Tag: drop spindle

Alpaca hanks

On By CarynIn Craft

My parents-in-law recently took a trip to South America and brought me back three hanks of beautifully spun and dyed alpaca yarn. I immediately set to opening up the hank to put on my yarn swift and use my ball winder to make a center pull ball, which is easier to use for knitting and crochet. I was met with resistance.

Photo description: beautiful teal twisted hank of alpaca yarn in a familiar twist and tuck storage configuration
Photo description: gray-blue hank of yarn opened up from the storage twist with familiar strands of yarn tying the loops of the skein together at the ends

The hanks looked like what I was familiar with buying in the States, a large circle of wrapped yarn, twisted and tucked end in end for storage, but when I opened up the skein I did not find a continuous circle and it dawned on me that the wrap was different. I employed the arm power of my eldest to investigate.

Photo description: olive green alpaca yarn held on two arms showing figure 8 wrapping

The hanks were not wrapped in a loop, but instead used a figure 8 style wrap. Easy enough to handle with an extra pair of arms, but definitely not compatible with my yarn swift. My eldest obliged me by holding the yarn while I wound onto a wool winder.

Photo description: Wool winder mounted on the back of a chair (I’ve never tried this before, and it actually worked very well)

Once I figured out how the hanks were wrapped, I was impressed with the way the figure 8 kept the strands in decent order. I am a firm believer that there are many ways, and I love finding out about other methods.

My mother-in-law also brought me a spindle; the spin on it is beautiful and it also is slightly different than what I’ve seen.

Photo description: working spindle with bottom whorl. The shaft is square below the whorl but rounded and long above the shaft. The shaft shines where it has been rubbed smooth by fingers turning the spindle.

P.S. Sometimes I get my terminology swapped. The original post used the word “skein” in place of “hank”. I think I have fixed all instances.

Angora rabbit fur

On By CarynIn Craft

My next spin-and-walk project is with angora rabbit fur. I didn’t card it, comb it, or wash it, I just grabbed handfuls straight out of the bag where the farmer placed the shorn fibers. I wasn’t expecting the short second cuts, but I’m rolling with it and making it into an experiment.

Photo description: handful of white angora rabbit fur with short second cuts (where the shears passed over already cut fur and cut short sections) and guard hairs (thicker longer hairs in the fur)
Photo description: single spun yarn with the second cuts caught in the twist sideways, making it very fluffy

Some of the shorter lengths of fiber get caught sideways when I’m spinning, like a bottle brush. I don’t think all of these will stay embedded in the yarn, but it will be interesting to see what does. It does make the yarn fluffy in a sporadic way.

Photo description: first walk’s worth of spun Angora rabbit fur

Angora is usually blended with other fibers so this is also an experiment on how pure rabbit fur behaves both in the spinning and in fabric.

Plying rose

On By CarynIn Craft

I have two plied my rose top. I spun the single a little thicker, so a two ply is sufficient to make a nice yarn. The rose fiber is harvested from the stems and leaves of the rose plant, processed in a similar way to Tencel, extracted from plant waste. I like the feel of the rose fiber and it spins up nicely. I plied from a center pull ball, then wrapped the plied yarn into a nostepinne style ball (my favorite kind of center pull ball).

Photo description: two ply rose fiber yarn on a drop spindle, asphalt in the background
Photo description: nostepinne style ball wound on a roll of card stock, drop spindle empty, asphalt in the background

I’m not going to wet block this yarn. I have time to let it sit while I finish up other projects, which will set the twist.

Mint top

On By CarynIn Craft

I finished the first spin of the mint top fiber from my plant fiber sample pack my sister gave me almost two years ago. I am down to three packs from the original set. I’ve spun the rest and made up fiber pages for all of them. I may need another book to hold all the pages!

The mint top is “cellulose fiber infused with mint”, which is supposed to make the fabric feel cooler. I didn’t notice any cool feeling when I was spinning it, and it doesn’t smell like mint. It is a pleasure to spin though, and spins fine easily.

Photo description: fine single spun mint top fiber on a wood drop spindle

My plan is to three ply the single to give it some weight. I’m contemplating whether to chain ply or divide the fiber onto three bobbins. If I chain ply I don’t have to remove it from the spindle, or can transfer it to a single bobbin if I’m worried about the spindle jumping around. If I divide, I’ll have some single left over and I’ll have to transfer it to three bobbins. The risk of breaking lies in transferring to different bobbins and potentially losing some twist and weakening the single, or applying too much stress when making loops for chain plying. I think I’ll think on it some more.

Toothy

On By CarynIn Craft

When picking a new fiber to spin as I walk, I wanted something easier to spin than Tencel. I had a “Mint Top” sample in my stash, gifted to me by my sister that looked like it had some nice texture. I started spinning it on a drop spindle and it is dreamy, and the descriptive word “toothy” keeps coming into my head. The fibers grab each other with the help of the twist, but don’t clump up, and it drafts nicely.

Paradise Fibers gives it this description:

“A very new Biodegradable cellulose fiber which is infused with Mint powder extracted from Peppermint Leaves. Contains natural cooling and antibacterial properties. This is a very soft and lustrous fiber that is a natural off-white/golden color. The fiber gives a natural smooth and cooling feeling with excellent moisture absorption.”

Photo description: mint infused cellulose fiber sticking to my hand, spinning into fine single spun on a wood drop spindle, calico cat in the background waiting for pets

It doesn’t smell minty to me. It will be interesting to see if the products made with the yarn feel cool.