Plying Sample Along: Spinning Singles to Stay Singles

Did you get your 2-ply and 3-ply yarns made? Isn't it facinating how different they look just as yarn?

Now it's time to spin our singles that will stay singles. If you've never spun singles that will stay singles it can be tricky. Like many things in spinning the concept is easy, but it takes practice.

The key thing is to spin a yarn with less twist. When we spin a single to ply, we are adding extra twist. When we ply that yarn in the opposite direction that extra twist is removed.

The practice comes in spinning and recognizing what that 'less twist' is. Because I am more of a visual spinner I use a plyback sample, even though I won't be plying. I want my plyback smaple to look like a 2-ply that I wouldn't really want to use, like it wouldn't hold up well for a project.

If you are a measuring spinner, try spinning with about 30% less twist when you measure the twist angle.

Here are two plyback samples, the one on the left is the one I used for for my singles to stay singles, the one on the right is for my singles that were plied.

When I get a plyback sample with the twist I think will work, I give the single a tug between my hands to make sure it has enough twist to not drift apart.

The easiest way to spin with less twist is to change your wheel setting. Spin your singles to stay singles yarn on a bigger whorl than you would spin your singles to ply.

You can see the difference in my two blue yarns, moving from my Lendrum’s smallest whorl to the biggest.

If changing whorl size isn’t enough, or you don’t have a bigger whorl, you can treadle slower. Increasing your uptake just a little can help too, it gets your yarn onto the bobbin faster, before it can accumulate more twist.

When you take your singles that will stay singles off of your niddy noddy and it curls up all over the place - do not despair! A good finish is important for singles. The upper right photo is my singles fresh off of my niddy - sproing!

Here is my green yarn after a regular ‘soak, roll in a towel, snap, and hang’ finish. Amazing isn’t it? Even though there is a twist at the bottom it will not bias when I knit with it. Whacking is another good finish for singles.

The process of whacking wet yarn causes the yarn to draw in a little, stabilizing it. Whacking does disturb the surface of a yarn, so if you want a yarn with a smooth surface you may not want to whack.

Now we have our three yarns, our next step is to knit swatches and marvel at the differences.

Grey Got Me

Natural greys

Sometimes colors sneak up on me. I fully embrace my love of all the greens and rich purples, but other colors slide in over time. There's a pale blue that I've become a fan of, and yellow, of all the dasterdly colors is starting to grown on me, though it is decidedly of the Gluden's mustard variety.

Dyed grey.

But grey, grey has been wiggling its way into my stash for awhile and I just noticed. Oatmeal BFL is big for me, and that's a greyish brown. I think that's how grey got in. There are many natural greys that have brown in them, and that has become irrisistable. It was only a matter of time before I slid to steelier natural greys. Then it was a quick step to dyed greys, some are blue-ish, and I have a charcoal grey that I can see green in.

Sneaky grey

There is such a variety in greys, maybe more than brown. I guess it was inevitible. Plus it mixes and blends so well with so many colors, making them a little earthier. Do not speak to me of grellow, just no. Well, does Gluden's and that mossy charcoal count?

Two things this week brought grey irrevocably home for me. I had to buy t-pins. I have no idea where all of my t-pins are. I double-masked and did a quick dart into Joann's. A quick dart into Joann's includes grabbing some DMC floss that catches my eye. Behold my selection.

Yep

Two days later I got a fiber order from Into the Whirled. Shetland and silk, I was very excited, it looked so beautiful on the computer.

The colorway is Traveler, it is beautiful and mostly grey.

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Plying Sample Along: Fingers and Hands for Control and Singles to Stay Singles

I have had a crazy ammount of insomnia, so I am a little behind with our Plying Sample Along.

I want to note that we will be spinning our singles that will stay singles, seperately. They need a different amount of twist, and it can be a bit tricky.

My left hand doesn’t move when I ply

Feeling like I have control over my singles when you are plying is something I find very important. If I don’t feel like I am controlling my singles, my plying can get quite wonky. Yes, that is a technical term. But I know you’ve seen it and experienced it, one ply wraps around the other, the ply is really uneven. The best way I find to feel in control of my plying is how I position my hands.

I do a couple of things that help me maintain constant, and even tension on my plies, both I learned form Judith Mackenzie in class at Rhinebeck approximately 100 years ago.

My fingers are between the plies front and back, and the yarn is pretty taunt.

I keep fingers between the plies, and I keep my back hand locked at my hip and don’t move it.

You can see in the photo that my back (left) hand is at my hip, it never moves from there. I also have a finger between the two plies. The static hand allows me to tension consistently, I am pulling both plies until they are almost taunt. I am not gripping it tightly, the yarn can slide freely. The finger between, helps me catch unevenness in the plies, like if one ply has a pigtail, or a snarl. I can do this comfortably, with control, up to four plies.

I move only my front hand (for me it’s my right hand)when I ply. More often than not I keep fingers between the plies with my front hand too. I feel like I can give the yarn a little more tension if I need to that way, and can really get the plies to settle in together.

Here’s an awkward photo, but it shows which fingers I use between plies.

When I ply, I move my right hand back and forth. Sometimes I ply just by look and sometimes I ply counting treadles. With my left hand anchored back and out of the way, I have an excellent clear view of my yarn for the whole stretch that it’s plying, until it winds onto the bobbin.

Since I’ve started using my fingers between the plies I have had so many fewer pigtails and knots slip through. If a ply breaks or if I do have a twist or a knot come though, I have my plies literally in hand in two places, and I can stop, fasten my yarn on my wheel, repair or untwist with greater ease.

If you have trouble keeping your plying consistent, consider trying one or more parts of my method.

If you are one of my Patrons, I will have a quick video up for you tomorrow, showing my plying method in action.

Is It Wrong to Love an Oil Pen?

Garrett Wade Pinpoint Precision Oiler. Photo from the Garrett Wade website.

I have long had an adversarial relationship with oil pens for my spinning wheels. I spin a lot so I oil my wheels a lot.

Some pens/oilers release too much oil at the slightest provocation, which then drips or sprays everywhere when my flyer turns. The ones I like, the small tubes that are really for clocks, are made of plastic and usually crack and ooze in my spinning bag.

I have been hunting for years for a great oiler. I finally found one in the [Garrett Wade Tool Catalog][1]. They have something called a [Pinpoint Precesion Oiler][2], and it is my new favorite tool.

There is a button to click at the top, that triggers one drop of oil at the tip. I have not over oiled my wheel since I started using this oiler. It's made of aliuminum and has rubber gaskets that really seal. I have had no leaks and so far I haven't crushed it.

I got it for Christmas and have been using it exclusively since then, and just ordered two more, to spread accross my spinning spots.

It's not cheap, at $16.60 it's close to double the price of the pen oilers. But to keep my wheels oiled, with less mess, it's worth it to me.

Because I know someone will ask, I use 30W motor oil on my wheels.

Be careful when you go to the Garrett Wade website, there are so many great and interesting tools. It can be dangerous to your bank account.

How tempting? I made myself buy my oilers first, then go back to peruse every section. 1: https://garrettwade.com/ [2]: https://garrettwade.com/product/pinpoint-precision-oiler

Plying Sample Along: Spinning Singles to Ply

How will you spin your singles?

There are two ways you can go, and only you know which one will work best with how you learn and study.

1) Spin all of your singles at once to the same size, then divide onto storage bobbins and ply. Pro: All singles are the same, size and twist. Con: Yarns and swatchesare different sizes. This is disconcerting to some spinners. I have seen eye twitching when these spinners examine my samples.

2) Spin singles to match finished size of yarn – a 2-ply to end as a DK, a 3-ply to end as a DK. Pro: Finished yarns and swatches same size. Con: Singles are different are different sizes and may have different twists. This makes some other spinners twitchy.

I do singles all at once and then divide onto storage bobbins. Because, I won’t lie to you, I’m lazy. But I also want my yarns to be the most the same at their core, same fiber, same draft, and same singles. The differing size of finished yarns and swatches doesn’t bother me.

I know that to spin finer singles to make my 3-ply yarn match the size of my 2-ply yarn, would mean more twist in my singles, and for me that changes an extra element in my experiment.

Please don’t ask me to tell you what size your singles need to be to get a yarn a particular finished size. That’s a whole different experiment, because it depends on all of the usual spinning suspects used to build a yarn. For example, think of two different drafting styles – airy woolen singles will need to be a different size than dense worsted singles to make a DK yarn.

This is why there’s never a chart that says to get a 2-ply yarn that is 14 WPI, your singles need to be X WPI, because it depends on all the things. This is something I want to dig into later, it's facinating. I don't get out much.

So now choose your path and spin your singles for your 2-ply and 3-ply yarns.

Next time, I’ll give you some tips on plying consistently.

I have started a spinning Patreon! I’m keeping it pretty simple with three levels, that include more information on our Sample Alongs, peeks behind the scenes on my ongoing work, current fiber obsessions, and monthly, live Zoom get togethers.

Many spinners have asked for more and ongoing spinning information after they take a class or read one of my articles or posts, and I think Patreon is a great way to get you the information you want.

Thank you for your support!

Plying Sample Along: The Beginning

Plying for knitting is one of my favorite things to think about and to plan for projects.

My plying samples knit into different stitch patterns are the samples that students in my classes are most facinated by. I see so many lighbulbs go off in thir spinning thnking as they compare the samples.

I made my original samples in 2013 for my spinning column in Knitty and the process of making different plied yarns all at once, and then knitting them in the same stitch patterns forever changed how I thought about the effect of ply in knitting.

I want to remake my samples (they are looking a little tired) and I thought plying for knitting would be a great topic for our next Sample Along.

Are you ready to ply and knit?

We are going to make three yarns, and knit three swatches out of each yarn. We’ll make a 2-ply, a 3-ply, and a singles that will stay a singles. Each yarn will be knit into stockinette, cable and lace swatches.

You’ll need some natural or light colored dyed fiber. I will probably use 3-4 ounces, because I like to have yarn left over after I knit my swatches, and the yarn I spin is not particualry fine. Your fiber mileage will vary. My pile of current swatches weighs in at 2.25 ounces. They are spun from BFL top with a woolen draft, and range from DK to heavy worsted.

Use a fiber you love to spin, and spin your default yarn. The focus of this Sample Along is learning about what your plies do to your knitting. Making and using a yarn for sampling that you make and use frequently will be most helpful to your future spinning and knitting. These samples can show you how your future yarns behave and look, where you might want to make changes, and will be great for planning projects.

Please use a light colored, natural, solid or semi solid fiber, you want to be able to see your plies and knitted stitches without a spotlight and a magnifying glass.

You need your regular spinning tools - a wheel or a spindle, extra bobbins, or storage bobbins, and a Lazy Kate. Make sure to grab your favorite office supplies to label skeins and swatches.

Gather your supplies and next week I will talk about two different ways to organize your spin.

What Made Me Smile This Week

It felt really good last week to choose things that cheered me up during the week. It made me more aware of good things as they happened this week. So here are three more things that made me smile, lifted me up, or comforted me.

We put our tree up. No one is feeling the usual frenzy of Christmas joy in our house this year, but putting the tree up helped to set the tone for some festive times.

Today, we slid some gifts under the tree and even the teen smiled.

I am the most impatient weaver in all the land.

I am fighting finding the time to work on my tiny tapestry class with Rebecca Mezoff. And let me tell you, when I do find time, it’s not pretty.

I have taken out more weft than I have left in, and cussed a blue streak when it hasn’t been easy or fast. I was paralyzed overthinking which header to use for a week.

But let me tell you, I am enjoying the hell out of it. I’m really enjoying being new at something, and learning something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

I had a great class. My Yarnitecture class for Stitches concluded last Saturday. I had a great bunch of spinners who asked many, many fantastic questions.

It was one of those really good mixes of topic and people, I was a little sad that it ended. I felt really lifted up by the creative energy we had in class.

A special thanks to the nurses, physician’s assistants and doctors who took care of my girl when she rolled into the ER, in the middle of the night, with kidney stones and a huge kidney infection this week. I know you have bigger public health worries right now, so thank you so much for taking such good and careful care of her.

Three Things That Are Cheering Me Up Right Now

It’s December! I can’t wait to say goodby to this year. I have been busily teaching, and making lists and plans. It really is nice to see smiling spinners on my computer screen.

Lately, I’ve been making a real effort to notice small things that make me smile, small contentments. Here are three from this week.

My advent calendar. Who doesn’t love a little bit of chocolate before breakfast? My grandparents were German and sent me a chocolate advent calendar every year growing up.

Now I buy a big stack every year and hand them out to friends and family, spreading the chocolate joy.

I made Henry a hat and he loves it. I used Kate Atherley’s new brilliant book Custom Fit Hats and Harrisville’s Nightshades yarn in Talk Radio (black with purple). Henry has lots of curly hair and it’s always been hard to get a fit right on a hat, Kate’s book solved that in our first go. It’s also a great book for knitting hats with handspun.

This is the only thing I have finished, that is not work or a swatch, since Covid started. I may have gotten a bit misty over it.

I’ve started a new book every day for the past two weeks, and none of them have stuck. This morning I started The Duke & I by Julia Quinn. It’s the book the series Bridgerton (Netflix, starting Christmas day.) is based on. It is such frothy fun, that I am promising myself one chapter after every work task I finish today.

What has made you smile lately?