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Blends with different lengths of fiber can be difficult. PLY readers give you their best tips for how to spin these tricky blends.
All mammals originate in one individual spot on the planet and spread, depending on how generally adaptable they are, to different landscapes and climates. Sheep are amazingly adaptable. From their earliest known domestication in northeastern Iraq, they eventually became a staple of Scottish life and cloth, as examined in this article.
The attraction and beauty of speckled yarn are the bursts and smears of contrasting color which create unpredictable bits of interest. In this article, learn how to produce an engaging yarn that will also use up the scraps which so often go to waste. Practically everything is usable!
Using a speckled preparation to spin a color-fading yarn.
A Torculus is a symbol from medieval musical notation: one symbol representing a set of 3 distinct and separate notes, forever connected and defined by their relationship to each other, much like the colors in this handspun yarn. Knitting pattern for a linen-stitch cowl in light worsted weight yarn.
Creating climate-smart sheep with luxurious fiber through targeted crossbreeding.
Crossbreeding can create unique fleeces, but how do they compare to a cross-blend from the component breeds? This article investigates that question.
True worsted and true woolen yarns have distinct properties. But what happens when you mix those different singles?
Mawata is composed of single silk cocoons processed and stretched onto a square frame to dry and form layers in a final “handkerchief.” In this article, learn how to prepare and spin mawata as one component of a finished mixed yarn.
A long-running debate among spinners is whether the most versatile prep tool is a set of hand combs or hand cards or even a drum carder, but this spinner advocates for the humble, affordable, and powerful blending board with an overview of some of the possible fiber preparations it can produce.
It’s all too easy to bemoan imperfect attempts at any craft. This article on freeform weaving may open your eyes to embracing those imperfections and using all your yarns.
Congratulations on starting your new fiber arts business! Before you make that first sale, though, this article has a few things you need to know.
Yes, it’s possible to combine intentional spinning with improvisation! Explore some unique fiber blends and their finished yarns in this article.
Explore creating art yarns from blended batts.
Taking advantage of alpaca’s best characteristics—softness, drape, and silky hand—to create successful blends with Clun Forest and Romney wools.
Spinning from the fold is the perfect mix of worsted and woollen spinning. Learn how this technique blurs the lines between the two styles of spinning while keeping the characteristics of both.
Fundamentally, celluloseand cellulose-derived fibers are chemically and structurally different from animal fibers. What do you do when you want to combine them for vibrant blends? This article addresses some unique treatments and different methods for prepping and dyeing.
Intentional use of twist direction in woven cloth can achieve discernible effects. This experiment explores those effects.
Plying with thin, commercially spun “thread” can let your handspun singles take center stage and create an intriguingly textured yarn. Learn about a few of the factors to consider when deciding if and how to thread ply.
As dry as “differential shrinkage” sounds, it’s simple and your spinner’s brain already knows it: different fibers shrink at different rates. In this article, learn how to exploit that fact for an easier bouclé effect.
Learning about the realities of early 19th-century wool mills from primary sources, a set of personal diaries by scribbling mill owner Joseph Rogerson.
One spinner’s journey into rug hooking.
The basics of combining spinning and rug hooking to create a unique circular chair pad from handspun yarn.
Five spinners take on the same mixed batt and end up with five unique yarns.
