Posts

Meagan Condon

Call for Blog Submissions: Plants

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While the Plants issue of PLY is already in the works (and it looks like another great one!) we are looking for quality related posts for the blog! Did you have an idea you didn’t submit? Or did you miss the submission window?

The blog process is much simpler than the magazine process (which involves contracts and samples sent in, photographs, tech editing, etc.) Instead, you’ll need to send your own photos, and your post will go through a copy edit but no other part of the magazine article process. If your blog submission is accepted and published, we’ll send you a $50 honorarium via PayPal.

Submit your blog proposal here!

Please submit your blog post proposal by July 11, 2025. If your post proposal is accepted, we’ll need your words and photos by September 1, 2025. We’ll be posting the Plant posts on the blog in September, October, or November 2025.

Find the mood board below!

PLY Autumn 2025 – Plants (Blog posts)

If it grows in the earth and you can spin it, we want it!  

Let’s look at growing and preparation, blending and dyeing, drafting and plying, finishing and projects! We would love for you to contribute your knowledge, experiments, and projects. 

Which plant fibers are easiest to spin for someone new to the world of cellulose? How do they compare and relate to fibers spinners are more familiar with? Why would you choose plants over other fibers? Can you compare and contrast plant fibers, identifying what they are wonderful for and the ways they can be spun? Are some plant fibers better than other plant fibers for certain things? 

What do you know about plant fibers that have to go through a manufacturing process, like bamboo? How does it affect the environment, the spin, the finished yarn? 

What preparations work the best for plant fibers? What should a spinner look for in a commercial preparation? Which dyes and methods work the best for you? Can you use natural dyes with plant fibers? What happens when you dye a cellulose/wool blend? Talk to us about the tools for plants: which are the same as wool, which are for plants only? Can you use blending boards? Handcards? Combs? What is the benefit of blending these fibers with protein fibers? What is the best percentage of plant and wool, and what are the best plants and breeds to use together? 

Tell us about using spindles, charkhas, walking wheels, e-spinners, and treadle wheels. Are there ones that work and don’t work with these fibers? Do cellulose fibers have to be worsted drafted? Can you spin them woolen? What happens if you do? How much twist is enough, and how much is too much? What tips do you have for plying plant fibers, the number of plies, the twist angle? How do you get a smooth chain ply with plants? What about different ply structures? Can you use these fibers in textured yarns? 

Tell us about the methods you use to finish plant fibers. How do you make sure the twist is set? Do you belong to a fibershed that includes cotton or flax, and can you tell us how you are working toward their sustainable future? Do you make and use cordage from plants in your garden or on your travels? Can you teach us how and what you make with it?  

Emily Davis-Hale

PLY Guild: Second Season Drop – Episode 2

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Ding! Ding! Ding! 


The second episode of the second (worsted) season of the PLY Guild has dropped and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 

  • Four brand-spanking-new spinning segments 
  • Four great teachers: Deb Robson, Maggie Casey, Jillian Moreno, and Jacey!
  • More than 2 hours of spinning content!


It’s a great episode filled with lots of information about choosing fibers for worsted yarns. 

We’ll see you again with a new episode in six weeks (but in the meantime, come see us in a spin-in)!  If you haven’t already gotten your membership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners committed to learning, growing, questioning, answering, and supporting their fellow guild members.  We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. PSG supports people of every ability, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, and gender. We hold that every single community member is important. We believe that black and brown lives matter. We see and support our LGBTQ+ community. We reserve the right to remove anyone that meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.    

Meagan Condon

Third Thursdays Guild Tip

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Time to ramp up for tonight’s PLY Spinners Guild Third Thursday foundational spin-in!   

Here’s a tip to tide you over until the spin-in starts!  This is something I’ve observed time and again during my years of teaching spinners. 

When we first begin spinning with a short forward draw, many of us struggle to get a thin, even yarn. Much like a toddler who needs to master the chunky crayons before they can move on to the pencils, new spinners will spin lumpy, bumpy, chunky yarn until they master the fine motor control needed to get those lovely, even singles.  Then comes the second part of this problem. 

Once spinners master the thin, even single… it becomes really difficult for them to spin a thick yarn again.  It is a skill they have to learn all over again and is often a shock when they realize they’ve lost the ability.   

To work toward getting that thicker yarn again, pay attention to what each of your hands is doing as your spin.  One hand manages the fiber supply (the fiber hand), while the other hand forms a pinch point and controls the twist (the working hand).   

When you spin a fine single, you might notice that your pinch point stays near the very tips of the fibers and draws only a few fibers at a time into the twisted yarn.  While not always the case, you might also notice that your fiber hand holds the fiber supply with a somewhat firm pressure. 

To get a thicker yarn, move your pinch point deeper into the drafting triangle so that you are drawing up more fibers into the twist zone.  To complement this new motion, your fiber hand should have a very loose grip on your fiber.  If you hold your supply tightly, fewer fibers can be drawn into the twist zone.      

Test this out at the spin-in, tonight!  Make sure that you have joined the guild to get the Zoom link! 

Emily Davis-Hale

Ask Jillian: Parallel Drafting Tips

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Dear Jillian, 

I am having the worst time parallel drafting! My fibers don’t draft well, there’s clumping, and one color frequently falls away. Can you give me some tips to make it easier? 

~Tess (and others) in Jillian’s class at Maryland Sheep and Wool

Hi Tess, 

Parallel drafting may be my favorite color spinning technique, but it was super awkward for me when I first started. I felt like I was trying to spin with my toes! 

Here are my tips to create an even marl in your singles so you can have wonderfully speckled and blended colors in your ply. I hope one or all of them work for you to make parallel drafting easier! 

Fiber 

It helps when you are first learning to parallel draft to use fibers that are close in staple length. Corriedale and Falkland or Merino and Polwarth are great places to start, and when those feel comfy, move to combos like Corriedale and BFL or Merino and Merino/silk. Keep practicing and you’ll get to the point where you can parallel draft almost any fibers together.  

Preparing Your Fibers 

This may be the most important tip: use less fiber than you want to. Not what you want to hear, I know, but it makes such a difference. 

I measure my fiber with my fingers. I use two-fingers’ width of fiber, after it’s been fully fluffed. 

I open my fibers horizontally and measure the strips of fiber to use. If I am drafting two braids or two solid colors together, I use a finger’s width of each color; if I’m using a natural color and a braid, I use 2/3 of my two-finger’s width of the braid and 1/3 of the natural color. 

It’s easy to try to parallel draft without opening your fibers all the way, but that leads to less-than-smooth drafting and clumping. 

After I open and strip my fibers, I hold them side by side and pre-draft them together. I slowly, vertically attenuate them, which helps the fibers grab onto each other before drafting at the wheel even begins. 

You can do it just with your hands, or you can pull them through a diz, using a handcard or comb to hold your fibers. 

Tension and speed 

One of the rudest things to say to a spinner is “slow down.” We want to get our yarn done fast so we can bask in its gorgeousness and get on to our next yarn. But if you slow down overall while you are learning to parallel draft, it makes a huge difference. Slowing down helps you draft more easily and keeps both fibers together. 

Once you feel like you have the technique down, you can move back to Speed Racer mode. 

Finding a way to equally tension the pieces of fiber will help keep one fiber from falling away while you are drafting. I’ve found that putting a finger from my fiber (back) hand in between the two strips of fiber allows me to tension them equally, change the tension between the two if one strip feels fatter, and notice quickly if one strip falls away.  

Want Jillian or Jacey to take a stab at your question? Tell us what you want to know:

Ask Jacey and Jillian Your Questions!
Guest Blogger

Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild: Preserving the Ancient Art of Handspinning 

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by Ron Tyler 

In the nineteenth century, the Genesee County area in upstate New York had many individuals spinning wool and flax to provide textiles for their families and for the barter system that provided many goods and services. Spinning was done on great wheels and saxony wheels that many pioneers brought with them across the state from the New England states. The main purpose was for clothing and to supply linens for their daily lives. Nearly every household was spinning for garments and weaving for textiles. 

Upstate New York saw many heritage breeds of sheep, which were the main source of their spinning fiber–producing animals. Many farms in upstate New York also had many acres of flax growing. There were approximately 46 thousand acres of flax produced by families in upstate New York. That process was labor intensive to get linen for clothing and bedding. 

In 1985 a small group of like-minded individuals formed the Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild. They had the tenacity and skill to develop their craft. The guild mission statement was to preserve the ancient art of handspinning and to educate themselves and the public on the history and skill of spinning fibers into yarn. Their skills expanded not only to spinning but to weaving, crochet, and knitting. In reality, it birthed a generation that used fibers for many arts and crafts today. 

The spinning guild became the launching ground for many to become modern sheep farmers and mill owners to process wool. They educated many to work in textiles and in local museums to preserve that history. I, like many others, are the products of those wonderful individuals who formed the guild and educated their members in spinning, weaving, and the skills necessary to be successful spinners of wool, flax, and other fibers. 

The early years of the guild saw many natural-colored sheep wool and fibers. The dawn of color and dyeing fibers brought many skills to spinning. Many spinners saw the creations of colorwork sweaters, garments, blankets, and many socks and shawls. This led into indie dyers and the frenzy of color in the hands of skilled spinners. 

In 1995 the guild created The Finger Lakes Fiber Festival held at the local fairgrounds. This yearly festival ran for 25 years, eventually growing to offer over 80 venders and to attract thousands of people. This festival included many opportunities for demonstrations and educational classes. We have since scaled back and now offer The Shepherd’s Wool Market, which is a smaller event. We continue to offer demonstrations and educational classes to support our mission statement. 

Our guild programs have been focused on the skills needed to be successful at individual endeavors, teaching skills in drafting techniques, fiber preparation, spinning wheel maintenance, and use of color. We have incorporated a sheep breed study that has delved into the breeds available and their uses for different textiles. We are gradually building our knowledge on the use of color, especially how to manipulate color at the spinning wheel with braids and the use of stash wool with parallel drafting techniques. We continue to strive and provide education for our members and the public. Occasionally our monthly meeting will consist of us sitting and spinning as a group with no agenda. 

The Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild continues to this day, recently celebrating its 40th anniversary. We continue to be like-minded individuals preserving this ancient art of handspinning. Modern day spinning provides many guild members yards of yarn. Spinning provides a sense of pleasure, joy, therapy, and self care to the modern spinner, our guild members among them. 

The challenge that the guild faces is bringing this craft to the next generation. We are using our collective experiences to encourage and refresh the guild’s presence in the next generation. 

Ron Tyler, a retired nurse, is president of the Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild. He has been spinning for close to 20 years and is an avid collector of antique spinning wheels. He is also a historical interpreter in textiles at a local museum with an expertise in the history of flax. 

Are you part of a fiber guild with a great history or a guild that is doing truly innovative work?  We want to know about you! 

Submit your proposal here!

Meagan Condon

By the Books: Using Older Texts to Inform Our Modern Understanding of Fiber 

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By Meagan Condon 

I love the smell of old books. It is a smell that goes nicely with the smell of fresh fleece and hot coffee. My perfect afternoon would probably involve pivoting between scouring a fleece, one small bag at a time, and curling up in the living room next to a stack of old non-fiction books. 

There seems to be a lot of crossover between book people and fiber people. It is part of why I spend so much time researching fiber arts. I love to play with fiber, but I am always looking for deeper meaning about how and why it behaves the way it does. 

Right now, thanks to my local library, Sheep and Man by Michael L Ryder, an 856-page tome – and I do mean tome – published in the UK in 1983, sits half-read on my nightstand. Published more than 40 years ago, this book is touted by some to be the definitive work on the history of the domestication of sheep – which is interesting, considering it isn’t in publication and used copies are so rare they go for more than my car payment. 

Version 1.0.0

Definitive is a dangerous word, to me. It gives us the illusion that knowledge is finite and unchanging, neither of which is true. New science comes along and answers questions we didn’t have answers for, which changes our understanding of things we thought we knew. In the handspinning community, we are particularly at risk of thinking that the knowledge and history of the craft never changes. It worked 500 years ago, so it should work the same way today. 

The truth is, as soon as something is published, it is outdated. As a general rule, I approach any text older than 10 years with this fact tucked neatly in the back of my mind, and as I read, I question just about every fact that I don’t already have a clear understanding of (and even some facts which I do). 

For example, Ryder points out that the proteins in sheep and goat wool are different, which indicates they likely diverged evolutionarily before they were domesticated. This made me curious – did more current microscopy and DNA analysis support this? So I set my book down, picked up my tablet, and began to research the difference between goat and sheep hair proteins. 

In my further research, I learned that wool and cashmere are primarily made from keratin, the same protein our hair and nails are made from. However, they contained different keratin-associated proteins (KRTAPs) and the arrangement and amount of these additional proteins was different. 

In fact, KRTAPs not only differed between ruminant species but also proved to be a determining factor in how fine, strong, and flexible a fiber is within a breed of sheep or goats. 

This gave me additional information in support of what Ryder said four decades ago. Ryder didn’t have all the answers, though it would have been easy for me to just accept his word on the matter. After all, he was the expert! That said, his voice wasn’t able to give me the full picture of how goat and sheep hair differed. What it gave me was the right questions to ask. 

An hour and a half diversion from my book, a fresh cup of coffee, and 4 tablespoons of wool wash later, and I can finally move to the next paragraph, page 19. I’ve got a long afternoon ahead of me. 

References 

Li S, Xi Q, Zhao F, Wang J, He Z, Hu J, Liu X, Luo Y. “A highly polymorphic caprine keratin-associated protein gene identified and its effect on cashmere traits.” J Anim Sci. 2021 Sep 1;99(9):skab233. doi: 10.1093/jas/skab233. PMID: 34370022; PMCID: PMC8442941. 

Ryder, M. L. (2007). Sheep & Man. Duckworth. 

Zhang C, Qin Q, Liu Z, Xu X, Lan M, Xie Y, Wang Z, Li J, Liu Z. “Identification of the key proteins associated with different hair types in sheep and goats.” Front Genet. 2022 Sep 23;13:993192. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.993192. PMID: 36212123; PMCID: PMC9539809. 

Zhanzhao, Chen & Cao, Jian & Zhao, Fang & He, Zhaohua & Sun, Hongxian & Wang, Jiqing & Liu, Xiu & Li, Shaobin. (2023). “Identification of the Keratin-Associated Protein 22-2 Gene in the Capra hircus and Association of Its Variation with Cashmere Traits.” Animals. 13. 2806. 10.3390/ani13172806. 

Guest Blogger

Third Thursdays Guild Tips

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As we ramp up for tonight’s PLY Spinners Guild Third Thursday foundational spin-in, we’d like to take a moment to feature some tips from one of our wonderful PLY Guild spin-in leaders, Terri Guerette. 

What should I bring to a workshop? 

Although not something to bring to a workshop, one of the reminders I often offer to people taking my workshops is to make sure your tetanus shots are up to date. We work with a lot of sharp tools that are sometimes used on raw fleece. So we really need to make sure we protect our health! 

There are a lot of factors to consider when taking a workshop. How long is the workshop? Where is it being held? But the most important thing is to pay close attention to the class description for the items you should be bringing to class. If there is anything in the description that you are unsure of, please don’t hesitate to contact the instructor. 

My next recommendation is to make sure your items are clearly marked with your name since many of us have the same or similar equipment. 

Beyond that, you can consider bringing a myriad of things, including but not limited to a repair kit with the items you may need for your specific wheel; documentation supplies (notebook, pen/pencil, labels, bags); and personal care items (hand sanitizer, snacks, water bottle, throat lozenges). 

Last but not least, it’s usually a good idea to have one or more of your shawls/sweaters with you because workshop environments can be quite varied. Besides, it’s so much fun to share the things we’ve made with our friends, old and new! 

For a more in-depth discussion of this topic, see: 

“The Ultimate Spinning Toolbag,” PLY Magazine (Winter 2017): 44–48 

“Power Learning,” PLY Magazine (Autumn 2018): 34–37 

Also, if you haven’t already seen the news… 

Season two has begun!  
The first episode of the second (worsted) season has dropped and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 

  • Four spinning segments  
  • Three teachers: Maggie Casey, Heavenly Bresser, and Jacey 
  • 2 hours of spinning content 
  • Jacey has included a new intro to the guild (which you should totally watch, it has lots of new info) 
  • And two teacher teas (from last year) for the teachers in this episode (which if you haven’t seen them yet, they’re delightful) 

It’s a great episode filled with lots of worsted drafting, and it will get you ready for everything else we’re going to do this season.  

Also a reminder! Sunday, April 20 there will be no guild spin-in! 

This is Easter Sunday so we’ve decided to not hold the spin-in, but don’t worry, we’re going to make it up with a fantastic giveaway at the next Sunday spin-in. (Remember when we spent that whole spin-in looking at a fancy new carder? Well…) 

Emily Davis-Hale

Ask Jacey: How Do I Improve My Joins?

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I’ve heard lots of people talk about how there are different joins for different kinds of spinning. I’m not even super good at the one join I do (I kind of tease out the fiber at the end of my new yarn and then lay new fiber over it and hope it all gets twisted together when I start treadling again). Is that a good join and are there better ones? Will you cover these in the guild? ~Melanie, PA, USA

Dear Melanie,  

Joins are something many spinners struggle with, so you are absolutely not alone. There are several different types of joins and lots of ways to do each of them. What you want to learn (and practice) is a good join for the types of yarns you spin (and yes, we’ll cover every join imaginable in the guild).  

Before I get too far into different joins and how to do them, I want to say this to newer spinners: Don’t let this get in your head. If you’re new to spinning and you are getting any join to stay together, rejoice and keep spinning. Joining can be hard at first (I promise it will get easier, automatic even). Come back to expanding your joining repertoire later, when you’re comfortable and ready. This is not something you must know right now. Okay, for Melanie and anyone ready to work on joins, here we go. 

Different joins for different yarn 

I’m not sure what kind of yarns you spin, but maybe you spin enough different types of yarns that one join doesn’t suit them all. If you sometimes spin woolen and sometimes spin worsted (or even sometimes semi-woolen and sometimes semi-worsted), you’ll want a join for each of those. After all, a woolen yarn is fuzzy, airy, and lofty, and you probably don’t want smooth flat spots at each place you had to join new fiber (which you’d get if you use a worsted join on a woolen yarn). Conversely, a worsted yarn is smooth, lustrous, and dense, and you don’t want a fuzzy, airy, matte spot standing out wherever you joined, right? 

Things that are true for every join 

  • You are always joining fiber to fiber, never fiber to yarn. If you don’t have a bit of fiber opened at the end of the yarn you’re spinning, stop and tease a bit out. 
  • Your new fiber and old fiber should not act like they are new or old. They should act like the same fiber, as if they’re all from the same fiber source.  
  • The area of yarn with the join should be the same diameter as the rest of your yarn. If that’s not possible – and we’re not machines so it’s often not – it should be thinner than the surrounding yarn. Twist goes to and stays in thinner areas of yarn, so if the area with your join is thinner, it’ll hold together better. If it’s thicker and your join isn’t perfect, it won’t hold.  

A worsted join  

I’ve seen worsted joins done so many different ways, but a few things should be true: 

  • Allow no twist between your hands 
  • Smooth and compress fibers after you make the join 
  • Keep both the old fiber and the new fiber under equal tension 
  • Do a short forward draft during the join, even if you’re otherwise spinning short backwards 

As long as you do those things, your worsted join will look just like the rest of your worsted yarn. The key now is making sure your worsted join is secure. That key is mostly in those last two points plus the points that are true for every join – equal tension, using a short forward draft, joining fiber to fiber, treating the new fiber like the old fiber, and making the area of join the same or a thinner diameter. I made a short video to show you what I mean (remember that this is just one type of worsted join; there are others).

A woolen join  

I find woolen joins to be a bit easier than worsted joins. Woolen yarns are more grabby than worsted yarns and also not quite as picky. There are several ways to do a woolen join, but they all have a few things in common. Those things they have in common are the things that make these yarns woolen instead of worsted: 

  • Let twist between your hands 
  • Don’t smooth the fibers 
  • Don’t compress the fibers; leave that air in there 

As long as you’re doing those three things, you’re making a woolen join that won’t stick out in your woolen yarn. But just like the worsted join, you also want to make sure it’s secure. Since woolen yarns are a little more in chaotic than worsted yarns, the process for making a join is less specific. You just need to get the two fiber sources together, thinking they’re one, and introduce twist to them. My favorite way to do this is to take the new fiber and fold it around the last little bit of yarn I spun (making sure there’s some unspun fiber at the end), draft it forward or backwards just a bit, letting the fibers catch, then continue drafting. It sounds easy because it is! I made a short video of a woolen join here (again, remember that this is just one way to do a woolen join).

Experiment and find your joins 

So that’s it! But not really, right? These are just guidelines (and one video example of each join). As long as you follow the guidelines for each type of join, experiment and see what works for you. You can still tease your fiber end out and then lay them together. In fact, that could be the start for either a woolen or a worsted join. Just make sure that the amount of fiber you have teased out won’t twist together and make a bulkier section in your yarn. 

From there, you just have to change what you do next to fit the yarn you’re spinning. If it’s woolen, let twist enter those two teased-out sections without straightening them out or aligning the fibers. Resist smoothing your hands over the join (I say resist because I always want to). If it’s a worsted yarn you’re spinning, you do want to straighten out those teased fibers and keep your hands surrounding the fiber, one in front of what will be the join and one behind it. Slowly let twist enter the two fiber sources that are teased together, smoothing and compressing as you also start to draft again.  

It might feel like a lot of things happening at once, but that’s the nature of spinning, right? Everything is happening all at once but you’ll get it, and don’t worry if it doesn’t work the first time – it’s only two inches of fiber, so just break it off and start again. That’s the beauty of spinning. We make it inch by inch, and if we’re unhappy with a particular inch, it’s just an inch. 

Good luck, 

jacey 

Emily Davis-Hale

Mood Board: Summer 2026 – Purpose

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Mood Board: Summer 2026 – Purpose

Proposals due by: June 1, 2025

Final work due by: December 1, 2025

Although spinning up a gorgeous skein of yarn seems like a project in and of itself, ultimately most handspun yarn is used to create something else. So how do you spin with a purpose in mind? We want to hear about it! 

What crafts do you use your handspun yarn for? Knitting? Crochet? Weaving? Embroidery? Macrame? Rug making? Mixed media art? Each one can have specific needs for the yarn, and we want to explore those qualities in this issue. 

What makes a yarn a good knitting yarn? What are some changes in that yarn to make it better for crochet? Does it make a difference if you’re using knitting needles, working on a knitting loom, or cranking a sock machine? Does Tunisian crochet have the same yarn needs as crochet? 

What about weaving? What are the qualities that work best for the warp vs the weft? Do you want to use different yarns if you’re using a rigid heddle loom vs a table loom? What about tablet weaving? 

Do you use handspun for embroidery or visible mending? What kinds of yarns work best for those crafts?  

When you have a specific project in mind, what kinds of questions do you ask yourself before you start spinning? How do you determine what characteristics a yarn needs? What are those characteristics? From the technical (twist per inch, ply structure, wraps per inch) to the yarn qualities (drape, shine, warmth, sturdiness, loft), how do you know what decisions to make? 

What about repurposing? Do you use recycled materials in your spinning? Have you used handspun yarn to upcycle or modify something already made? 

Tell us about your spinning community. Do you have a group that spins for a cause or a charity? 

What about tools? How have you used something else as a spinning tool or used a spinning tool in an unusual way? 

And this issue wouldn’t be complete without some patterns. We’re always looking for knitting, crochet, or weaving patterns, but we’d like to see an embroidery pattern or another craft pattern for our readers to make with their own handspun. 

Proposals are due by June 1, 2025. You’ll hear back from us in July 2025, and final articles are due December 1, 2025. 

Submit your article idea now!