PLY article index

Spindle driven wheels are no less versatile than their bobbin-led or flyer-led counterparts. This article addresses best practices for spinning on great wheels, charkhas, and treadled spikes.

This article profiles a modern guild’s mission to share the craft of spinning.

Is a quill part of your spinning toolkit? There’s a learning curve involved! This article experiments with a quill attachment on a flyer wheel.

This experimental article details the process of learning to use a quill attachment on an e-spinner.

What’s the secret to spinning “off the point”? It depends on your tool: supported spindles, charkhas, quill treadle wheels, great wheels, and flyer wheels with quill attachments all require slightly different approaches.

Before you decide how best to use a bag of mystery fiber (don’t we all have some?), here’s how to evaluate its characteristics.

PLY readers give tips for getting the most our of your bobbin-led wheel (sometimes called Irish tension) and being able to spin finer on these notoriously greedy wheels.

A “meat” sheep may seem like an unusual choice for spinning, but they produce practical and versatile fleeces. Use this article for tips on exploring down and down-like wool.

Defining a class of wool is a complex project and involves a long history of sheep breeding. Learn more about Down breeds in this historical survey.

A controlled comparison of scouring and washing Dorset Down vs. Ryeland fleece.

Dyeing wool of Down breed sheep can be challenging due to the internal structure of Down wool fibers as well as their unique crimp, but the method introduced in this article will help you dye Down breed wool successfully.

There are seemingly unlimited combinations of processing and drafting methods, each suited to a specific purpose. In this article, learn about rolags, cigars, spinning off the card, and (as a bonus!) making your own roving.

Clun Forest sheep originate in South West Shropshire, England, and are well adapted to that environment by their hardiness. This article surveys their development and compares spinning samples of Clun Forest fleece.

Spin springy, crimpy Clun Forest fleece from a carded roving into a lofty and elastic woolen-style yarn.

Versatility is the main point! Knitting pattern for a hybrid cowl-scarf-shawl accessory that combines multiple stitch textures to showcase the handspun yarn.

Down and Down-like breeds have unique characteristics that can challenge and enhance the ergonomic energy balance between the fiber and its spinner, knitter, and crocheter. Use this article to consider alternative ways to manage a crimpy fiber.

Designing and spinning yarn from Suffolk fleece for an outerwear tunic.

Knitting pattern for a long-sleeved, roll-collar tunic with lace cable detail on the hem, cuffs, and collar.

A huge factor in what makes spindles stop is the twist you’re putting into the yarn. This article provides a quick reference for choosing the appropriate spindle weight for the twist and grist of your target yarn.

Several sheep breeds in the United States produce wool with Down-like characteristics, despite not being part of the Down family. This breed study includes Gulf Coast Native, American Tunis, California Red, Clun Forest, and Dorset Horn.

Tunis wool is long enough to be soft and luxurious, yet touch enough to withstand the wear and tear of daily wear inside shoes. This article provides some guidelines on choosing and spinning Down and Down-like wools for socks.

This is the perfect pair of socks to show off your handspun DK or fingering weight yarn. Knitting pattern for mid-calf socks in a ribbed cable pattern.

An experiment in spinning Cheviot and Suffolk wool as both a 2-ply and 3-ply sock yarn, with wear tests, to create something quick to spin and knit without sacrificing durability.

Spurred by a “survivalist” mindset of maximizing the utility of a single animal, this article investigates the wool of the Oxford breed, one of the largest meat breed sheep.