PLY article index

This article shares information about lime bast, an ancient bast fiber, used to make baskets, nets, mats, and other essentials. Along with the historical information, the author shares how to use lime bast (or raffia as a substitute) and the historical technique of needle looping to make a basket.

This article explains the structure of plant fibers and what makes them spinnable. It covers seed fibers, stem fibers, and leaf fibers.

This article discusses the ways you can optimize the wheel you have to spin short-stapled plant fibers such as cotton. It covers wheel speed and pulley choice, flyer choice, bobbin choice, and brake and drive bands.

This article explains how pulley systems work, what a ratio is, and how to figure out your wheel’s ratios. It then provides a method for determining the range of yarns you can spin using each ratio.

This article experiments with different amounts of twist using various plant fibers and evaluates each yarn. Fibers are cotton, flax, hemp, nettle, and ramie.

This article gives an overview of different types of cotton species, colors of cotton, and the physical structure of cotton. It explains how to work with cotton from several different preparations (hand processing, industrial processing, and EZ-Spin cotton).

In this article, the author shares her experience with spinning cotton after primarily working with wool. It explores the decisions she made for fiber prep and while spinning and plying, ultimately describing the yarn she spun for the tank top (pattern included in this issue).

Knitting pattern for a versatile open-backed apron tank top. This easy knit includes a variety of stitch patterns and a unique construction. In 9 sizes from finished measurement bust circumferences from 31 to 63 inches.

This article discusses nettles, a bast fibre plant, and how to harvest and prepare the fiber for spinning.

This article describes how to spin nettle fiber, from which prep to use and how to use it, how to spin using water and why you should for bast fibers, how to join fibers while spinning, how much twist to use, how to ply, and how to finish the yarn. It also makes some suggestions for using the yarn.

This article describes the yarns spun for the woven wine bags (pattern in this issue), with cotton for the warp and nettle for the weft.

Weaving pattern for wine bags made from nettle (weft) and cotton (warp).

This article explores how to spin a blend of Merino, Tussah silk, and flax, working through various options to find the best result for this blend of fibers with completely different characteristics. It then describes the yarn spun for the shawl pattern included in this issue.

Knitting pattern for a fun shawl with a highly textured yet simple stitch pattern and i-cord edging.

This article explores how using different mordants (in this case, potassium aluminum sulfate and tannin with aluminum acetate) can affect the final color of your yarn. It provides several dyeing recipes and explains how to dye the yarn used for the shawl pattern included in this issue.

This article experiments with different methods of finishing yarns spun from plant fibers (cotton, flax, hemp, nettle). Initial finishing methods include thwacking, steaming, and boiling. The author then set up further experiments using baking powder, baking soda, fiber wash, and homemade detergent.

This article is a deep dive into how to dye fiber, yarn, and finished objects using an indigo vat. It includes options for creating a vat with fresh indigo as well as an indigo powder vat (which can last for years) with recipes and instructions for each option.

This author experiments with different yarn structures (bulky 2-ply, corespinning, thick and thin, and super coils) and plant fibers (cotton, flax, hemp, and nettle), sharing the results.

This article tests natural dyeing of cotton, linen, nettle, and hemp using different plants for dyeing, mordants, and alum. Basic recipes are included as well as several full page examples of the fibers dyed with different combinations (madder, weld, and indigo combined with cutch, pomegranate, and tannic acid.

This article explores a plant fiber called dogbane, which is a bast fiber similar to flax and hemp. The article goes through the process of harvesting and processing the plant for the fibers and how to spin it. The author them explores spinning this fiber as both line and tow, including singles yarns and 2-ply yarns and shares knit, crochet, and woven swatches made from the yarns.

This article describes how to spin the yarns from hemp and flax used to make the coiled basket (project in this issue).

Instructions for making a coiled basket with a design using hemp and flax handspun yarns.

This article explores two main categories of finishing options to bleach linen yarn: methods from folklore and chemical methods. The authors try out each method and report the results.

This article gives an overview of hemp as a spinnable fiber and provides information about spinning and finishing the yarn.

This article shares information about the Viborg Shirt, a linen shirt found by archaeologists in Denmark and modern attempts to recreate the shirt.