How I made yarn

Having finished my first complete skein of yarn for the Twisted Knitters dye-spin-knitalong, I feel compelled to show the sequence that led up to it. Making yarn (entirely on a drop spindle, no less) is a cool thing, I don't care who you are.

You may recall at the end of September, I started out with this:

Actually, I this is some Romney/Corriedale fleece after I washed it; it started out raw. I then teased the locks to get this:

I then took an equal amount of unwashed alpaca:

And clumsily combed them together to make a big bag o' rolags, some of which are shown here:

(This is all review so far, but we're getting to the good part now.) I was interested in making a two-ply yarn with a predominantly red theme, to make mittens that will go with my new red wool coat. so I decided to spin one red strand and one multicolored strand.

I divided my rolags into two groups and prepared them for dyeing. (I don't have a picture here, but I did use plastic bird netting leftover from our turkey run in the soaking tub. I laid the rolags on the netting and was able to pick them up as one mass. Much easier to handle and much less stress on the wool.)

I dyed the first half in various shades of red:

Great colors, and yet I had put too much dye in the batch and thus had a lot of rinsing to do. Somewhere in there, a little felting occurred. Not much, but enough to make the spinning a bit rough.

I dyed the other rolags in all kinds of colors:

I made 6 or 7 little color-themed packets of rolags to keep the colors somewhat separate. I was more careful with the amount of dye I used, which happily resulted in just two rinses. No felting. Yay.

Over the weekend I spun one spindle of red:

And one spindle of random colors:

Note the very unscientific outside-pull balls for plying. Whatever, it worked just fine. And I ended up with this YARN:

Yes, actual yarn from a drop spindle. Not perfect, quite uneven, but still nice, good, balanced yarn. The singles were a bit underspun, which I meant to do so as not to make a stringy yarn. But I had a few breaks in the singles, so now I know to give it a little more twist:

My husband has offered his unsolicited honest opinion that this is ugly-colored yarn. I disagree wholeheartedly and am stunned that I achieved essentially the fun colorway I was going for. Remind me not to knit him anything for Christmas.

So there you have it. I just would like to add that this is my first plied yarn made with the drop spindle, I think, and I have learned something valuable. Another spinner (and I now forget who, of course) said she had heard it said that compared to the wheel, drop spindling is slower by the hour but faster by the week, or words to that effect.

Now I understand.

The spindle seems like a sadly inefficient way to spin when the wheel goes so much faster and the bobbins have such greater capacity. But for me, sitting down at the wheel is kind of an event, something I need to block out time and space for. Since my time doesn't come in blocks these days, I end up never using the wheel.

But I was able to make this little skeinlet (.6 ounces, in case you're wondering) with very little time invested, using spare time I took in small bites whenever I got the chance. That's my kind of process. I am still so pleased that I have taken raw fleece and made this stuff that I can't stop looking at it. I may wear it around my neck today, that's how proud I am. :-)

Your opinion needed:

I have had a request or two for hand-dyed worsted-weight yarn for heavy socks. I need some myself, for my husband. After discovering, duh, that one 3.5-ounce skein of yarn is not enough for a pair of worsted socks, I did some research. I found I can order one pound of yarn and divide it into 5.3 ounce skeins, which would be enough for socks. Question: If you wanted to make a quick and thick pair of worsted-weight socks ('light worsted,' actually), would you prefer superwash merino, or handwash mohair/wool/nylon? Let me know, because I want to place my order soon.

I'm a winner:

At least Trek thinks so. After discovering she was allergic to mohair, she created a Mohair Allergy Limerick contest. I won! My prize? The very yarn that she's allergic to. You can read my entry here.

Comments

[Norma]

My choice for the sock yarn would be the second. I know many will disagree, for the machine washability factor, but that second blend seems warmer, more durable, and nicer to me, esp. for boot socks.

[Marcia]

I'm with Norma...handwashing socks is just not that big a deal. Love the yarn, too...my mind is working on a similar idea for my Twisted Knitters project, but I will be using my wheel!

[Carole]

Well, since my husband felted the first pair of socks I ever knit for him, I prefer superwash for all his socks now.
And your yarn is wonderful, no matter what your husband says.

[Jenn]

Your yarn is beautiful. And the fact that you made it from a raw fleece makes it even more beautiful and special.

As for the sock yarn, I would say superwash. I don't mind hand washnig my socks, but socks that I make for my children or husband will always be superwash.

Every once in a while DH gets a wild hair and does the laundry. I now have a felted pair of Koigu socks. I was NOT HAPPY!

[Wendy]

I agree. Handwashing socks is in your future either way. You won't always knit superwash. And the mohair/nylon/wool blend will last a lot longer before needing repairs.

Your yarn is beautiful! And you got what you planned, which I never quite manage. If he doesn't want it, all the more for you, I say. My DH gets enamored of some of my handspun occasionally, but I haven't made him anything out of it yet. It's still marinating...mostly...

[Julie]

I love your yarn! The colors are certainly fun and interesting, and will make great mittens.

[Carrie]

That yarn is fun! Men don't wear fun things, so you have to excuse the DH, and get used to knitting him only gray things. (DH says his favorite color is gray, despite the fact that I tell him gray isn't a color.)

[Bea Apple]

I would do the superwash for socks. And congratulations about your first plied yarn on a drop spindle! I have found that if I'm unhappy about singles I'm spinning on a spindle, when I ply everything is redeemed, because as the yarn twists the opposite way, it blooms and becomes fluffy and develops this dimension to it. I love the colors, good for fall :)

[dhyana rose]

*
This is great !
An inspiration for me to make yarns one day.

Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day.
An amazing amount of people responded to Dave's mention of me - I was stunned !
I am thrilled to have found such a wonderful knitting community.

*

[Sarah]

Congratulations on your first yarn! I like the colors. It is so neat to see how it all goes together. Thanks for sharing the process.

[margene]

I've been playing around on a wheel this weekend and have to say I do like the portability and ease of spindle spinning. Your idea of blending the colors is fabulous and will make a fun pair of mittens. Men just aren't fun to knit for as they don't love color the way we do.
Thanks for sharing your story of fleece to yarn.
On the sock yarn, I'm inclined to go with Norma. If you're going to knit heavy socks you may as well have them as warm as you can.

[Dave]

Congrats on the win, and the lovely yarn. I think it looks very happy! If hubby doesn't agree, just get him a hammer for Xmas and be done with it. :-)

Non-superwash is no problem. Added mohair and nylon sounds yummy.

[jillian]

I think it's quite pretty - and furthermore, exactly what you were going for!

I'd vote for the superwash merino :)

[trek]

You know what my opinion is: superwash merino all the way.

[Kim]

Beautiful yarn, and beautifully plied. I hope someday to take fleece to finished object.

[christine]

You asked for it: I'd like the superwash merino!

[kitkatknit]

If I were to order the worsted sock yarn I'd go for superwash. But slap my wrists typing in my PayPal account if I order. I still have 3 skeins of your other sock yarn to work from! Though... there are always mittens to knit...

[yvette]

I love your yarn colour, as for the sock yarn for me I would like the one with Mohair but I know if I am knitting for my brother I use superwash as I know it will end up in the machine!

[Susan B]

I'd do superwash if only because when I'm frequently in a **great** urgency to knit quick socks (which is what lightweight worsted means to me!) that means gift socks, and gift socks ALWAYS mean superwash. Other non-knitters just don't understand about hand-washing socks - they just don't! - and I'm certainly not going to send them a gift that they'll felt after only the first wearing.......

[Marcia]

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. Haloscan no longer emails me comments with email addresses so I thought I'd hunt you down to respond to your comment. No, I did not enjoy 25 years of freedom from children. I have a 20 year old son away at college who still somehow manages to suck precious life force from me about once a week. ::sigh::

The yarn is gorgeous.

[chawne]

Your yarn looks pretty funky! I'd use it to make a cool scarf.

Since you asked, I'd prefer the superwash merino, myself.

[Sherri]

I'm a superwash girl all the way. I just don't feel clean if I handwash - no matter how careful I am.

I'm with you on the drop spindle - I think yours are beautiful. I hope the singles I'm doing right now turn out as well.

What kind of spindle do you use? I seem to remember you had made one out of a CD...did you ever buy a different one or are you still using that? If so, how is it to work with?

[Mary]

Pooh on your husband's taste in yarn colors! Perhaps he's colorblind? I think it came out lovely, and I love the concept that it was all done via drop spindle. I'd like to be able to get good at that and be able to whip it out whenever the mood strikes.

As far as sock yarn -- superwash merino would probably easily appeal to the masses. The mohair/wool/nylon however, would appeal to folks as more of an artisan yarn, and therefore you could ask more for it, maybe?

If it were me, personally, I'd want the merino. I live in Virginia - don't really need mohair socks here, most days. :-)

[Cynthia]

I *love* the yarn, and think your husband is silly. How many winter days will it take for you to be so sick of gray that you want to cry from happiness at all that joyous color? Maybe its just this Southern girl that needs cheerful mittens, but I think that yarn is exactly what you're wanting.

That said, it is a shame you can't get the superwash for husband and the mohair blend for you. I've found that the friction & damp feet of some men in boots will cause the socks to felt. Just my [sleepy] opinion.

[Amanda]

Awesome limerick entry! Definitely deserving of the win. :)

[CindyCindy]

Loved your limerick. I also love your skein. YEEHAW GIRL! I agree that it's s.l.o.w. to spindle, but it is portable and somehow deeply fulfilling. I would vote for the Merino. They seem to be very warm. I don't have any experience with the other.

[Teyani]

your yarn is [email protected] I love all the colors - looks like a scarf will be in the making soon ?
my vote is always for superwash.

[Leigh]

For socks I'd worry that the merino would wear too quickly. I'd probably go for the blend because of the nylon and mohair being longer wearing.

Love the colors in your handspun.

[Carol]

Thanks for coming by! Yeah, that's the constant state of Meg's room. Don't know how she finds anything. There may be people living in there for all I know.

[Dorothy B]

I say Superwash yarn absolutely. Hardworking feet get hot and sometimes (all the time if you are me) sweaty inside boots. Felting of wool socks could occur if they are not a superwash.

I like your handspun yarn. It's bright and fun.

[Yarnophiliac]

Me, I'd go for superwash. I only knit hand-wash socks for myself, and that only if I can't resist the colors! Someone did question the durability of the merino - is there a superwash w/ nylon option? That may satisfy most, as it would add strength.
Also, I love the handspun yarn! Can't wait to see your mittens now!

[sahara]

I think your yarn is fabulous, and a lump of coal to him!

[frasera]

I like the superwash myself.

Your colors are beautiful. That would make a fabulous hat, or, if you had enough, scarf.

[Linda]

Sock yarn preference - superwash. Mostly I have a problem with mohair on the feet. No matter how careful I am with washing, I think friction from walking will make them mat/felt, inside shoes or not.
I am taking your commetns about spindle spinning to heart and will try to use mine more often. I really do want to spin more often than I am able to sit at the wheel. I do, on weekend, get my wheel set up (chair in place, TV or audio book on, drink nearby) and spin for a few minutes off and on all day in between projects. It makes a difference.

[craftydabbler]

Your yarn is beautiful!