I think I’m hooked on spinning using a wheel now. You knew that would happen, right? I did. That’s why I resisted learning to spin for so long.
But after that first batch of yarn I spun with Penelope…the spinning bug bit hard. When I mentioned to the Knit Girls that I had spent hours knitting and spinning one day, one of them said, “You know you were born in the wrong century, don’t you?” Yeah, I have to agree. Hand work is just so natural to me!
So what could I do but pick up the braid of fiber that I had bought on my trip to Montana? It needed spinning, and I needed to keep practicing. Perfect match.
This braid is a blend of merino (a sheep breed, one that’s more associated with high quality ready-to-wear knits) and nylon fibers. The merino provides the warmth and loftiness, the nylon provides the bounce and shape retention. This is the combination most often found in yarn for sock knitting. So I decided to go with that quality and try my hand at a sock weight (or nearly!) three-ply yarn.
What that decision meant was that I needed to spin very thin singles. To help, I separated a section of some leftover sock yarn into the individual strands. I used this as a visual aid to keep the thickness of my spinning on track.
Having the visual aid mostly worked. What I didn’t account for was the amount the finished yarn would “bloom” once washed. Some fibers become more fluffy once they go through their first bath. The BFL did (which I expected), but the merino/nylon also bloomed (which I didn’t expect as much). Next time I’ll use the visual aid, but spin the singles a tad bit thinner. Or I could spin a small amount, ply it, then wash it to see how it will look/behave in the finished product. Learning as I go!
What I ended up with is approximately 330 yards of a heavy fingering to sport weight yarn. That’s enough for a pair of socks, a generous cowl, or a small shawl/scarf. I don’t yet have a plan for this one though, so it’s going into the stash for now.
For the Spinners:
- Fiber – SW Merino/Nylon by Western Sky Knits, colorway Little Boy Blue
- Ravelry Handspun Project page