Many of the sheep breeds found in the United States are being developed through a technique called upgrading. The United States (like many European countries) has strict regulations on the importation and exportation of live animals and particular breeds. As a result, there are many wonderful sheep breeds that can’t be brought into the United States, like Gotland, Teeswater, Herdwick, Bluefaced Leicester, and Black Welsh Mountain. And yet there are American flocks of all these breeds!
While we can’t import these sheep, we can import semen. A breeder will choose a breed that is close to the breed they want. For example, if a breeder wants Teeswater, they might choose another longwool breed like Leicester Longwool. A Leicester Longwool ewe is inseminated with semen from a Teeswater sheep. The result is a 50/50 genetic blend. This second-generation sheep is then inseminated with Teeswater semen. The resulting lamb is 75/25 Teeswater.
This process is continued until the sheep being bred have primarily Teeswater genes. An upgraded flock will never be 100 percent genetically the same as the original breed. American Teeswater may be 95–99 percent Teeswater. But chances are you or I would not be able to tell the difference unless one population or the other were heavily modified.
At this time, Valais Blacknose – the cutest sheep in the world – are being introduced to the United States via upgrading.
Upgrading is one way we can help preserve breeds and populations that are rare or threatened. Sometimes there aren’t enough sheep left in a population to have sustainable genetic diversity. Upgrading offers a solution for saving threatened breeds.
Have you ever spun a fleece from an upgraded sheep? If so, what genetic percentages did it have? What qualities did the fleece have?
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/teeswater-buckingham.jpg427640Meagan Condonhttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngMeagan Condon2025-07-10 09:00:002025-07-07 13:12:11Breed Development through Upgrading
In the United States, the president works with Congress to create US tariff policy. A tariff is a tax imposed by a government on goods and products imported from another country. The round of tariffs that was implemented most recently is having an impact on the spinning community, and you may not even realize it yet.
As of the publishing of this article, in the United States, the US president recently escalated a trade war with China, raising tariffs to 145 percent, then agreed to lower them to 10 percent, though tariffs on most Chinese goods are still over 30 percent due to existing duties. The president has also threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on the EU, though that action is on pause. Tariffs for Canada and Mexico have been set at 25 percent on most goods. And there is a minimum tariff of 10 percent on most other countries. That means if you import spindles from Canada for $10 each, the tariff raises the price to $12.50.
Who pays this import tax? Well, the person or company that imports the item pays the tax. However, it doesn’t end there. That importer increases the price they sell the item for to help them maintain their profit margin. The dyer or spinner or yarn store that buys the wholesale products from the importer is then forced to increase their prices so they can make a living off their dyeing or spinning or reselling. Then you, the customer, spend more of your money to get your dyed or carded fiber or that fancy spinning wheel. So ultimately, tariffs come directly out of our pockets.
Ashford operates out of New Zealand. Louët wheels are manufactured in the Netherlands. A majority of our silk products come from China.
Why don’t we just buy US products, then? Many of our US producers, like Clemes and Clemes, have already taken steps to make as much of their product as possible in the United States. As a result, their prices have managed to stay relatively stable.
Very little of what we use is entirely made in the US, though. Wheels and carders and other tools use imported parts, even if they are constructed here. We simply don’t have the infrastructure to produce all of our fiber and tool parts here. We are lucky to have companies that are working to build the infrastructure, but that doesn’t happen overnight and it isn’t necessarily going to make the product cheaper for consumers. Our spinning community primarily operates as a recreational industry. Hobby and recreation are often hit the hardest when prices systematically increase.
What can you do?
Buy fiber locally. While silk is sexy, there are a ton of wonderful, underappreciated local wools and plant fibers. There is a revival in commercial flax here in the United States. Small farms across the country produce rare and interesting breeds of sheep.
Buying new tools is trickier, but luckily, our biggest imported tool names tend to be in places that are impacted less by the tariffs. We also have an amazing number of independent woodworkers here in the United States that produce and repair fiber tools, if you know where to look and who to ask.
And always, make use of your stash! Every fiber artist has one (or is in the process of building one). I can’t count the number of times I’ve complained that I have too much fiber. This may be a good impetus to use some of it!
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Boyd1.jpg1200800Meagan Condonhttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngMeagan Condon2025-07-03 09:00:002025-06-27 10:57:28How Tariffs are Impacting Fiber Arts in the US
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.
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.
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/fiber-10-scaled.jpg19282560Guest Bloggerhttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngGuest Blogger2025-05-29 09:00:002025-05-28 15:04:26Clemes & Clemes on the Impact on Our Tool Manufacturers
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.
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?
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PLY_Blog.png383719Meagan Condonhttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngMeagan Condon2025-05-27 09:00:002025-05-26 10:33:43Call for Blog Submissions: Plants
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.
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.
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/0185ae42-f12d-4e51-8a89-0bad5611f879-1.jpg8441495Meagan Condonhttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngMeagan Condon2025-04-08 09:00:002025-04-09 15:29:09Sneak Peek: Spring 2025 – Hue!
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!
https://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/index1.png8171673Emily Davis-Halehttps://plymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/plylogo-condensed-pnk-300x164.pngEmily Davis-Hale2025-03-25 09:00:002025-03-19 14:44:43PLY has an index!
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!
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