PLY article index

This article discusses the factors to consider when planning to teach a fiber arts class, from the proposal to the prep and how to make changes after the class to improve it each time.

This article talks about what items you might want to include in our spinning bag, depending on what you will be doing/where you will be traveling.

This article discusses how to prepare for a sheep to shawl competition, from deciding upon your team makeup and who will do what, the choice of fiber to use, tips for the event itself (including what to wear and how to display the process), and what to do afterwards.

This article considers what might happen if you needed to make spinning part of your apocalyptic life skills and how you might plan in advance for that, including what to put it your “bug-out bag.” It also talks about knitting specific projects and a timeline if you needed to produce items quickly.

This article talks about planning yarn for a project, specifically using grist and Ashenhurst’s formula (especially for weavers) to make choices and understand the spinning process.

This article talks about how to take inspiration from a painting or sculpture and use it to design a yarn.

What happens when you spin a yarn that you don’t have a plan for? How do you decide what to do with it? This article talks about some ways you can make those decisions and get the best use out of your yarn. It also offers some specific examples of the types of projects you could make.

This article talks about how you can let the fiber itself tell you the best way to spin it, focusing especially on the crimp and how the fiber is prepped.

This article describes how to spin the yarn used for the shawl project included in this issue, including how to prep and blend the fiber for a gradient sequence.

Knitting pattern for a triangular shawl that uses a planned gradient yarn. It is an easy introduction to lace knitting for beginners, and the short rhythmic pattern repeats are soothing for experienced lace knitters. It is worked from the center out and uses a garter tab cast on.

The author shares her experience of following the wild Alaskan mountain goat cross-country and making yarn from the fiber collected.

This article talks about how to plan the spinning for a larger project, such as a sweater or blanket.

This article goes through the process of planning a custom studio space, beginning by looking at what tasks you are planning to do in your studio. It talks about the layout and utility needs (water and electricity), lighting, organization, and ergonomics.

This article looks at how to work toward success in your projects, including learning and benefitting from mistakes.

How do you spin down the stash with a spinning plan in mind? Readers give us their best tips

On either end of the wool preparation and spinning spectrum lie woolen and worsted. But when you begin to combine prep and spinning techniques, the resulting yarns are in-between, with both woolen and worsted characteristics. This article covers the “historical hardline” between woolen and worsted, and what we see today.

The longer and more often we’re exposed to a condition, the more likely we are to be affected by it. Learn why varying your spinning “diet” (and including semis!) can be a good ergonomic decision.

Mixing preparation and drafting methods can give us a yarn that has the best qualities of each style, and we can minimize the deficits each has, too. Explore the pros and cons of each prep and draft in this article.

Changing a combed top into a woolen preparation is pretty easy, and with minimal-to-no fiber loss, it’s something that’s fun and worth doing. Here are some simple tricks to help you get a more woolen prep from that combed top.

Choosing fiber, preparation, and drafting method for a semi-woolen vs. woolen yarn.

Knitting pattern for a textured hat inspired by the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, knit in sport weight Targhee yarn.

Why spin a fiber against its prep? This article explores the effects of drafting woolen vs. worsted in opposition to preparation, with final experiments in knitting and weaving the yarns.

There’s something lovely about commercial top with its smoothly aligned fibers, bu what if you need a warmer, loftier yarn than you can produce with a combed prep? This article will walk you through turning a braid into fauxlags and preserving your perfect colors.

The goal of cloud prep is to completely randomize the fibers. Learn how to create lovely, cloudy alpaca punis in this article.