Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Back to the wheel

As loyal readers know, I got totally jazzed up about spinning sock yarn over the winter break. This excitement was fueled by the winter issue of PLY Magazine, which I read on our long road trip to Texas. I got home and decided to ease back in by spinning for a "3-ply 2 ways" project. The basic idea is to split your fiber in half. Spin one half as a traditional 3-ply, and the other half as a chain-ply (which is also 3 plies). When you knit socks, alternate from the two skeins every 4-5 rows. The result is harmonious yet distinct stripes. The sock sample from the issue can be viewed here.

I decided to devote my in-stash braid of Southdown top to this project. I have spun with Sasha's Southdown top (from sheepspot.com) twice before, and it is amazing to work with. Here is the first half of the braid spun as singles:

I rewound all my singles before plying. The 3 little bobbins are for the traditional 3-ply; the chain-ply will be made from the larger bobbin.


The plying went smoothly, but the two skeins are pretty different. The top one is chain-plied; the bottom one is traditional 3-ply. Can you see the difference?


I think the chain-ply is the better skein! Look at the close up:


The plied yarn is so much more even. Maybe this is because I spun that half of the braid second? I started the first half in early January, and then I got really sick. I quit spinning for a couple of weeks. I finished up those singles later, and then did the chain-ply bobbin.

Here is the traditional 3-ply close up:

It may be that these differences don't show up much in the finished sock (stay tuned to find out). But it's a reminder to me that it's quite possible to get rusty and that spinning a little every day results in better yarn.

I wanted to get another project on the wheel right away, and I wanted it to be something totally different. A palette cleanser, if you will. So I grabbed this braid of HipStrings fiber that I purchased at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival last fall:

This is a blend of 37.5% BFL, 37.5% Shetland wool, 12.5% viscose (bamboo), and 12.5% tussah silk. It is sooooooo different from the single breed roving or top that I usually spin. First of all, it's hella slippery! After a little experimenting, I decided it was best to chunk the fiber and spin it from the fold with a short forward draw. This kept it from flying out of my fingers too quickly. I also slowed down my wheel (to 12.5:1). Yet, the singles still seemed to have more twist than I wanted them to.

I intended to make a 2-ply yarn, and I decided to try plying from a center pull ball. Look, so pretty!

But what a disaster! The singles had too much twist to behave, and I found myself fighting for every draft. I stopped and wound my center pull ball into a plying ball:
At this point, I wondered whether I should have run my singles back through the wheel to remove some twist before plying... but I felt like I was too far along to go back. Onward! Here is the finished skein:

It's not great. I think it looks a little weirder than it is, though. It almost reminds me of a cabled yarn in appearance, because the singles were so tweedy to begin with. Ply two tweedy single together, and the result looks like a cabled yarn. Here's a close up:
I am pleased to say that at least the finished yarn is softer than I expected it to be. I guess that's the viscose and silk talking?

Bottom line: combining these fibers together into a bit of a Frankenblend makes for a challenging spin. I have one more braid that is like this in construction, and I'll have to think about how best to approach it. Any suggestions?

I spent this morning's allotment of before-work spinning time lining up my next project. It will be Cheviot fiber in a crepe yarn construction (which I've never done before). More learning on the horizon.


1 comment:

  1. Interesting spinning, and I'm glad you shared your learning with us. I'm learning, too, even if I'm not actually spinning myself. I'm really interested in seeing how these look when knit (especially the striped socks)!

    ReplyDelete