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But this is the year I will learn to spin. Almost fifteen years later, my mother has upgraded to a new spinning wheel and refurbished her original wheel, packaging it with a pair of handcards and some beautiful Blue Leicester roving for my birthday. After one lesson with her, I left for home to continue learning on my own.
I love the new control I have over the yarn I am creating. Will my first skein be a single, two-ply, three-ply, or four-ply yarn? Due to the consistency of my singles, or lack thereof, I think my first plying attempt will yield a three-ply yarn, hopefully allowing the multiple strands to add a bit of balance or at least a more interesting yarn.
The comprehensive articles in Spin-Off are invaluable as I take my first steps toward becoming a competent spinner, and I can't wait to see what each new issue of Spin-Off will teach me. Subscribe to Spin-Off today for in-depth technique articles as well as project patterns and tips. Best wishes,
P.S. I would love to hear about your first spinning experience. Please share your adventures below. |
I pulled out the back issues of Spin Off I had been carefully saving for just this circumstance. In the first article I read, Maggie Casey and Margaret Tullis discussed twist. As a crocheter, I know that an S-twist or counterclockwise-spun yarn, the twist commonly used in commercial yarns, will open up or untwist slightly when worked with a hook and sometimes loosen the ply, and a Z-twist or clockwise-spun yarn will gain additional twist even if worked in the exact same pattern. But it hadn't occurred to me that I could now create my own Z-twist yarn, my favorite for crochet, simply by spinning the wheel in the opposite direction.
In the Winter 2007 issue, I found several great tips on keeping records of the process for each yarn skein, from how it is prepared to the final twists per inch (tpi). I will definitely be tracking each step as I am sure I have much to learn from each attempt.