PLY article index

Qiviut, the fine undercoat of the muskox, is a luxurious fiber known for its warmth and softness. It requires careful preparation to remove coarse guard hairs and can be spun directly or lightly carded, but its lack of elasticity necessitates thoughtful plying techniques to ensure strength and consistency. While dyeing qiviut presents challenges, particularly due to its natural color and sensitivity to pH, it results in exquisite yarn ideal for lace knitting or weaving, especially when blended with other fibers like wool or silk.

The author shares her journey of learning supported spindling, a technique she initially discovered through an online spinning community. Despite a rocky start with the Tibetan spindle and a failed first attempt, she embraced experimentation with various spindles, including the Russian wand and phang, leading to greater skill and confidence.

The spinning of cotton on tahkli spindles is an integral part of wedding ceremonies in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, marking the official start of the event. The practice, known as sumuhurat, involves women spinning yarn that is later used in the wedding puja, symbolizing the durability of the marriage.

Spindles are delicate. PLY readers give you their best methods for travelling with them.

Some fibers are more fly-away than others, PLY readers give their tips on how to control these fibers to make spinning easier.

Some 2000 years ago, Pliny the Elder said that only four of the hundreds of fibers known to be spun were important and enduring: silk, wool, cotton, and flax. This article argues for the utility of wilder fibers.

Short and slick fibers are quite the spinner’s challenge: they can be difficult to draft and to track twist. Here’s a 6-part solution to working with short, slippery hair fibers.

An exploratory journey of preparing angora fiber for spinning with multiple approaches: hand cards, flick, dog brushes, blending board, combs, and blending hackles.

Fur fibers can be carefully carded to create fiber preparations capable of being spun into gorgeous yarns with integrity. This article covers prep with hand cards, blending boards, and drum carders.

According to oral history of the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest, they raised a breed of dog to ensure a supply of dog wool for their blankets. Learn about this history mystery and the research surrounding it.

Spinning a soft and luxurious blend of angora and Corriedale into a woolen-style 2-ply yarn.

Knitting pattern for foundational fingerless mitts in aran-weight yarn, including variations to add a flip top mitten, a full thumb, or to create a full mitten or even gloves.

If you’ve been considering getting into fiber animals but just don’t have the space or time for larger animals, angora rabbits might be the perfect choice. In this article, learn more about the four breeds of angoras: English, French, Giant, and Satin.

Angora requires special attention during the dye process. This article collects conclusions from an extensive study on dyeing, blending, and handling this fiber.

Blending fibers is a great way to create yarns with qualities not found in a single fiber. Angora is a great candidate for addition to a blend; this article explores the effect of different ratios of angora on finished yarns with Corriedale, Shetland, and Romney wools.

Daydreamers, be warned: it’s one thing to imagine life on a bucolic fiber farm and another to live its often harsh, less-than-idyllic reality. Two experienced farmers talk about the complex considerations of the farming life.

Tunis sheep, a fat-tailed or broad-tailed breed, originate in North Africa. Learn about their typical traits in this article.

Could the angora’s halo be used to soften less “desirable” wools? This article explores blending angora with Leicester Longwool and Tunis fibers.

Can Tunis, a rare breed sheep wool not known for its next-to-the-skin softness, be moderated by blending with angora to create a yarn that’s right for a scarf? Follow the attempt in this article.

Weaving pattern for a windowpane cowl in Tunis/angora yarn, requiring a 4-harness loom with 10-inch weaving width and 8-dent reed.

Profile of Bronwyn Gallagher, a fiber artist specializing in homages to beloved pets.

Cat fur is an inevitable feature of a cat-owning household—why not make them part of the crafting experience? This article follows experiments in collecting and preparing cat fiber.

Those of us who spin instinctually know a fiber-producing animal when we see one, so it was a no-brainer to delve into an analytical comparison of dog fiber to more common spinning fibers. This article compares the traits of dog fur to the average merino and alpaca fiber.

There are three main types of hair on the typical house cat. In this article, learn about the importance of grooming and how to prepare cat fiber for spinning.