Spin-Off Magazine

 

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

…Read more…

 

Ply - The Magazine for Handspinners - Flyer-Led Summer 2018 Issue 21

…Read more…

Related items of interest: • Spinning Magazines

Spin-Off Magazine

 

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

…Read more…

 

The wonderful and multi-talented Rose, who many of you know from calling the shop or stopping by, is guest posting this week to share this great new fiber item she’s just gotten ready for you – enjoy!

…Read more…

Related items of interest: • Our fibers

Spin-Off Magazine: Wonderful Weaving

 

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

…Read more…

Dyeing Multicolored Fibers

 

 

 

The result was pretty cool! As expected, the lighter fiber stayed a lighter shade of blue than the darker. What’s more, the darker fiber in this blend is brown so the darker blue has a slightly different hue than the other, which gives great tonality to the final look. I’d love to see how other colors would show up on this fiber! Natural dyes will probably behave more similarly to the Indigo, but lighter shades of acid dyes can have interesting tonal results as well.

 
Smooth BFL singles (left) and thick and thin singles (right).

I split my little sample in half and spun the first half into smooth singles. The other half I spun into a thick and thin singles, trying to keep somewhat regular spacing between the thicker “lumps.” I chain-plied the smooth singles, creating a snugly rounded 3-ply yarn. I split the thick and thin singles in half and plied them together for a more textured, looser yarn. Here are the results:

3-ply (top) and thick and thin 2-ply (bottom).

3-Ply (left) and thick and thin (right).

 

A few related favorites:

 

 

 

Want more? Learn about Finishing Your Handspun Yarn here!

 

Related items of interest: • Our fibers • Dyeing Dyes • Multi-Craft Equipment • Spinning Equipment

Journal Autumn 2017

Every issue of the Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers is a journey into the fantastic possibilities of fiber – Autumn 2017 is no exception!

 

Madder: Unearthing the Red, by Susan Dye and Ashley Walker.

Explore the rich weaving history of Gujarat, India, and a teaching endeavor focused on spinning and dyeing in Tibet. Plus, be inspired by your colleagues with various reports from guilds, including presentations of grant recipients of the Moorman Trust, and exhibition reviews from across the UK.

Enjoy more highlights below and pick up a copy for all the gorgeous details!

Hand manipulated pattern motifs, from Alison Stattersfield, Jane Stockley and Lucy Rhodes article Weaving in Gujarat, India.

Skeins spun and dyed in Tibet. From the article Teaching in Tibet, by Amanda Hannaford.

Helen Munday’s Butterfly Project demonstrates the value of sketchbooks and explores how an idea evolves from inspiration to samples and finished pieces. Photo by Grace Munday.

Philip Sanderson recreating in tapestry a piece by Rebeca Salter. Part of the exhibit Artists Meet Their Makers – Art of Woven Tapestry, at Crafts Study Center, Sussex. Photo by Ali Rabjohns.

Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers Grants make so many unusual projects possible, see pieces from the 2016/2017 recipients in this issue. Katharine Swailes created the above series Glyphs and Loops, the weaving of text-tiles with support from the grant. Photo by Steve Speller.

 

 

 

Finishing Handspun Yarn

 

In my earlier spinning days I would simply wind my handspun into a ball right off the bobbin and start knitting. I never understood why the yarn was so dense, why I could never seem to find the right needle size, or why my knitted fabric looked so wobbly, always leaning to one side or the other. Depending on your fiber, a good old fashioned soak can solve all those problems. Finishing your yarn can help it “bloom”, or fluff up. It also helps even out and stabilize the twist. Setting the twist in place makes a more evenly balanced, well draped yarn, and therefore, more well-behaved knitted or woven pieces!

I always default to wet finishing my handspun, but sometimes it isn’t necessary. Perhaps you want a kinky yarn for a certain effect, or you just like how your yarn looks fresh off the bobbin. Not too long ago, I spun some chunky art yarn for my mother. This was a blend of many different fibers with the addition of shredded plastic bags, feathers, charms and beads. Not a yarn for soaking!

Even though I now wet finish almost all of my handspun, I don’t always soak it the same way. If the yarn was spun from un-dyed prepared top (fiber that’s been cleaned and carded thoroughly), I soak it in plain lukewarm water. If I used dyed top, I will add a little gentle detergent to that lukewarm water (usually Soak wash if I have it, dish soap if I don’t).  I do a lot of spinning “in the grease”, so a lot of my handspun has an overabundance of lanolin. For that yarn, I will use hot water and dish soap to try and remove or “scour” as much of that grease as possible.

 

Regardless of what I’m soaking it in, I always let my handspun rest in the water for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. This allows the cuticle of the fibers to open and relax, nesting into each other and evening out as they settle into their new yarn form.

When the time is up, I grab a towel and lay it on the floor. I then remove the skein from its bath, gently squeezing it from top to bottom so it doesn’t drip everywhere on its way to the towel. Then I lay it on the towel, roll it up like a sleeping bag, and stand on it. This is an easy way to remove excess moisture from your yarn without over-agitating or felting the fibers.

At this point, there are a couple of different things folks will do before hanging their yarn up to dry. I usually forget these things, but there’s one that I remember because it’s so effective and gratifying: thwacking! Holding the skein by one end like a whip, I beat it against the side of the bathtub a few times. Then I hold the skein by the other end and repeat. This is great for evening out the twist, but it can make the surface of your yarn a little fuzzy. This is great for something like a mohair blend, but maybe not what you want to do with a delicate merino/silk.

Regardless of how its bath went, if your yarn got wet it needs to dry. Hang your dripping skeins proudly around the house! I find the shower works best, but if you decide to do this elsewhere don’t forget to put a towel below to catch all that water. If it’s nice outside, a clothesline or drying rack is great too.

Lastly, you have the option of adding a weight to the bottom of your skein. This is very similar to when you block a knit garment – the yarn will be tugged straighter, removing any leftover kinks and smoothing the overall surface. This does remove some elasticity from your yarn, depending on how heavy your weight is. I usually dig around under the kitchen sink until I find the heaviest spray bottle we have, which I then hook to the bottom of the skein until it’s dry. Adjust the weight according to how fine the yarn is, and how much bounce you want it to retain.

Here are the finished swatches for comparison. I bet you can guess which one was wet-finished! Each swatch was knit exactly the same, from the same handspun yarn, but the wet-finished one (on the right) knit up to a much fuller, more even fabric. The bias, or leaning appearance of the left swatch is a direct result of having not set the twist before knitting. Singles are more prone to this than plied yarns, but you can see here what a big difference it will make for your finished pieces to take that extra step before you knit or weave with handspun!

If you’re looking to beef up your handspun finishing supplies, click here for a list of products you may find helpful!

 

Related items of interest: • Our fibers • Multi-Craft Equipment