Thank you all for joining me for today’s episode! Just a reminder that you can find all of the show links here: www.woolneedleshands.com/show-links/march5
Omgoodness you are kidding! As I’m sitting like every Sunday watch this, I was so excited for whomever the winner was and I see my name pop up! I’m speechless, and so excited! The funny thing is, every since you posted about the fisherman wool, I have stalked my Joann’s and they never have it. Sending you an email now. Thank you so much!!
I made my first aran sweater when I was 14. I'm 67 now. Back then, it was called a fisherman's sweater or Irish fisherman's knit sweater. I've been knitting since I was 7.
A couple of tips for spinning more consistently: pay attention to your staple length and aim to draft about half the total staple with each forward draw. As you get to the end of the staple, the fibers will naturally want to thin out, but if you keep to the middle of the staple, it's easier to maintain consistency. It also helps to strip the fiber down into thinner section and pre-draft a little to break up any areas that are wanting to stick together. As far as the over spinning, there could be a couple of things going on. First, don't be afraid to play with the tension on your brake band. You want to make sure you have enough take-up that yhe yarn is feeding smoothly onto the wheel without feeling like the yarn is going to be pulled our of your hands. Just make sure to use small adjustments. I have a Lendrum DT too, and even a tiny movement of the brake band peg can make a big difference. Second, if you find you are starting to get a curly-q, slow down or even stop your feet and give your hands a second to catch up. When you start out spinning with spindles, beginners use what's called the park and draft method, where you put some twist into the yarn, park the spindle under your arm, and draft out more fiber. Then you slide your hand up to let the twist in, and repeat the process. You can apply a similar practice at the wheel by slowing down your treadling when too much twist is building up in the yarn. As you build muscle memory, you'll be able to treadle more smoothly. Finally, twist wants to travel the path of least resistance. It will naturally build up in areas where the fibers are thinner, especially when you spin thick to thin. As you spin more consistent yarn, you'll find your twist evening out as well. I hope that all made sense. Good luck with your spinning! The more you spin, the easier it will get. Just keep at it!
This is really good advice! I agree that using the spinning wheel equivalent of park and draft would be helpful. Anytime you have too much twist (or a thick spot), stop treadling and draft to fix the issue. And remember that the twist likes to “escape” to the thin spots, so if your yarn is thick and thin, the thin sections will always have more twist. You are doing great!
To build a little more on what GizmoFox and AmberCS said (great advice), don't be afraid to take it slow and actually break off your fiber and reattach if you're noticing a thin spot. It may seem fussy, but it's all practice. Another thing to consider is fiber type. Merino can be a fairly challenging fiber for a beginner. Try out some different ones and see if there are others that you have better results with. I totally jumped into the gorgeous braids of merino when I first started about 10 years ago, and it was difficult, but there's so much variety of fiber out there. BFL, Targhee, Cheviot, Corriedale might be some good and relatively accessible ones to try out. I had a good experience with Polwarth early on, but not everyone would agree with that recommendation. Paradise Fibers usually has a decent variety at reasonable prices; they also have a monthly fiber club that can be fun. Also look for local dyers or shepherds. Spinning "advents" can also be a great way to get introduced to new fibers. They're usually a small amount of fiber per day for a few days. I did the Valentine one from Nest Fiber Studio and it was a lot of fun. When you are first starting out, try to stay away from luxury and superwash fibers. Silk is slippery and requires a TON of twist to hold together. The superwash process removes the scales from wool so it can also be slippery. There is so much to learn in spinning. Enjoy the journey!
@@Andracrafts I am a brand new spinner (about 6 weeks in) and had the same experience. I jumped in to a gorgeous braid and it was a real challenge. I then went to woolery and got a pound of their practice fiber and another pound of BFL from etsy and it has been a WORLD of difference. I went from fighting the fiber to getting a vague sense of what the goal is and feel better with my practice spin sessions now.
Also i should have added: plying will help! It will help even out the thick and thin, it will help stabilize the twist thats in your yarn. When you ply (in the opposite direction that you spun the single) it will balance the twist. It might not be perfect but it helps make "new spinner" yarn useable.
Hi Tayler. School of Sweet Georgia (Felica Lo Wong). $30 a month and watch the entire spinning course (several videos). Cancel anytime. I learned what I needed within the month. You can also watch any of the other fiber art’s videos. There are people to answer your questions and chat threads. I learned so much about spinning there. Your sweater looks great. Good job.
I find it's a lot easier to follow complicated stitch patterns if I color code them. I print out the charts and each specialty stitch gets a color. Once you do it a few times, the color becomes a visual cue to what you are doing. I hope this helps.
I've been spinning for several years. It's not my primary craft, so I am not very good at it, but I have learned a lot. First, ply the yarn. When you ply thick and thin yarn, the thick and thin areas tend to even themselves out somewhat. It will look better to you plied than in singles. Second, borrow or buy a copy of the book Yarnitecture: by Jillian Moreno. She explains things in there that will help you understand what happens to the fibers when you spin and ply them. It answered so many of my questions. I am looking forward to seeing more spun yarn! Congratulations on 35K subscribers. That is quite the milestone.
Tie the skein in a couple of places. (don't twist it up - it should hang loose. Put it to soak in warm water and a little SOak, as you would with a knitted garment. After it is saturated, carefully lift them out. holding it at the top squeeze the extra water by squeezing with one hand all the way down (squeeze and release, don't run your hand down the hank. Finish by squeezing it in a towel. Hang it from a hook or a coat hanger. Use a spray bottle that is not too heavy, and use the squeeze top to hang it on to put a little tension on the yarn and let it dry. This will relax the yarn and allow the twist to even out to some extent. As youŕe spinning, check your tension. If there is not enough tension the yarn can be under spun If there is too much tension it will put too much twist in the yarn. The Ashford company has a series of great beginning spinning videos on its website. YOU have improved a lot on your second skein! It takes time to train your hands!
It looks like you have a number of viewers that spin. What a great resource. In case you have not seen it you might try watching Stitches and Starlight. Tashi does Q&A episodes and notes additional resources. She is fun to watch and knits with yarn she spins. The Franken sweater looks so cute and cozy!
Hoy, oh boy, the frankestain sweater looks amazing. It looks confusing and warm….congrats. You will have no problem with the cable sweater….love to wAtch you. Thank you.
Your Frankensweater is so lovely! The sleeves are fitted but not too tight, the length is perfect, the decreases in the body are attractive, and that neckline is EVERYTHING! ❤️ Brava.
Go down a size. That's just genius! I had this problem with my WIP sweater, and I just redid the whole math. I don't do math. Thank you for saving me from just giving up doing other sweaters!
I had so much to say but got distracted when I heard my name 😂 I downloaded the Honeycomb Aran pattern. I’m new to cables but instantly fell in love with them. Praying the pieces part don’t intimidate me. Your spinning has improved quickly, awesome job! I am trying to teach myself how to use the drop spindle. We are not getting along at the moment so she’s in timeout 😂 Congratulations on finishing your Frankensweater! You rocked it!
Yay!!!! Markie! Congratulations! I'm so glad you commented right away. I can't wait to get this out to you. You're going to love this project bag (and the yarn is pretty amazing too). And thank you so much for your kind words about the Frankensweater and my skein of handspun. I'm loving the sweater and this new skein is encouraging for sure. I commend you for trying the drop spindle. My relationship with my spindle is tenuous at best...don't know if I'll be revisiting that any time soon. However I love seeing what others are creating with them! I saw your email, so I'll be in touch VERY soon. ❤️
My drop spindle has recently come out to play - been in storage for a couple years 😅 I finally finished the fibre I had been spinning for 5 years (it ended up in 6 hanks I think). I started with cotton balls, and doing lots of park and draft. Get some spin in the leader, park between my legs, draft up, add more twist, continue. The part I found hardest was keeping tension on my yarn while winding it on!
Your Frankensweater is lovely! The collar design is quite clever and all yours. You should be proud of yourself. We're glad to be here to support & cheer you on!
All the questions you ask about your spinning are good ones, but I think your spinning is progressing beautifully. Trust yourself and practice, practice, practice. The over and under twisting will disappear as your experience increases. A good soak and those skeins will even out a bit. Lovely first skeins!!
Those singles are totally pliable, not sure the pictures of my weaving came through on email but they were in consistent and i plied them and it turned them into fab yarn for weaving. You are doing brilliantly. Love your sweater, enjoy your break
That Frankensweater is freaking gorgeous!!! Love the fact that it’s knit in affordable lion brand wool too! It rivals ANY bougie expensive wool yarn and I don’t know why but I just love that. I have all the appreciation for said bougie yarn, and dye and knit with the stuff, but like I said am still drawn to the appeal of a great less expensive option offered by brands like Lion and hobbii. Am currently knitting with lion brand Re-tweed and really liking it! Thanks for this fantastic episode, wrote a spinning friend and told her about those fantastic covers!!!
I think that plying would help your over-spun singles because you ply in the opposite direction. So I think you should definitely save those singles for when you're ready to try plying!
I just love your spinning! Such progress from 1st skein to 2nd. Let me suggest that you divide some fiber in half, spin it onto 2 bobbins, and just ply it up. Then, WASH it , much as you block a sweater it makes an enormous difference in evening out the twist. Hang it dry with no weight at all. I bet you’ll like the results. Spinning for socks is a fabulous goal. One day you’ll spin for a sweater.🥰
Hi Tayler. Love the collar on that jumper. It is exactly the style I like. Can’t wait till you pop this pattern out. I also wanted to say that watching you persevere with Frankie (I nearly died when you said you cut it off!) has inspired me with a string bag I am working on. The pattern is not quite right so I am on my own fourth version/design. Normally I would just finish as per pattern and then never use it but seeing you overcome your struggles has inspired me to keep going. 😊
Your most recent spun yarn (new hampshire) makes me think of a firepit, with sparks floating into the dark night. So you should probably make some firepit mitts out of it! 😊
For over spinning you can move your drive band to your biggest whorl or even switch to a jumbo flyer if you have one. If it isn’t plied that could be the reason. Singles have lot of energy but when you spin the opposite direction when plying you lose some twist. If you feel like you under-twisted a single just spin it onto another bobbin while adding more twist. Your yarn looks beautiful!
My aha moment in spinning was learning to pre-draft the fibre. I just tease the braid open, after perhaps splitting it, and give it little tugs down the length (tugging just a little father apart than your staple length) to extend and open it up. It makes the drafting when spinning so much smoother and consistent. An extra step but totally worth the time.
😂I'm feeling a bit of PTSD listening to your woes about setting up the cable patterns. I literally had to do the setup row for the front AND back panel 3 times each to get it right. But don't worry, the cables become quite easy to follow and remember and you can just look below to remember which way to cable each section. Lovely color!
Hi Taylor, I’m also a beginning spinner and my advice as a newbie is to first check your staple length, and note what it is. then practice counting your treadles in between drafts. Treadle, Treadle, Treadle, Draft, Treadle, Treadle Treadle Draft. So once you have a rhythm and have a bit of yarn, check the twist and adjust how much/fast you treadle. Now focus on being consistent with that rhythm of treading and drafting not beyond your staple length so you get the twist you want with this particular spin. Don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on this one thing. Check your twist regularly because its easy to start treadling faster without knowing and then you get too much twist and you get the curlies. Hope this makes sense. Looking forward to seeing what you create!😊
I'm a beginning spinner too and I totally agree with Irma. It helped me so much to "count" treadles and drafts to spin more consistently and to get an understanding for the rhythm of foot and hands :) This changed so much for me. Plying those singles evens out a lot of inconsistencies. I was so happy when I plyed my first singles. Before they looked very inconsistent but after plying so much better. I was very pleased with my results after plying, so my advice from newbie to newbie is to give this a try, if you're aiming for those beautiful balanced yarns too :) Your yarn looks beautiful and those fibers are very pretty 🥰
Ply the singles anyways and see what happens (as long as they fit through the orifice, at least). Many of my singles are overspun when I spin them up, but when I ply (spin them together in the opposite direction), that helps calm down the twist in the singles. And then finishing the yarn usually takes care of any remaining excess twist. I also suggest trying a fiber other than merino when you're still learning -- maybe a Corriedale or BFL instead. At least for me, merino is a pain to draft and I got much better when I switched to another fiber. Rambouillet is kind of merino soft but I find it drafts easier, if you want to stay in the merino-ish realm.
Thank you Sarah! I think I will definitely try plying these singles (the one I have on the bobbin and the new skein). Based on several comments here, I'm realizing that this is a great way to sort things out a bit and I just never considered that. As for the Merino, you're absolutely right. It is trickier to draft. My first skein was from a BFL batt and I loved spinning with it and I just purchased a couple of different BFL rolags to try which I'm excited about. Thank you so much for these suggestions! ❤️
I have a really good hack for cables. In the inbetween cable section usually purl or seed put a waste yarn to count rows. Look at this method Counting rows with waste yarn by Susan Rainey(skip first half) you will not make a mistake and cross on the wrong row.
Hi, Tayler! Great job on the Frankensweater!! I also have an affinity for Lion’s Brand Fisherman’s wool and my tip for you is to wait for one of those insane sales from Michael’s or JoAnn’s and buy a boatload of the neutral and then custom dye it! I have 2 skeins I just dyed in olive to make a project. If I can get skeins for less than $10, I feel like I am beating the cost odds. Great work on the cables, as well. I like a U shaped cable hook. It just seems more secure. Lastly, you can add a strand of mohair/silk, or lace weight silk with your single sock yarn to give it more strength. I knit single socks for myself, but my husband only gets Paton’s (btw, it is pronounced with a long ā, like Payton’s) Croy because he is so tough on them. Lastly, I am just finishing the book Unraveled, by Peggy Orenstein about how, during the pandemic, she sheared, prepped, dyed a fleece and knit, as she called it, The World’s Ugliest Sweater. As she was learning to spin, her instructor told her to hang on to hang onto those first thick and thin skeins because after she got good, it would be very difficult to replicate them and they would be coveted as Art Yarn! So you have created Art!! Thanks so much for your wonderful podcast, it brings me so much joy! And after visiting Las Vegas last week and getting snowed on, I see why you need the woolens!
Hoping to help with my input on your spinning questions. Overtwisting - this will stop the more you practice but for now I'd suggest that if you notice it just as you've done it, stop your wheel and draft behind the pigtail it creates and let the extra twist into that section, do this until the pigtail eases. Stopping the wheel just means your not adding any more twist while you're dealing with that!! Undertwisting - is harder to help with, it's just a thing you need to learn what it looks like so you can allow more twist into the single before you let it on the bobbin. If you find a treadle speed and drafting rhythm that works, just by doing ply back tests (pulling your single from the bobbin and letting it twist on itself). You'll know if you need to be letting more twist in before you let it on if you keep checking this. If it struggles to twist back on itself, you need more twist. If it is really tight then you need less twist. Hope this makes some kind of sense, it's hard to explain without showing. Please ply your yarn, some of the extra twist in your singles will be removed when you ply because you ply in the opposite direction, which removes singles twist. A balanced singles is SO HARD.
One of the first things we learned in my beginners spinning class was to practice treadling without fiber and practice treadling very very slowly and stopping and starting smoothly. We have a tendency to treadle too fast. This can over twist yarn too quickly. If you can treadle slowly you can take a few minutes to adjust the tension the twist the speed, etc. and really get in the flow you will find your twist being more even. Just go slowly. I think once you get better at spinning in general you can speed spin to get the yarn finished faster but until it becomes second nature you have to go really slowly (which is hard)!
Your sweater talk was interesting. I began knitting sweaters in pieces, and I jumped into cable work from the start because all the many types of cables intrigued me. Only now am I learning how to make top-down raglan sweaters 😄 Although I'm totally embracing the joy of not having to seam pieces together or deal with weaving in multiple ends, this method has been more daunting and seems more challenging than my entree into sweater making the other way. But I'm getting there! Thank you for sharing so much specific info as you process through your knits. Love your Frankensweater results.
Your Frankensweater is lovely! It looks so comfy. For spinning have you thought about signing up for online classes at School of Sweet Georgia? It’s totally worth it to watch the beginning spinning classes.
The thinner parts get more of the twist so that's why you are getting the pig tails. When you get more consistent, then the twist will match throughout.
Oh and plying fixes a world of issues. Because you go opposite directions. That fixes a lot of the coils. Then after you fly and you set it by soaking that helps a lot too. If you ply you will see it even a lot.
Not sure if someone has addressed this in the comments already but... Corkscrews are a result of over twisting. I think the best way to address them as a beginner is when you notice them (before they are on the bobbin) stop treadling, and draft out some more fiber. Let all that extra twist move up into the freshly drafted fiber. When the yarn no longer has the corkscrews continue spinning like normal. If your yarn is totally full of corkscrews consistently you will need to adjust your drafting speed or treadling speed. Treadle slower or draft faster. If you are plying and you notice some corkscrews you can use one hand to hold the twist where you are plying, with your other hand use your fingers to move some of the twist in your corkscrewed single away from the plyed bit, towards your body, just until the corkscrew undoes itself, then let the twist from your ply move back through where the corkscrew was. Ultimately you will still have extra twist in your yarn but it helps to move some of that so you dont have those little corkscrews plyed around another single. As you gain experience you will find a balance between treadling and drafting speed and end up with much fewer corkscrews. Another contributing factor might be where you have large slubs of fiber, its easier for the twist to sit in the thinner parts of yarn and corkscrew instead of the twist moving up through the slub. But again as your drafting improves that will happen less.
I think you should try plying, you will find your over twist curley parts will even out. Wool n Spinning -Rachel smith is an amazing community for all things spinning related, as well as school of sweet Georgia too
That cabled aran sweater has been on my knit list. And I am knitting a textured sweater with that same color Patons worsted wool and love it! I really like Patons wool as an affordable wool
Hi Shelly! So from what I'm seeing, Patons Classic Wool Worsted is still available. I do know that Classic Wool Merino and Classic Wool Bulky is discontinued.
Finding out that someone has experienced as you had three fall starts, and making one of your sweaters, makes me feel so much better! I just restarted for a fourth time a sweater for my son, and was feeling like I am too novice to even be attempting the cable work that goes into this one. So far so good tho!! 🤞🏽
Oohhh! I know this one! Ashoka’s “tendrils” are called “lekku,” assuming you mean the ones that hang down. The horn-like appendages on top are “montrals.” Love the video, btw. I’m working on my first cable project, too, though mine is not quite so ambitious.
Love watching your spinning progress- I can't believe you have 2 skeins already! I don't yet have a wheel but have done some spindle spinning and I found that with practice my consistency gets better- my first ball of plied yarn was a disaster, but the 2nd ball was definitely getting closer to something resembling yarn. I took a couple classes through Sweet Georgia and that helped. I think the little pigtails are from being over-spun. Keep going, I'm sure your 3rd and 4th skeins will keep getting more and more consistent.
I would totally have to knit with those skeins if I’d spun them myself! I don’t know what I’d knit or how it would turn out but I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge ;)
It’s not overtwisted for plying. You need more twist in your fibre to be able to ply well. Some of the twist is lost in winding the 2 lengths together and some is in the actual kinking of the fibres
With your over twisted singles, some of the over twist will come out when you ply it, because plying is twisting in the opposite direction. If you ply your second hank it will look better than you think I promise.
I'm sitting here in South Carolina drinking my Lovely Thai Tea and your sweater just looks so cozy and comfy. I think I need to get some of that yarn and make myself a sweater. I have never finished a sweater by hand. I made one on a knitting machine which was nice and I have started many. Never finished any. lol.
so the reason for curlicues is generally caused because your tension is too low. if you're holding onto the yarn for too long before it loads onto the bobbin, you will get curlicues, and higher tension on your bobbin will take up the yarn faster, or at least will want to.
