Break out of Framesby Marian Thormahlen * 3-5-00 Click linked photos, use your "Back" browser button to return to this page. Spinning has been one of my passions since 1962. Fiber animals were added to my addiction 22 years ago. My joy has been raising the animals for quality fiber, spinning the wool from my precious llamas and Jacob sheep, and weaving or knitting the yarn into a finished product.
To begin, I need to state that making handspun yarn is not just simply twisting fiber. Once you start spinning you very quickly realize that there are many ways to spin and different techniques are used to create a yarn that is suitable for a specific purpose. With this in mind I am sharing some things you might try to incorporate into your spinning when designing a yarn for knitting. Did you know that there is a right end and a wrong end to spin from when using drum carded fiber or fiber that is commercially processed? Yes, this is a fact. There is definitely one direction that pulls out more easily. The test is simple. Break off a length about one inch in width and gently pull on each end. Yes, one slips more easily. This is the proper end from which to spin. You will be amazed to find how easy it is to draft from the correct end. Your yarn will be nicer as you have greater control since there is no drag or resistance during the spinning process. For knitting we need to allow air to be a part of spinning the singles to make a lofty yarn. This is achieved by spinning long draw. In other words, pull out the fiber with one hand, allowing it to twist without interfering or allowing it to feed through the orphus and on to the spool. When you have drawn out about 30 inches in this spinning process, clamp two fingers with your other hand down about half way on the length of singles that you have made, continuing to treadle and allow that amount to feed slowly on the spool. These two steps are repeated over and over to make the yarn. Note that once the air has been allowed to be part of the process by drafting with one hand it does not make a difference if you pinch down and put more spin into the yarn. It just makes the yarn stronger. We should always do just a bit of overspinning of our singles to compensate for the amount of twist that is lost in the plying process. You can spin wonderful singles, but if you ply incorrectly all is lost. There is a right way to ply and a wrong way. Here again we are dealing with direction of the twist of the singles. When using a ball winder do not take one strand from the outside and the other from the inside of the ball and ply. Do not ply directly from two spools from your spinning wheel. Both of these methods are very wrong. You must always ply in the same direction as you have created your singles. So wind the singles from your spool on the spinning wheel into balls. Now you will be starting to ply from the same direction as you spun your singles. The plies will happily interlock. If you do it any other way the singles repel one another and make for a much less desirable finished yarn. This last tip has to do with washing the finished skein and setting the twist. Once you have your yarn made into a skein it is ready for final processing. Since we do not wash llama or alpaca before spinning, we need to soak our skein in cold water to remove the field dirt. I let mine sit for about an hour. Then I rinse it several times in cold water. Next, fill a container with water as hot as you can get from the tap. Add soap or detergent (I prefer Dawn dish soap since it is a degreaser). Stir. Push your skein into this hot soapy bath. No, it will not mat. Do not touch it until the water has cooled down to a comfortable temperature that you can put your hand in. Rinse in warm water as many times as necessary to remove the soap. Now, here comes the wonderful trick and most important part. Fill your container again with water as hot as possible from the tap. Plunge your skein into that water for about 1 minute (you'll need gloves). Wring out all the hot water possible and then immediately plunge the skein into water as cold as you can get from the tap for another minute. This is called "shocking the wool". Again, it does not mat, but releases all the little ends. You will be amazed at how beautiful and special your yarn looks. If you incorporate these four things into spinning yarn for knitting I think you will find that your finished yarn will definitely be soft, lofty, and most importantly light weight.
I think you will be pleased when you start knitting with yarn created in this fashion. HAPPY KNITTING!
Marian Thormahlen owns Marian's Llamas in Lincoln, California. Marian started weaving in 1949 while attending The California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a major in art. Spinning was added to her art-craft in 1962. She has spent many years being a productive artisan, selling her weavings and creating commissioned items. Marian belonged to a juried artist co-op, The Artery, in Davis, California for 7 years. She has won many awards for her work in competitions, and has had had gallery showings of her weaving. She has been teaching for 35 years. She taught spinning and weaving for 5 years at the Craft Center, University of California at Davis, and was the spinning and weaving instructor in 2 shops in Sacramento for over 7 years. She has given special workshops to weaving groups in California and Oregon. Marian has judged for many shows and county fairs - jurying weaving, spinning and sheep fleeces. She is a member of the Gravander Spinners the oldest, recognized spinning guild in the United States. Teaching beginning, intermediate and advanced weaving, spinning of all fibers at all levels, and Inkle weaving (band weaving) are the areas of her expertise. Marian raises llamas and Jacob sheep. She offers spinning and weaving lessons with lodging on her ranch (complete with swimming pool and incredible fiber studio), designing a course of study to meet your needs, time schedule, and goals. You can email her at marianllama@mindspring.com or visit her website for more information. All Animals owns all rights to this article and the photos. You may link to the article (not the photos), but you may *not* copy it, nor reprint it anywhere else. You may print the URL which is www.all-animals.com/yarn.html Advertising | Site Design | Site Hosting | About Us | Home | Email |
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