The cop of yarn built up on a Turkish style spindle is called a turtle. In the photo below, you can see why. The balls of yarn look like turtle shells. I now have three single spun Southdown wool turtles from spinning as I walk. The next step is to ply the three together, but for that I will use a treadle spinning wheel and a secure way to hold the turtles.

Turtles of yarn are center pull balls of yarn, and it is possible to ply the inside end and the outside end to make a two-ply yarn. It is even possible to walk and ply, but since I want a three ply, and don’t want to chain ply, my best option is to sit at a spinning wheel so I can closely monitor the turtles. I may see if my yarn bowl will be helpful.

I’m spinning Southdown wool on a 3D printed Turkish style spindle. I decided to weigh my yarn turtles so I can match them (as much as possible) to make plying easier. I started with the weight of the spindle and the single spun yarn.

Then I removed the yarn and weighed the spindle for reference.

Then I weighed the yarn turtle.

I forgot that if you stop winding part way through a layer on a yarn turtle, the layer peels up. It really needs a full wrap to stay neatly in place while in storage, so I removed the unruly layer, used it to start a new turtle, and weighed again.

I have about 113 grams of Southdown roving, so I should get four turtles, if I track it carefully. It will take me awhile, I’m spinning during my walks, so only spin a bit at a time.

I have 4 ounces of Southdown top from Camaj fibers and it came with a Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em sticker. Southdown is a heritage sheep that just came off the Conservation Priority list in 2024, which makes my sticker not count toward my threatened breeds list, but does show the power of the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em initiative and others like it. It is a British breed from the Chalk Hills near Sussex, England. You can read more about them here. I am spinning my portion of fiber with a 3D printed Turkish style drop spindle. The fiber drafts easily and spins fine. It takes me longer to do the geometric wrap around the spindle “turtle” than it does to spin the length of yarn, but the aesthetics of the winding has its own therapeutic reward.

This spin is going to last me awhile between the amount of fiber, and the way I’ve chosen to spin it. 4 ounces doesn’t sound like much, but I’ll probably be walking with this fiber for months.