms?  

What about weaving with silk? Does it make a difference if it is used as the weft or the warp? What about using it with another fiber? Do you have a weaving pattern you’d like to design using silk? What about knitting or crochet? Wouldn’t you love to design a gorgeous pure silk shawl? How about using a blend, such as silk and cotton, for a top or vest? What other design ideas do you have to feature silk? 

Proposals are due by September 1, 2025. You’ll hear back from us in October 2025, and final articles are due March 1, 2026.   

Submit your proposals here!
Guest Blogger

Clemes & Clemes on the Impact on Our Tool Manufacturers

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We reached out to Clemes & Clemes to see how the tariffs are impacting business for a tool manufacturer. 

For over half a century, we have worked hard to source locally and domestically when possible. Forging long-lasting relationships with local suppliers tends to keep costs down and quality up – being able to walk right into a supplier’s office when there is an issue is always a plus.  

As an example, we recently brought the manufacture of the electrical enclosures for our drum carders in house. We used to buy stock electrical cans, but during Covid, the manufacturer moved production from Georgia to Mexico. The quality of the cans became so erratic that they were no longer usable to us, so we designed and now have electrical enclosures laser cut and bent to our exact specifications just ten minutes from our shop. After we assemble them, they are powder coated by another company just a couple miles down the road. Not only did we take back control of the quality, we also lowered our overall costs as the enclosures now come ready to use without laborious modifications.  

There are, of course, many parts that are not reshore-able (reshoring being the opposite of offshoring). Nuts, bolts, screws – most hardware – have not been made in the U.S. for quite some time now, with China being the main supplier. Likewise, carding cloth for the textile industry is no longer made here. Thankfully, we have good sources in Europe that we have worked with for decades, who manufacture specifically for us and to our specifications.  

So, from a supply side, I don’t see a huge impact on our business from tariffs at the moment. If the little bit of hardware that we use of Chinese origin doubled in price, it would likely have a minimal effect on our pricing overall, and our other imports come from regions which – as of yet – are not under heavy tariffs. 

The bigger impact we are concerned about is actually consumer confidence. The on, off, on again nature of the tariff negotiation process can have a paralyzing effect on purchases – especially for big-ticket items. We see this every four years with the presidential election cycle – in March or April of an election year, things start to slow down, with sales down to a trickle by the first week in November. But a week later – no matter who wins – consumers once again have certainty and again feel confident to make purchasing decisions. Richard Nixon was president when my father started our family’s business; we have seen this cycle time and again. 

The concern with this tariff business is that there is no real end in sight; no date that we can point to and expect consumer confidence to flip from low to high. That really puts the onus on us as a company to instill confidence in customers making a purchase from us. Being industry leaders in quality for more than half a century is certainly helpful in that aspect. And while we have offered payment plans on big-ticket items for almost a decade, we recently started offering short-term payment plans on smaller items. For instance, $140 for a Lock Pop may seem like a stretch at the moment for someone, but $35 per month over four months will give them a little more in their monthly budget while still affording a tool that they will own for the rest of their life. 

So, while tariffs at the moment are making life interesting, we are taking them in stride as the next challenge for our business to overcome. We’ve survived everything from the stagflation of the 1970s to multiple “once in a lifetime” recessions in the last 20 years. For us – at the moment – the way through is by maintaining world-class quality, working on keeping prices down whenever we can, and making our products as accessible as possible. 

Meagan Condon

Call for Blog Submissions: Plants

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While the Plants issue of PLY is already in the works (and it looks like another great one!) we are looking for quality related posts for the blog! Did you have an idea you didn’t submit? Or did you miss the submission window?

The blog process is much simpler than the magazine process (which involves contracts and samples sent in, photographs, tech editing, etc.) Instead, you’ll need to send your own photos, and your post will go through a copy edit but no other part of the magazine article process. If your blog submission is accepted and published, we’ll send you a $50 honorarium via PayPal.

Submit your blog proposal here!

Please submit your blog post proposal by July 11, 2025. If your post proposal is accepted, we’ll need your words and photos by September 1, 2025. We’ll be posting the Plant posts on the blog in September, October, or November 2025.

Find the mood board below!

PLY Autumn 2025 – Plants (Blog posts)

If it grows in the earth and you can spin it, we want it!  

Let’s look at growing and preparation, blending and dyeing, drafting and plying, finishing and projects! We would love for you to contribute your knowledge, experiments, and projects. 

Which plant fibers are easiest to spin for someone new to the world of cellulose? How do they compare and relate to fibers spinners are more familiar with? Why would you choose plants over other fibers? Can you compare and contrast plant fibers, identifying what they are wonderful for and the ways they can be spun? Are some plant fibers better than other plant fibers for certain things? 

What do you know about plant fibers that have to go through a manufacturing process, like bamboo? How does it affect the environment, the spin, the finished yarn? 

What preparations work the best for plant fibers? What should a spinner look for in a commercial preparation? Which dyes and methods work the best for you? Can you use natural dyes with plant fibers? What happens when you dye a cellulose/wool blend? Talk to us about the tools for plants: which are the same as wool, which are for plants only? Can you use blending boards? Handcards? Combs? What is the benefit of blending these fibers with protein fibers? What is the best percentage of plant and wool, and what are the best plants and breeds to use together? 

Tell us about using spindles, charkhas, walking wheels, e-spinners, and treadle wheels. Are there ones that work and don’t work with these fibers? Do cellulose fibers have to be worsted drafted? Can you spin them woolen? What happens if you do? How much twist is enough, and how much is too much? What tips do you have for plying plant fibers, the number of plies, the twist angle? How do you get a smooth chain ply with plants? What about different ply structures? Can you use these fibers in textured yarns? 

Tell us about the methods you use to finish plant fibers. How do you make sure the twist is set? Do you belong to a fibershed that includes cotton or flax, and can you tell us how you are working toward their sustainable future? Do you make and use cordage from plants in your garden or on your travels? Can you teach us how and what you make with it?  

Emily Davis-Hale

Mood Board: Summer 2026 – Purpose

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Mood Board: Summer 2026 – Purpose

Proposals due by: June 1, 2025

Final work due by: December 1, 2025

Although spinning up a gorgeous skein of yarn seems like a project in and of itself, ultimately most handspun yarn is used to create something else. So how do you spin with a purpose in mind? We want to hear about it! 

What crafts do you use your handspun yarn for? Knitting? Crochet? Weaving? Embroidery? Macrame? Rug making? Mixed media art? Each one can have specific needs for the yarn, and we want to explore those qualities in this issue. 

What makes a yarn a good knitting yarn? What are some changes in that yarn to make it better for crochet? Does it make a difference if you’re using knitting needles, working on a knitting loom, or cranking a sock machine? Does Tunisian crochet have the same yarn needs as crochet? 

What about weaving? What are the qualities that work best for the warp vs the weft? Do you want to use different yarns if you’re using a rigid heddle loom vs a table loom? What about tablet weaving? 

Do you use handspun for embroidery or visible mending? What kinds of yarns work best for those crafts?  

When you have a specific project in mind, what kinds of questions do you ask yourself before you start spinning? How do you determine what characteristics a yarn needs? What are those characteristics? From the technical (twist per inch, ply structure, wraps per inch) to the yarn qualities (drape, shine, warmth, sturdiness, loft), how do you know what decisions to make? 

What about repurposing? Do you use recycled materials in your spinning? Have you used handspun yarn to upcycle or modify something already made? 

Tell us about your spinning community. Do you have a group that spins for a cause or a charity? 

What about tools? How have you used something else as a spinning tool or used a spinning tool in an unusual way? 

And this issue wouldn’t be complete without some patterns. We’re always looking for knitting, crochet, or weaving patterns, but we’d like to see an embroidery pattern or another craft pattern for our readers to make with their own handspun. 

Proposals are due by June 1, 2025. You’ll hear back from us in July 2025, and final articles are due December 1, 2025. 

Submit your article idea now!
Meagan Condon

Sneak Peek: Spring 2025 – Hue!

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You may have already received your digital or print copy of the Spring 2025 Hue issue! We aren’t going to lie – we got caught up in staring at all the pretty colors, so this is less of a preview and more of a post-view, since you might already have it in your hands. Still, we wanted to share about it! 

This issue marks an important milestone for PLY:  it’s the first issue produced by our new editor in chief, Karen Robinson. Love the cover? You can thank Karen! Karen has been with PLY for more than a decade, working her magic behind the scenes. Now it is her time to shine! Don’t worry, Jacey isn’t going away. She is stepping up to produce both PLY and WEFT magazines and the PLY Spinners Guild, huge jobs for her as well! 

Are you a fan of natural color? Lee Langstaff, the co-chair of the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, gives us a taste of color genetics. She has spent over twenty years developing a full range of natural colors in her own flock at Shepherd’s Hey Farm and knows a thing or two about what makes a great fleece.  

Charan Sachar, who specializes in art yarn and fiber-inspired pottery, shares an experiment with color and texture. With the same dye colors and the same structure, he creates several different yarns which each have a different look and feel. These yarns are simply to dye for.

Jessie McKitrick gives us an article about choosing colors for Fair Isle knitting and shares a beautiful pattern called Spring Bloom Mitts.   

And there is so much more, but we don’t want to spoil it for you!   

If by some strange occurrence (maybe Mercury was in retrograde, we don’t know) you haven’t ordered your issue, you can buy it here.

Emily Davis-Hale

PLY has an index!

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We’ve just released our 48th issue, which is really exciting as there’s lots of great new content to share with you. Sometimes, though, you might want to return to previous issues to look up something you remember reading or a new interest you’ve developed. But that can be challenging with so many back issues and articles to look through. So we’ve put together an index to make searching those back issues much easier.

You’ll find the index on the PLY website. If you’re using a tablet or mobile device, there’s a link on that page for a mobile-friendly version of the index.

You can search for articles in several ways: by author, by title (or words in the title), by words from the description, by issue topic, and from a list of keywords (article topics). We’ve put together a video showing how to use the various search options to find articles.

Once you’ve found the article you want to learn more about, click the link on the article title to open up the entry for that article. There you’ll find the article description and a link to the issue in our shop.

Guess what? Not only does this index include all articles from the issues of PLY, it also includes all the episodes in the PLY Spinners Guild! And if you’re a guild member, there’s a link directly to that episode so you can jump right in and watch the segment. (If you’re not a guild member, you can sign up for a 3-day free trial.)

We are still working on adding in the descriptions and list of article topics for some of the issues (although all the articles and authors are already there) and should have that finished by the end of April, if not sooner!

Meagan Condon

Designer Interview: Shana Cohen

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PLY is proud to work with some incredible artists, tool makers, and designers.  Today we’d like to feature Shana Cohen, a designer whose Palimpsest cardigan pattern appeared in the recent Winter 2024 Care issue of PLY.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself? (the hardest-to-answer question first!) 

I’m a knitting pattern designer, architect, design educator, and new spinner! I love creative problem-solving and helping makers to become the best versions of themselves. I hold this true in all of my design processes, and pride myself on meeting my students where they are and helping each student to work to their full potential. I am an empath and extrovert who loves coffee, friends, hiking, and creativity. I live in the Denver, CO, area with my husband and son.  

How did you get started designing patterns? 

I have been involved in creative problem-solving for my entire adult life through my career in architecture and design education. As an architect, I create a set of design directions to solve a prompt. As a design educator, I write assignments for students to solve creative problems while honing their own creative voices. As a knitting pattern designer, I’m doing very similar things: creating a set of design directions for the maker to execute in an asynchronous manner. My first pattern was a superhero cape designed for my son. He asked me for a knit cape with stripes going in two different directions. We worked in a designer-client relationship to come up with a design to meet his needs. I felt a renewed sense of creative energy while solving this problem, and the experience got me out of a funk and helped shape my design identity.  

In the Care issue, you tell us a little about your inspiration for the Palimpsest pattern.  Can you tell us a little more about how you gather inspiration for your patterns? 

I look at my design process as solving a problem for a client, just as I’ve been trained in architecture. I ask questions and propose a design to meet the needs while staying true to my own values of working with clean and thoughtful details and maximizing material use. Sometimes I am struck by a missing piece in my wardrobe or daily life, and other times I get excited by a yarn or a particular detail I want to try. Every so often I am struck by a word or a name that drives the design forward.  When I collaborate with others, I think about how to create a design that will showcase us both in the best light. 

How long does it take for you to work out a pattern and what does your process look like? 

Sometimes I can get through a design in a matter of weeks, from concept to sample and pattern, but most often it’s a longer process for me. I work in sketches and study models (three-dimensional scaled swatches) throughout my design process. I often “road test” a piece before really solidifying it: that is, I make a full-scale mock-up (it might be in the final yarn, or in some instances, a piece of fleece fabric or sheet to test a shape or idea) and then I live with it for a bit, figuring out if the size and proportion is what I’m really going for. I use smaller study models and swatches to experiment with assembly and finishing details, and I often make smaller pieces to photograph or record a video of my process to help explain the details. This process also helps me to make sure that my writing really matches what I actually did! Occasionally I think of a design idea in my head and create nearly the entire thing with limited notes. In these instances, I end up making another version (or portion of a version) while I write to make sure I’m following my own directions! I try to create directions to accommodate many types of makers: those who prefer precise instructions for how many colors to use and where to change colors, for example, as well as those who prefer to freestyle a bit more. 

How do you view and use handspun yarn as a designer? 

As I mentioned, I’ve been lucky enough to have knitters execute my designs with their handspun yarn for a few years, and I’ve asked them about how they make pattern choices for their handspun yarn to help understand my own writing moving forward. I believe my modular designs show off handspun yarn because there are often smaller stitch counts and changing directions in the fabric, which allows the yarn to shine in different ways. My designs usually use a looser gauge, and I find they are forgiving for variations in yarn thickness.  

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the design process? 

I love coming up with an idea and creating a pattern that allows others to make a unique version of my design. I always do a bit of a happy dance when someone chooses to make one of my patterns! The design process can be very solitary and long, and sometimes my designs just don’t work out the way I plan. I put a lot of myself into my work, and sometimes I get bogged down with other life events and need space from a design, so it doesn’t become tied to a negative memory.  

Do you have any inspirational words or suggestions for ways our spinners can better incorporate handspun yarn in their knitting? 

As I’m still a newer spinner myself, I look at larger pieces entirely completed with handspun yarn and I feel a bit overwhelmed, so what about trying out your yarn with something small? I have a few fidget toys in my design portfolio, and they were some of the first patterns I used to test out my handspun yarn. These tiny pieces hold memories of my own making, and the rich texture of my handspun yarn adds to the tactile quality of these handheld treasures. Also, you can use your handspun along with a commercial yarn in a striped or textured piece. I’ve recently created a few designs that do this. I’ve intentionally finished with details in the commercial yarn rather than handspun for a smoother finish, but the beauty of creating is that you get to choose what you make!  

Karen

Meet the New Editor in Chief: Karen Robinson

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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. 

Jacey and Karen at DFW Fiber Fest 2024

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! 

Karen in a handknit sweater in a field with standing stones and sheep in northern England
Parliament of Cowls, one of Karen's books
Gawain's Shield, one of Karen's books
Karen in her booth for Round Table Yarns
Karen's husband and son and Karen at Medieval Times
Eva and Wall-E
Luna and Nugget
Luna
Super cute Nugget wrapped up in a towel
Oliver

Meagan Condon

What is luster?

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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
  1. Spin a sample of yarn using a woolen long draw.
  2. Spin a second sample of yarn using a short forward draw.
  3. Compare the two samples.
    1. Which one appears more lustrous? 
    2. What words would you use to describe the luster of each? 
    3. Can you think of a reason you might try to reduce the luster of a high-luster fiber by spinning it woolen?
    4. 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!