Batty for woolen

I’m still on my “learn to spin woolen yarn” kick and this is my latest project:

This yarn was spun from a batt I bought at MDSW in 2012 from A Paca Fun Fiberworks. It is an art batt made of alpaca, bamboo, silk, and firestar (that’s the sparkle – hard to see in photos but not in person). Here is what the batt looked like before spinning:

I eyeballed it and tried to split it evenly into two sections. That didn’t work so well, as I have a bit left on one bobbin… but here is how the singles looked on the bobbins: I plied this a little more aggressively than I usually do, thanks to a recent post by Jacey Boggs on her blog called PLY like an eagle. Specifically, she says:

Woolen and worsted yarns don’t get the same amount of ply twist.  It’s true.  A woolen yarn’s structure is in the PLY, that’s what really holds that light and fluffy thing together.  It’s what gives it strength and the ability to ward off the dreaded pill.  It needs more ply-twist than singles-twist.  For reals.  Worsted yarn, on the other hand, has it’s structure in the single and it wants less ply-twist, relatively speaking.  Truth.

Since I spun the singles woolen on a 14:1 whorl, I plied them on the 16:1 end of the whorl (which is faster). I drafted the exact same amount, which meant I inserted MORE twist in plying than I did in the original spinning. And I like the result! Take a close look at the final twist angle:

This skein of 2-ply is about 195 yards and weighs 90 grams. I still have some singles on one bobbin that I need to split so I can continue to ply, but I don’t think I’ll get a whole lot more yarn. This skein is lovely. Suggestions for what to make? I’m all ears. This spinning spurt is going so well that I’m going to join Spinzilla next month. Whee!