Spinning on different whorls/ratios

I did my homework JDog!

I combed some BL/BFL using Valkyrie ExtraFine Combs, used a diz to pull of roving? and spun it using the smallest whorl, which on my Ashford Traveler is 13:0. I forgot to take pictures of it on the bobbin - oops!

I wound it into a ball 'cake', then plyed it using the center-pull strand and the outside strand (first for me).

Here's the combing (what is the resulting long strand called when you diz off the combs?) and the little ballcake:



They were really little cakes - next to a bobbin to compare:



Here are the three skeins - top is 13:1; middle 10:1, bottom 6:1:



13:1 - I really struggled spinning this (I was trying to spin lace-weight, which I'm not very good at). It was on the lowest tension possible, but kept breaking - I think I just couldn't keep up with it. It FELT a lot better though, so it'll take practice.

10:1 - this whorl was soooo much easier to work with trying to spin thin! I was able to spin thin consistently, and it was very comfortable. When I was plying though, the center-pull thread broke! DH tried to find it, and destroyed the ballcake, then it got massively tangled, so it got wound on a bobbin, then back on the niddynoddy, then re-balled...(you get the picture...) So even though this skein LOOKS the worse, it was the easiest and felt the best! (And it's 33 wpi - my closest to lace weight yet!)

6:1 - it was just about impossible to spin as thin as I wanted to, so I just reverted back to what I was most comfortable with, and ended up with finger-weight yarn in no time at all.

So moving that drive band was a revelation for me, and (even though you can't really see it), it made a big difference in spinning!

Thanks Pkboo! The pictures are a good lesson for all of us.

I found basically the same thing when I first changed whorls. 14:1 was almost 3x's what I was used to, but the 11:1 was amazingly nice.
Then when I went back to 6.5:1, I was right back to my default setting.

Now that I have worked at it a bit, I dont think I will go back to the slower settings unless I have a real good reason to.
I am hoping to change my default settings to a finer singles.

Thanks for the pics.

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Cows may not be smarter than People, but some cows are smarter than some people.

PKBoo those look nice. The singles look a bit under spun did you have any problem with them coming apart when you were plying? You might want to spin your singles with a bit more twist. Did you adjust your tension for each whorl change? That would make a difference too.

Keep up the great work!

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"Fiber is just that way, it teaches us to look differently at how things connect, to know that everything is tied together somehow."

Jacey Boggs

Great looking skeins!

Agree with Marchie, for spinning a single to ply, you'll want a bit more twist. The twist 'comes out' a bit when plying, so a little extra twist will help you out.

I think they all three look very consistent. Great job!!

Yes! You pulled roving!

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I'm working on some homework too!
Here is a 10yrd skein made by using my smallest whorl, ratio 14:1.


I DO notice the yarn gets LOTS of twist in it. When I feel I am over twisted, I just stop treadling and draft till the twist is released. I don't know if that is the RIGHT way to do it, but it works for me. I can't treadle slow enough and draft fast enough yet, to make it all come together at one pace.

Perfect strategy there, JDog.

Undertwisting singles is a pretty common thing - when you spin singles that will later be plied together, you WANT them to twist back on themselves when the tension is released. You need that extra twist so it doesn't fall apart in plying.

There was an article in a fairly recent SpinOff - this past one or the one before I think - that talked about this. If I find the reference I'll let you know.

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Apple Jack Creek
near Edmonton Alberta
author of Just Keep Knitting: a journey of healing through forgiveness, faith, and fibre and The Rookie's Field Guide to Supported Spinning

JDog I do the same thing if I find that my mind is getting ahead of my hands and my feet get moving too fast. I'll back off on the treadling, let the twist go up into the fibers until released, then I'll start again. It works so why not. That's the beauty of all this, if it works great. There really is no right or wrong.

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"Fiber is just that way, it teaches us to look differently at how things connect, to know that everything is tied together somehow."

Jacey Boggs

This is a pic of the 2x2 swatch you need to make to send in with each 10yrd. skein. Problem is, I used up ALL the skein making the swatch! Guess you need to spin 20yrds. if you're going to make lace wt. yarn!

Does anyone know what they are looking for in the swatch. Is it uniformity of the yarn and it's ability to make a garment? This had about 36RPI. If I did that correctly. It's 2ply. Is that close to lace wt.?

Don't forget to block it. Nice work!

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"Fiber is just that way, it teaches us to look differently at how things connect, to know that everything is tied together somehow."

Jacey Boggs

You can get advice and coaching in the Rav forum for the Master Spinner program, if you like.

The objective is to do the work and see what happens, then reflect on it in the assignments. They'll ask you to do things that really don't work well (like spinning Southdown worsted - ugh) just so that you can *see* how it doesn't work. It's important to know what doesn't work as well as what does, eh? It's how you learn.

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Apple Jack Creek
near Edmonton Alberta
author of Just Keep Knitting: a journey of healing through forgiveness, faith, and fibre and The Rookie's Field Guide to Supported Spinning

Marchie - I think I always underspin! I end up with small sections that look almost like roving, but they don't come apart when I knit, so I've lived with it...

I read the article in SpinOff, Spinning to the Crimp (thanks frazzle!) and they had suggestions about how to spin a certain twist/inch, so I'm going to try that. I have to re-wet some of the fleece I have to see what the crimp is.

JDog - your sample looks great! Good job! Is the swatch supposed to be a combination of garter and stockinette stick like that - I like being able to see both samples on the same swatch!

Did you weigh the amount of wool that you had? I wonder how much wool we'll need...

It's all garter stitch because I didn't like the way the swatch kept rolling up when I used the stockinette stitch. The corner is just a bit rolled up so it cast a shadow on part of the fabric and made it look different. I think what I'm going to do with my swatches is, put a garter border with some stockinette in the middle. I also, like the idea of being able to see both samples in one swatch. It's hard to knit such a small swatch with stockinette, it just gets in the way when it turns up on you. I know you can block it after you're done; but, that don't help while you're knitting.

Oh, I just weighed the swatch, it didn't even register............so I'd say 1oz. would do just fine for making 2/10yd skeins and a 2"x2" swatch!

Also, we need to suggest what would be a good use for the yarn, SO, you may use different amounts, depending on what you suggest.

So, this lace wt. yarn I would say for socks.....
If I want to make some bulky, I better have more fiber. I think we will get a better grade if we mix it up a bit, don't you think.

Two 10yrd. skeins of bulky would use more fiber than 2/10yrd. skeins of lace. This little swatch did take 10yds to make but the weight is NOTHING!