Mood Board: Spring 2026 – Experimental
Mood Board: Spring 2026 – Experimental
Proposals due: March 1, 2025 Final work due by: September 1, 2025
Let’s break out those lab coats and safety goggles and try out all those spinning “what ifs” you’ve always wondered about. This issue is about experimentation, and we want you to explore the possibilities within fiber and spinning that you’ve always wanted to examine. This isn’t a time for writing about what you already know – it’s a time to test hypotheses and see what happens.
What parts of spinning have you always wanted to delve into? Maybe you’ve wondered how much ply twist can go into a yarn before it starts to bias or when a singles yarn biases. Or maybe you want to test the strength or abrasion of woolen vs worsted yarns or between different numbers of or types of plies.
Does pre-drafting really make your yarn less consistent? If you tear a batt into rolags, does that have the same effect as making individual rolags? Is it possible to card really long fibers? What’s the minimal length of fiber that makes sense for combing? How far gone can a braid of fiber be before it can’t be spun?
Is spinning woolen yarn really faster than spinning worsted yarn? Does the length of the fiber impact chainplying? Is there a difference in spinning from the tip or the butt of a lock? Does the weight of the spindle actually impact the diameter of the yarn you spin? Is EZ Spin cotton actually easier to spin? How much difference does it make for a worsted yarn if you spin short backward vs short forward? How does plying from both ends of a ball impact the yarn?
Do cabled yarns really make cables pop? Does 2-ply yarn really make more lacey lace? Do chain-plied yarns really abrade quicker because one ply is going in the opposite direction? Is tension setting your yarn actually bad when using it for knitting, crochet, or weaving? Is a hard finish really better for woolen yarn? Does steaming your top actually reactivate the crimp? Does steaming yarns work as well as wet-finishing?
We can’t wait to hear what experiments you want to try out! Proposals are due by March 1, 2025. You’ll hear back from us in April 2025, and final articles are due September 1, 2025.
