I am so glad you found it useful, if you go to handspun-exotics you will find a couple of full length videos which go into drafting techniques. as well as preparation and sampling.
I'm a relatively new spinner, but, following the directions you gave here, I just spun a beautifully balanced skein of yarn. Which was really nice after the twisty hash job I made of the previous one!
Thank you Karyn, I am glad you have found it useful, it is I am afraid a sadly neglected part of spinning and to my mind the most important thing to master in order to have not wasted precious spinning time.
+chicksinrubber Agreed!! I'm a relatively new knitter, and an aspiring spinner (but a long-time trout fly fisherman LOL ). Folks on Ravelry have taught me a lot, but hands down - I've learned more and best from informed and experienced practicioners of their crafts. Thx again! See you on Ravelry - I hope!
I’ve been trying to spin a balanced 2ply yarn to knit with. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and I can’t figure out why. I watched your video and tried to recreate what you did with the 2 colours but I don’t get what you mean by the twist going in a straight line. Mine is like that but one of my knitted samples is perfectly straight and the other is badly slanted.
Ok so if you take a sample of your 2 ply, it doesn,t matter if it is one colour. Looking through the glass look at one single then the individual FIBRE should be running straight NOT THE TWIST. if the fibre has s twist it has too much ply if it has z not enough ply, assuming you have spun z singles (wheel going clockwise)
Thank you for replying so long after the video was originally posted. I tried as best I could to replicate the blue and white yarn in the video and I can see what you mean. However, with only one colour of yarn it’s a lot more difficult! It seems to me that to be balanced a 2ply yarn must have very little twist.
@@helenmullineux2197 no balance is relative to how much twist is in the singles. A 2 ply you are in effect taking half of the twist out of each single to balance, therefore there is half left in. So if each single has 40 twists to the inch there will be 20 twists to the inch remaining in each single when plyed. It is not the twist you need to be straight but the fibre. It is a weird concept but accurate. The reason I spin two colours together as one single yarn is so that when freshly spun and allowed to ply back on itself it will naturally balance making it easier to see that the fibre is straight. Try combing or carding two very different colours together lightly and spin that then ply back and look at one colour only.
Excellent! I’m new and didn’t understand balanced before. I will save this and watch again. Thank you. ❤️💐
I am so glad you found it useful, if you go to handspun-exotics you will find a couple of full length videos which go into drafting techniques. as well as preparation and sampling.
THIS is the information I needed! Thank You!
What a wonderful and helpful video!! So many great tips!!
I'm a relatively new spinner, but, following the directions you gave here, I just spun a beautifully balanced skein of yarn. Which was really nice after the twisty hash job I made of the previous one!
Thank you, it is such an essential skill to make the best of your singles.
You have helped me so much. Thanks for making plying so clear.
Thank you Karyn, I am glad you have found it useful, it is I am afraid a sadly neglected part of spinning and to my mind the most important thing to master in order to have not wasted precious spinning time.
Thank you so much-spun my first balanced yarn, so excited!
I like watching you spin as much as I do watching you casting with a flyrod!! The performances are so easyon the eyes ( and ears ) !! Thx ....
+dukeofpurl thank you for your lovely comment, I think that is half the fun of learning something, getting to the point where it looks easy.
+chicksinrubber Agreed!! I'm a relatively new knitter, and an aspiring spinner (but a long-time trout fly fisherman LOL ). Folks on Ravelry have taught me a lot, but hands down - I've learned more and best from informed and experienced practicioners of their crafts. Thx again! See you on Ravelry - I hope!
Great explanation and teaching about the plying.
Thank you for your straight forward explanations!
I've been looking for this for awhile. Well explained.
I’ve been trying to spin a balanced 2ply yarn to knit with. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and I can’t figure out why. I watched your video and tried to recreate what you did with the 2 colours but I don’t get what you mean by the twist going in a straight line. Mine is like that but one of my knitted samples is perfectly straight and the other is badly slanted.
Ok so if you take a sample of your 2 ply, it doesn,t matter if it is one colour. Looking through the glass look at one single then the individual FIBRE should be running straight NOT THE TWIST. if the fibre has s twist it has too much ply if it has z not enough ply, assuming you have spun z singles (wheel going clockwise)
Thank you for replying so long after the video was originally posted. I tried as best I could to replicate the blue and white yarn in the video and I can see what you mean. However, with only one colour of yarn it’s a lot more difficult! It seems to me that to be balanced a 2ply yarn must have very little twist.
@@helenmullineux2197 no balance is relative to how much twist is in the singles. A 2 ply you are in effect taking half of the twist out of each single to balance, therefore there is half left in. So if each single has 40 twists to the inch there will be 20 twists to the inch remaining in each single when plyed. It is not the twist you need to be straight but the fibre. It is a weird concept but accurate. The reason I spin two colours together as one single yarn is so that when freshly spun and allowed to ply back on itself it will naturally balance making it easier to see that the fibre is straight. Try combing or carding two very different colours together lightly and spin that then ply back and look at one colour only.
@@chicksinrubber Thanks so much. I will do that. I’m determined to get this right! :)
Thank you for this video. It explains a lot I need to know!
Brilliant tutorial - thank you x
Thank you I am glad it has helped.
great explanation! thank you!
Thanks this makes sense now
Its really hard to see the yarn clearly. Too blurry sorry :(