Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2021 från Spin-Off

USA  ARIZONA ARIZONA Grandma’s Spinning Wheel 6544 E. Tanque Verde #150 Tucson, AZ 85715 Ph 520 290-3738 spinningramma@aol.com www.grandmasspinningwheel.com  CALIFORNIA  The Village Spinning & Weaving 425-B Alisal Rd Solvang, CA 93463 Ph 888 686-1192 Toll Free villagespinweave@mac.com www.villagespinweave.com  COLORADO Bountiful 211 Green Mountain Dr Livermore, CO 80536 Ph 970 482-7746 Toll-free 877 586-9332 info@bountifulspinweave.com www.bountifulspinweave.com Blazing Star Ranch 3424 S. Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 Ph 303 514-8780 blazingstarranch@gmail.com www.blazingstarranch.com CONNECTICUT The Wheel Thing 454 Wells Hill Rd Lakeville, CT 06039 Ph 860 435-2626 jlynn4540@gmail.com www.the-wheel-thing.com IDAHO The Sheep Shed 76 N. Robinson Rd Nampa ID 83687 sheepshed@q.com Ph 208-899-1148 ILLINOIS The Fold 3316 Millstream Rd Marengo, IL60152 Ph 815 568-0165 thefold@mc.net www.thefoldatmc.net INDIANA The Trading Post for Fiber Arts 8833 S. 5O W. Pendleton, IN 46064 Ph 765 778-3642…

Whenever I pick up some fibers—animal, plant, or even a fabric strip—the first thing I do is twist them! In twist, I see the roots of an artfully functional textile. Simple twisting gives me an intuitive sense of what the fibers could do. Measuring the angle of twist allows me to quantify the twist. Balancing intuition and measurements allows me to unlock the possibilities of the little fiber twist between my fingers. Before I was a spinner, I learned to knit, crochet, sew, dye, embroider, and weave. The first four skills were inherited; the last two I studied on my own. Combined with design training in college, these skills allowed me to enjoy a successful career as a fabric developer in New York City’s garment industry for many years. Eventually,…

When I first learned to spin, I remember being told over and over that my yarn should be plied, and it needed to be “balanced.” If I held a hank up, it needed to hang straight without twisting back on itself. If it had too much twist, my project wouldn’t lie correctly. Over the last decade, I learned to follow those rules… and then I learned to break them when I liked. Yarn has so much character on its own, and that is what draws us to spinning and to pushing the limits of what yarn can be. If I am honest, there are times when I don’t want my project to behave like a starched doily; I want it to have its own life. I want it to move!…

What is cabling? Searching for a universally accepted definition, I found myself agreeing with author Patricia Baines that textile terminology can present problems. Since industrialization, some words are used as before, but they are also used now with a more precise or slightly different meaning.1 In modern handspinning, there are a number of commonly held definitions of cabling. It seems reasonable to assume that our current use of the term “cabling” has roots in our rope-making heritage. Some ropes and cords consist of singles yarns plied together using a reverse twist, and the plied yarns are then twisted together in the same direction as the singles, which we could describe as zSZ (see box at right). Other examples include singles that are twisted together in the same direction as they…

Wild Mountain Time: Native Dye Plants By Dede Styles; photography by Frederick Park As you go about your day, look at your surroundings. Dye plants grow everywhere—in abandoned lots, beside vacant buildings, and along railroad tracks—and an abundance of hues are just waiting to be gathered and added to the dyepot. In an easygoing manner, Dede Styles shares her tips for recognizing local dye plants in southern Appalachia as well as her method for mordanting wool and adjusting colors with iron, copper, and more. From bark to flowers, learn what flora to look for and which to avoid, while respecting property rights and being mindful not to harvest too much. You’ll never see your neighborhood’s vegetation the same way again. Swannanoa, North Carolina: Self-published, 2019. Paperback, 49 pages, $15. ISBN…

The pulp (or paper) mulberry plant (Broussonetia papyrifera) is one of the most important botanicals used for making high-quality handmade paper worldwide, with historically significant production in Asia. The exquisite Asian papers are known to many as “rice paper.” In 1969, 14 pulp mulberry plants were transported from China to Ghana with the intention of evaluating the potential for paper production in West Africa. After they were planted in a forest preserve, the project was dropped due to political upheaval. However, the climate provided ideal growing conditions, and the pulp mulberry thrived, becoming the most serious invasive nonindigenous plant in Ghana and causing significant damage to the natural environment and local agriculture. Various means of controlling it, including burning, yielded limited success, and now this plant—the very plant that has…

Although twist is mainly a structural component of spinning, it also creates a visual effect in plied yarn and influences the color outcome. To examine twist as a visual component in a singles yarn, I explored how blending the same fibers in two different ways on a drumcarder would affect the look of the resulting yarn and cloth. THE BLENDS: INTENTIONAL VS SPONTANEOUS For these blends, I knew I needed to make color choices that would remain distinct no matter what gauge or type of yarn I created. I chose equal amounts of four colors of dyed wool top with accent layers of bamboo and flax in smaller equal amounts. The final blend ended up being about 80% wool, 10% bamboo, and 10% flax. Although I used wool top for…

NEW ADDITION! Get 4 Print Issues a Year! Easy Weaving with Little Looms will be published quarterly and included in the Long Thread Media All Access Pass. NEW ADDITION! Piece Work Library featuring unlimited access to Weldon’s Practical Needlework and much more! Video Workshops on pin-loom, tablet, and rigid-heddle weaving are included! Subscribe today at longthreadmedia.com…

Twist is one of handspinning’s core elements, but it can be tricky for spinners to discuss. Not only do we hold strong opinions about the amount and direction of twist required for a successful yarn, but the way we evaluate and describe twist varies. Some people carefully measure and calculate, while others rely on look and feel. Like many things in life, twist is more complicated than it seems. This is good news for those of us who love to explore! Twist is a simple technology, but how we combine it with fiber choice, yarn design, and end use gives our yarns character. This character is both personal and cultural; how we spin helps to place us in the history of handspinners. In this issue, Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa shows us in…

Pattern and designer Cosy Toes Cuff Down Socks by Dora Does. I made one modification: I moved the end-of-the-row seam to the front of the sock so that the color-change line could be a design feature. Fiber/preparation The leftovers from at least 13 different sock yarns went into this pair. All fibers were superwash, mostly Merino or Merino/nylon blend, but one was Targhee. Three of the yarns were spun by other spinners, including one by Micki of A Thing for String and two by Melody of Four Rivers Yarn and Fiber, but the rest of the yarns were my own handspun. All my spins for this project started in roving form. Typically, I separate the roving down the length of the fiber into strips and predraft thoroughly. Fiber dyers included…

Handspun cotton can be used to create cloth with a cool, silky drape or a project that is as warm and luxurious as cashmere. However, spinners often shy away from using handspun cotton for knitting. They may say that it doesn’t have the loft and elasticity of wool or that it is hard to spin into a consistent yarn. As with all fibers, these challenges can be managed with practice and skill. My best advice is to experiment by spinning many different types of cotton on many spindles and wheels. Creating the best cotton yarn for knitting is a creative spinning challenge. As you become comfortable with cotton, you’ll discover its strengths and weaknesses as well as your preferences. The Chameleon Shawl can be adjusted to suit different yarns and…

As a crochet instructor, I’ve frequently discussed yarn twist with my students. Many commercial yarns are S-plied, which is great for knitting, but some crochet students struggle with their yarn untwisting as they crochet with it. Although Z-twist singles are pretty easy to find, being able to make my own Z-plied yarn was the driving force behind learning to spin. Spinning is now what I do to procrastinate, and the hum of my little Electric Eel Wheel Nano is my new favorite white noise. But I also love handspinning because I get to paint with fiber. My favorite spinning projects are those in which I combine mill-ends or bits and bobs or leftovers to create a cohesive, truly one-of-a-kind yarn. As a bonus, I get to crochet it into a…

I’ve been spinning for about 20 years, but I still think of myself as a beginner. I like to spin fine high-twist singles, and I love the character they add to my handwoven fabrics, including pleats, bumps, and even tracking. Collapse fabric can be created in a number of ways, but simply adjusting the direction and amount of twist in warp, weft, or both warp and weft can yield an amazing variety of collapse effects. See page 68 for more about collapse fabrics. SPINNING NOTES I used my Lendrum double-treadle wheel and a short-forward draft to create an S-twist singles using natural-colored gray Romney roving and a Z-twist singles yarn with white Romney. How much twist to add? My approach is simple: add enough twist to the single as it…