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.
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.
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.
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!
Hello from Michigan! Just wanted to compliment your Beautiful "Franken" sweater! I Love the natural colors of the yarn and the collar. What an exciting feeling you must have felt with putting it on for this video. Congratulations!
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.
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!
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!!
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 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!
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. 😊
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.
Hi! I just started knitting again after years in pause. And I’m so glad I found your channel! You are such an inspiring and genuine person! As for your Aran sweater, don’t overthink the thing. You can totally do it! My very first sweater, when I was a teenager was a cable sweater worked in pieces. The advantadge I had was the overconfidence of a teenager! But really, if you mess up, it shows real quick, so just examine your work after every front row. And the cardigan you are wearing is sooo nice!
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
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!
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.
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.
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! 😊
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!
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.🥰
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.
Girl, I know you don't know me, but I am soooooooooooooooo proud of you for finishing Frankensweater. You may have gone through some things along the way lol, but from what I see, it was more than worth it. It's amazing. Thank you for letting us be a part of the journey.
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
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'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 🥰
I was so excited booting, this morning, and seeing you in your frankesweater! It Looks beautiful, I love, love it and want one! Great video with so many fun things to hear and see. Great giveaway, so nice! Congratulations to the winner! love,hugs,prayers
One thing about spinning fiber, I tried very hard to do thin, perfectly balanced yarn. The problem I found out was the lumpy bumpy yarn is more designer yarn. When I plied my lumpy bumpy yarn, it seemed to balance itself out. I did make some amazing socks too!
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.
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!
Frankensweater is fabulous! Congrats on successfully seeing your vision through. And your Honeycomb is off to a wonderful start. Congrats to the winner!
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!
I enjoy all your podcasts Taylor. I have been following the 'frankensweater saga', it's lovely! I am currently knitting Lakes Pullover by Ozetta in the exact yarn. Fisherman's yarn is a heavier weight than the pattern recommended and I did not want to change needle size so I sized down one size. So far so good. I am loving the pattern process and it comes with great tutorials.
For Beginner Spinners: Find the length of the fibers in the roving you are working with before you start by pulling on the end of the roving fibers with both hands; if you can't pull any off the end, give it a longer space between hands until it pulls apart. This will give you an idea of the length of fibers that you are working with to get a correct draft. You have to know how long the fibers are, as this will affect your draft. Shorter fibers will have a shorter draft. Long fibers will have a longer draft. To improve your spinning, slow down your wheel. If you can adjust the speed slower, do it. Since you have double treadles, you can have more control on how slowly you treadle. Draft the fiber by hand to make it smaller before you begin. Make sure you don't have too much roving fiber in your hands for the size yarn you want to spin. Begin Spinning: Let the fibers grab hold of the yarn on the bobbin of the wheel. Let the spin go up the fibers, maybe an inch or so. Then pinch the twist with your left hand to stop the spin from going further up, and then draft (pull) the fibers away from the wheel with your right hand until it looks like the right amount for the size yarn you want. Then release the left hand and let the spin enter into your drafted fibers. Then bring your left hand to where the twist has stopped near your right hand. If the spin goes further up the roving than you want, use your left hand to pinch it again and twist it backwards between your thumb and finger just to take the twist out so you can begin another draft of the correct amount of fibers. This will become easier as you practice, until it is easy and automatic. Good Luck!! Practice! 😜🙂🙃😉😊😃🤩 Progress! Let me know if this was helpful or if you have any questions.
@@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS I think I should add that stopping your wheel to give you time to work out any problem is fine and good. You are the spinner! You choose. Two treadles make it easy to control the wheel, but a single treadle is not a problem. Just stop the wheel with your right hand, then start it with your right hand when the treadle is not in a good position to get going. Eventually you will be able to spin with little stopping. Yay! 😄
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.
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!!
congratulations on the win!!
Congrats! Enjoy the sendoff
Congratulations, Markie! Enjoy that beautiful bag of goodness!
Yay, Markie! I’m so happy for you🥳
Congratulations Markie 🎉
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.
Kindred spirit. I’m 62 and have been knitting since I was 4.
OMG - the collar is sooo Audrey Hepburn. Please, please, please write a pattern for the rest of us! Love your podcasts
Audrey H. for sure...
Want one too!!!
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.
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.
Yes! I love the idea of color coding. Thank you Diana!
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.
Constant Comment is one of favorites, reminds me of my grandma sweet memories.
It's such a gentle blend of spice and woodiness. I just love it. And it's so nice when you have a tea that reminds you of a special person. ❤️
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!
What a beautiful Frankin-Sweater! 😊 love this podcast!
I'm late to the party, but that sweater is BEAUTIFUL! I love the neck, it's so graceful. 😍
Your Franklin Sweater look so cozy. Very beautiful sweater
Hello from Michigan! Just wanted to compliment your Beautiful "Franken" sweater! I Love the natural colors of the yarn and the collar. What an exciting feeling you must have felt with putting it on for this video. Congratulations!
Your Frankensweater is beautiful. I love the collar.
Love the Frankensweater! Congrats Markie!
Love how you did the neckline! Same for the body shaping! Well done - It's beautiful!
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.
Frankensweater is fabulous!! Looking forward to the newsletter with the details! Thank you for sharing your prices. ❤
I would get those twirls when I ply. Having a tension lazy kate was a game changer for playing.
😍Frankensweater🥰
Oh my gosh your sweater looks so great - yayyyy!!!😃😃😃
Beautiful sweater! Love your suggestion of adding suri to make wool more wearable.
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!
Love the QR option, Tayler. Cheers and congrats on your sweater FO
Love your sweater, it turned out so nice. Looks great on you. Good luck with your spinning and enjoy the process.
Yeah on your second skein of handspun!! Love your beautiful sweater 💖
Wow very very nice sweater!! Well done, Congrats!! 🐑
Ahhhh!!! The frankensweater is amazing!!!
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!!
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!!!
Oh man. The Frankensweater in all its glory!!
I love the collar on your sweater ❤
Love the neckline on your frankinsweater
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!
Congratulations, Markie!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉
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. ❤️
Congrats on winning!!! My drop spindle has also been in timeout.
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!
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. 😊
Thank you Taylor !!!
Tension is key to consistency and practice.
Hello! Your neckline technic is very interesting ! Love the idea and the final results! This is fabulous! 🥰
Thank you Yasmine!
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.
The neck line of the frankensweater is beautiful I will be stealing that idea!
Thank you Louise!!
Hi! I just started knitting again after years in pause. And I’m so glad I found your channel! You are such an inspiring and genuine person! As for your Aran sweater, don’t overthink the thing. You can totally do it! My very first sweater, when I was a teenager was a cable sweater worked in pieces. The advantadge I had was the overconfidence of a teenager! But really, if you mess up, it shows real quick, so just examine your work after every front row. And the cardigan you are wearing is sooo nice!
Oops! I see this is a very old podcast, so your Aran sweater is certainly long finished!
Love Love the Franken Sweater!!
Thank you Paula! ❤️
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
This is my first time watching your podcast. Loved it!
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!
Frankensweater is wonderful and looks so good on you! Love the podcast.
Thank you Sherry! ❤️
#sendoff your techie tutorials with the QR code and Instagram picker are so cool to learn about!
So excited "its alive"....👍👍👏👏🎶🎵🎵 Will wait patiently for the pattern , looks so cozy & comfy .
It looks gorgeous Tayler!
Thanks as always for a great video!
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.
Always enjoy your podcast. Always learn something and or am inspired to try something new. Thank you! #sendoff
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.
I love your Frankensweater! I want to make one for me! Thank you for your wonderful podcasts!
I love your frankensweeter. It looks so good on you.
That’s a great looking collar. Look forward to your breakdown of your pattern for the frankenswester cute name
It's very Audrey Hepburn, Chanel. I love it. Great job!!
Love your channel. Thank you so much
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! 😊
I love that sweater too!!
Congrats on finishing the sweater. It looks awesome.
Thank you Stephanie! ❤️
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!
Love the sweater.
Color in your cable patterns. This helps me to keep up with the different cable patterns.
Ah! Ahsoka Tano is my favorite character. I can't believe I didn't see her in the bag before. Love it!
I love your finished franky sweater
Thank you Tracy!
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.🥰
I got into drinking Constant Companion tea from your podcast and it’s become a favorite!!
That's a throwback reference for sure. You are a devoted fan and I love that. Thank you Liz! ❤️
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.
It looks so cozy !
I enjoy watching your videos. I'm fairly new to knitting. I reside also in Nevada.
Thanks
Patti
Girl, I know you don't know me, but I am soooooooooooooooo proud of you for finishing Frankensweater. You may have gone through some things along the way lol, but from what I see, it was more than worth it. It's amazing. Thank you for letting us be a part of the journey.
Thank you so much! It means a lot to now that you were rooting for me and also invested in the process. ❤️❤️❤️
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
Your sweater is gorgeous!
Your sweater is perfection!
Thank you so much! ❤️
The Frankensweater lives! Love it! Well done! Thank you for sharing the thought process and all the little details.
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!
Taylor the sweater is so beautiful. Inlove how it fits you!!! The collar/neckline is beautiful!!!
And a special congratulations 🎉 to your winner🥰🥰🥰
😂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 🥰
I was so excited booting, this morning, and seeing you in your frankesweater! It Looks beautiful, I love, love it and want one! Great video with so many fun things to hear and see. Great giveaway, so nice! Congratulations to the winner! love,hugs,prayers
One thing about spinning fiber, I tried very hard to do thin, perfectly balanced yarn. The problem I found out was the lumpy bumpy yarn is more designer yarn. When I plied my lumpy bumpy yarn, it seemed to balance itself out. I did make some amazing socks too!
Your sweater is fabulous, Tayler😘👌❣️
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 love the frankensweater :D it turned out great!
Thank you Elizaveta!
The sweater looks great. Can't wait to see the next one.
The sweater is amazing Tayler. The step by step “saga” was the best, thank you for sharing. Alway so much to be learned on your channel! Be well.
Your sweater is great! Really lovely piece that fits you perfectly.
The neckline doubled with the extra ribbing is beautiful. 👏
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!
Frankensweater is fabulous! Congrats on successfully seeing your vision through. And your Honeycomb is off to a wonderful start. Congrats to the winner!
I love your Fisherman's sweater. I would like to make one for myself.
Just need to afford the wool. LOL.
You should do a KAL making the Frankensweater😁
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!
I enjoy all your podcasts Taylor. I have been following the 'frankensweater saga', it's lovely! I am currently knitting Lakes Pullover by Ozetta in the exact yarn. Fisherman's yarn is a heavier weight than the pattern recommended and I did not want to change needle size so I sized down one size. So far so good. I am loving the pattern process and it comes with great tutorials.
For Beginner Spinners:
Find the length of the fibers in the roving you are working with before you start by pulling on the end of the roving fibers with both hands; if you can't pull any off the end, give it a longer space between hands until it pulls apart. This will give you an idea of the length of fibers that you are working with to get a correct draft. You have to know how long the fibers are, as this will affect your draft. Shorter fibers will have a shorter draft. Long fibers will have a longer draft.
To improve your spinning, slow down your wheel. If you can adjust the speed slower, do it. Since you have double treadles, you can have more control on how slowly you treadle. Draft the fiber by hand to make it smaller before you begin. Make sure you don't have too much roving fiber in your hands for the size yarn you want to spin.
Begin Spinning:
Let the fibers grab hold of the yarn on the bobbin of the wheel. Let the spin go up the fibers, maybe an inch or so. Then pinch the twist with your left hand to stop the spin from going further up, and then draft (pull) the fibers away from the wheel with your right hand until it looks like the right amount for the size yarn you want. Then release the left hand and let the spin enter into your drafted fibers. Then bring your left hand to where the twist has stopped near your right hand. If the spin goes further up the roving than you want, use your left hand to pinch it again and twist it backwards between your thumb and finger just to take the twist out so you can begin another draft of the correct amount of fibers. This will become easier as you practice, until it is easy and automatic.
Good Luck!! Practice! 😜🙂🙃😉😊😃🤩 Progress! Let me know if this was helpful or if you have any questions.
This is golden advice. Gosh, THANK YOU Lori!
@@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS I think I should add that stopping your wheel to give you time to work out any problem is fine and good. You are the spinner! You choose. Two treadles make it easy to control the wheel, but a single treadle is not a problem. Just stop the wheel with your right hand, then start it with your right hand when the treadle is not in a good position to get going. Eventually you will be able to spin with little stopping. Yay! 😄
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.
Love how your sweater turned out. Hope you’ll be writing it up as a pattern 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Woo hoo❤ I feel Iike I finished something 😂 looks amazing girl.
Thank you Rushia! ❤️