Search for articles in published issues of PLY Magazine. You can search by any or all of the options: author, word(s) in the title, word(s) in the description, issue topic, or article topics. Note that the article topics search will show results of articles that fit ALL of the selected topics.

Click the article title to open the single entry for that article (which makes it easier to read the description). Click the issue topic to find that issue in the PLY shop.

Narrow down your search by selecting the article topics you want included above (will only show articles that contain ALL of your selected topics)
Sort by:
Total Records Found: 1381, showing 25 per page
Author Nicole DeRushie
Article Title Lime Bast and Looping: The ancient origins of fibre craft
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, historical, bast, household item
Description

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.

Author Meagan Condon
Article Title Anatomy of a Plant Fiber
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list bast, cellulose, cotton, flax, hemp, plant fibers, nettle
Description

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

Author James Perry
Article Title The Wheel You Have Can Spin Plants
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list cotton, plant fibers, wheel selection
Description

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.

Author Meagan Condon
Article Title Exploring Pulley Ratios on Your Wheel
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list ratios, expanding skills
Description

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.

Author Michelle Boyd
Article Title Twist and Plant Fibres
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, cotton, flax, hemp, nettle, twist, TPI, experimenting, bast
Description

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

Author Jill Duarte
Article Title Meet Cotton
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, cotton
Description

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).

Author Shilo Weir
Article Title Spin It! A First Cotton Experience
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, cotton, sliver, double drafting, supported long draw, chain plying, finishing, prep it
Description

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).

Author Shilo Weir
Article Title Knit It! Prona
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list knit it, tank top, cotton, chain-plied
Description

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.

Author Katie Sawyer
Article Title A Sting in the Tale: Stinging Nettle Fibre
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, nettle, bast, fiber prep
Description

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

Author Isabella Rossi
Article Title Spinning Himalayan Nettles
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, nettle, bast, drafting, joining, twist, plying
Description

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.

Author Susan Fricks
Article Title Spin It! Nettle and Cotton for Weaving
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list spin it, plant fibers, nettle, cotton, bast, weaving, from the fold
Description

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.

Author Susan Fricks
Article Title Weave It! Nettle and Cotton Wine Bags
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list weave it, household item, cotton, nettle, plant fibers, bag
Description

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

Author Jacey Boggs Faulkner
Article Title Spin It! When a Blend Isn't Quite a Blend
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list flax, plant fibers, silk, blends, Merino, yarn stats, spin it, expanding skills, experimenting
Description

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.

Author Kira Dulaney
Article Title Knit It! Wildflower Honey Shawl
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list knit it, shawl, Merino, silk, flax
Description

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

Author Brooke Sinnes
Article Title Using Mordants to Expand Your Palette
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list dyeing, natural dyeing, prep it, Merino, flax, silk, color, experimenting
Description

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.

Author Brenda Dunse
Article Title Finishing for Plant Fibers
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, cotton, bast, flax, hemp, experimenting, finishing, nettle
Description

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.

Author Jackie Ottino
Article Title Indigo Basics: The best blue of all time
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list dyeing, natural dyeing
Description

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.

Author Crystal Hesser
Article Title A Funky Twist on Plant Fibers
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, textured/art yarn, experimenting, corespinning, thick and thin, bulky, coils, spiral ply
Description

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.

Author Jane Woodhouse
Article Title Plants on Plants: Natural dyeing on plant fibers
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, natural dyeing, dyeing, cotton, cellulose, linen, flax, nettle, hemp, bast, experimenting
Description

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.

Author Sara McCourt
Article Title Dogbane: A modern spinner's approach to an ancient fiber
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, bast, fiber prep, singles, 2-ply, experimenting, finshing
Description

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.

Author Jill Graham
Article Title Spin It! Hemp and Flax Yarns
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list spin it, hemp, flax, short forward draft, twist, short backward draft, finishing, yarn stats
Description

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

Author Jill Graham
Article Title Make It! Coiling a Hemp and Flax Basket
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list make it, household item, flax, hemp
Description

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

Author Laura Loewen, Sylvia Smith
Article Title Myth-Busting: Bleaching Linen
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list experimenting, linen, finishing
Description

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.

Author Julie Drogsvold
Article Title Hemp: History, techniques, and finishing
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list plant fibers, hemp, sliver, worsted, twist, tension, finishing
Description

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

Author Larissa Brown
Article Title Sown to Sewn: Two Viking Age flax journeys
Issue date Autumn 2025
Issue number 50
Issue topic Plants
Article topic list historical, flax, linen
Description

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