PLY article index

These three great spinners give their opinions on rewinding your singles before plying.

The ability to create consistent yarns is an exceptionally useful skill as a spinner. Why? Because consistent yarns look cohesive in a finished garment (because they do not vary). They wear more evenly in a project and don’t allow weak spots to be created. They also ensure that all parts of the piece you are knitting or weaving behave the same so you do not have areas of incorrect gauge or sett. This article includes consistency by calculation and feel, prep, spinning the yarn you want, spinning the yarn you want again and again, and finishing.

A set of curtains using handspun, regionally-sourced, color-grown cotton would go great in your window.

Textile conservators are the professionals who care for, repair, and preserve important textiles for museums and private clients. These objects may be an ancestor’s wedding gown, a 19th century embroidered sampler, a trade union painted banner, or any textile that has historic, artistic, religious, monetary, or sentimental value. The tasks that go into protecting these objects are varied. Conservators may secure areas that have been damaged, wash away harmful soil, create storage devices, and devise ways to safely display textiles in exhibits. This article covers dyeing from a conservators standpoint from synthetic vs. natural dyes to prep work, sampling, note taking, and how to keep practicing.

What impacts yarn size? This article and series of illustrations explains how drafting style and ratio choice impact the diameter of yarn.

When learning how to spin yarn, spinners want to improve their ability to make more consistent, evenly spun yarns. However, synchronizing feet, head, hands, wheel, and fiber is challenging. It can feel as if you haven’t quite found the right rhythm. This article is focused on using music to help spinning consistency.

Consistency is often used as a synonym for perfection – to spin a yarn smooth and 100 percent identical from tip to tail, like a yarn spun by a mill. Consistency can be a way for spinners to flog themselves (or each other) about not being good enough. This idea makes many unsatisfied and unhappy spinners. I’ve seen spinners quit because they’ll “never be consistent enough.” Is that type of consistency necessary? This article helps you embrace this answer: nope.

When it comes to spinning longdraw and spinning fast, James Perry is the first spinner who comes to my mind. Known first on youTube he was a young British kid who made longdraw look like magic as he spun with great ease and precision. This article is all about that young spinner.

Want to become a more consistent spinner? Our PLY readers give you their best tips.

This article discusses how to blend fibers for consistency, especially when mixing fibers with different characteristics. It covers fiber structure, from staple length to crimp. And then it talks about tips for spinning these blended fibers for consistency.

How do you travel with your e-spinners? PLY readers give you their best tips.

In 1980, a motor spinner was a rare, unfamiliar item. Now, 40 years later, e-spinners are everywhere, commanding acceptance and respect. This article is Steph’s story of watching the spinning world transform from treadle to pedal. Steph also explains what yarn lock is, how wheels work (e-spinner, flyer-led, and bobbin-led), and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Kevin Hansen, maker of the Hansen miniSpinner writes all about e-spinners in this informative article. E-spinners are just another step in the evolution of spinning tools. They’re more portable than treadle wheels, more versatile, and easier to use. Kevin goes into how they work, power sources, how to adjust them, how to care for them, how to travel with them, and how to fly with them in tow.

Drum carders come in two flavors: manual and electric. Manual drum carders are powered by you turning the hand crank and producing a carded batt. Electric or motorized drum carders are powered by electricity. The motor turns the drums, allowing the cardee more freedom during the carding process. Each has its own set of pros and cons, and choosing the right drum carder for you is as personal as choosing a spinning wheel. This article explores safety, pros and cons of both electric and manual drum carders, and a list of current electric drum carders on the market.

Using electric or induction burners for fiber dyeing is the focus of this article.  Constant temperature is easy to maintain, and they’re an easy entry into dyeing. This article covers shopping for induction burners, ensuring the heat/induction zone is large, wetting the fiber, heating the water, weighing the goods, and dyeing the fiber specifically for the Power Gloves pattern in the same issue.

We employ literally thousands of tools and devices in our daily routine that are made safer and more efficient by technology; using an electric drum carder, electric spinner, or electric bobbin winder is no more cheating than using an electric mixer in the kitchen or a gas-powered lawn mower in your yard. In the case of drum carders, shifting from hand crank to electric drive not only makes the operator more efficient, it also produces a more consistent batt, and – when designed and used properly – is just as safe as hand cranking. This article covers safety, organizing, first passes, subsequent passes, and using a diz to remove the fiber.

When getting to know your wheel, it’s important to explore its capability and how to set it up for what you want to spin. The yarn for this project was spun on a Daedalus Starling Mini and plied on a Starling XL, both of which are Scotch tension wheels. This article is about spinning the yarn for the Power Gloves (in this same issue) but it’s also a deep dive into spinning on Daedalus wheels.

Handknit gloves are so much warmer than anything you can buy in the store. And if you spin the fiber for extra warmth – add a bit of mohair or silk in with your wool – they’re even better. These gloves even have fiber-conductive materials so you can use your touchscreens with them on!

Imagine…the lush rolling Irish countryside… verdant green gently sloping hills…the sounds of a babbling river, the bleating of sheep, the rustle of leaves in the wind. In the distance you can see one of the most famous landmarks in all of Ireland, Newgrange, close enough to identify which side of the monument you see but far enough that the visitors aren’t ruining your view. You can smell the flowers on the breeze, feel it caressing your skin, hear the soft, gentle hum of the drone. Wait…what is a drone doing in this picturesque scene? Is it…can it be…herding the sheep? Yes! This article tells the story about how one traditional Irish farm started using drones to help shepherd their sheep.

Is there a huge difference between spinning on an e-spinner and a classical wheel? For a new spinner, an e-spinner is often easier as it requires less coordination to move just your hands and not to have to worry about treadling with your feet. One of the tricky things about learning to spin on a treadle wheel is that our hands and feet, when we are spinning properly, move in different unrelated Is there a huge difference between spinning on an e-spinner and a classical wheel? For a new spinner, an e-spinner is often easier as it requires less coordination to move just your hands and not to have to worry about treadling with your feet. One of the tricky things about learning to spin on a treadle wheel is that our hands and feet, when we are spinning properly, move in different unrelated. This article is sprinkled with history, community, and lots of spinning tips and tricks.

Steph, Beth, and Amy sound off on their opinions on whether an electric wheel makes a good first (or only) wheel.

when we round ’em up, we really round ’em up! Laura covers ever e-spinner made and includes all the details you could want including company, model, materials, type of drive, dimensions, orifice size, bobbin size, cost, soft start/stop, battery options, weight, foot pedal options, weight, speed adjustment, and more!