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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
 Posted - 06/21/2003 : 2:55:05 PM
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I love novelty yarns. I have magpie blood. Glitter and puffs and fluffs make me sigh like a teenager. Here are two techniques for creating this novelty yarn. What you will be creating is a 2 ply yarn made of sewing or quilting thread, with puffs of fiber trapped between them.
Method I
- Spin a fairly thin single Z. Remember, thin yarns need more twist than thick yarns. Mohair or Wensleydale yarn make beautiful loopy yarns, silk or cotton will be more puffy than loopy, but any yarn can be used.
- Put a spool of sewing thread in a sandwich bag and pull the end of the thread out of the opening. Loosely rubber band the bag to your non-dominant wrist.
- Holding the thread very taut, and holding the thin spun single loosely in your other hand, begin plying the two yarns S
- Let the single wrap loosely and begin bunching it up on the tautly held thread, even going so far as to scootch it into big lumps against the thread as if you were gathering a ruffle.
- Be sure there is plenty of twist in this plied yarn. It is possible to overtwist it, but not likely you will
- When all this lumpy loosely plied yarn is spun put a new empty bobbin on your wheel
- Ply this highly textured yarn - technically a mohair/thread spiral yarn - to the thread in a Z twist, holding all with your non-dominant hand while your dominant hand is free to move the lumps of mohair about so as to place the loops where you like them - either bunched up in clusters or spread out along the yarn
- When you can’t move the mohair loops anymore, it means the threads have balanced and you can wind it on the bobbin.
- If the mohair loops never lock down you did not put enough twist in your S ply. This won’t matter with knitting yarns though it would in a warp for weaving
- You can add a decorative thread to this lock down process so long as you also have the stronger sewing thread. Think of shiny metallic gold locking down black mohair loops. or glittery mylar!! Shimmery rayon. yum
- This is a labor intensive process like making a cabled yarn, for you must pass the yarn through the wheel 3 times. But you will have something unique and luxurious for your efforts.
Method II
Tease and lightly card mohair or other fiber into a cloud. Kid mohair works beautifully, especially handpainted fiber. Attach the sewing thread to your leader and holding the thread taut in one hand begin spinning Z Press the cloud of teased fiber to the thread and let it loosely wind around the thread It can get as puffy as you like. Also, you may want to scootch the loose fiber up as you did with the loopy boucle. When all your fiber is spun against the thread tie a knot in the yarn so it doesn’t untwist. Now ply this puff surrounded thread with a second thread spinning S and adjusting the puffs as you did the loops. When the threads have been plied into a balanced yarn your puffs will lock down. Again, If the thread yarns never lock down, you didn’t put enough twist into the original spin. But I found that with this method I tended to overtwist and even tangle. Fortunately it doesn’t show much in this highly textured yarn. This yarn requires fewer passes through the wheel but you must work very carefully and in my case, quite slowly to create that first core spin. So the loopy boucle is not really slower when you are a novice.
I hope these directions make sense. I learned it ALL from Patsy Zawistoski’s video Spinning and Plying Textured Yarns. found here, http://www.angelfire.com/in3/spinninguru/ but available at many of the larger spinning supply shops.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:00:04 AM
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Eeek!! This makes sense (as you write very good directions), but also seems like it will be tricky. But I am not one to back down from a challenge, and I have plenty of regular fiber I can practice with first. I can tell from what you told about it that it would make a very luscious yarn.
Thanks for the advice!
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:00:04 AM
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Eeek!! This makes sense (as you write very good directions), but also seems like it will be tricky. But I am not one to back down from a challenge, and I have plenty of regular fiber I can practice with first. I can tell from what you told about it that it would make a very luscious yarn.
Thanks for the advice!
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:00:04 AM
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Eeek!! This makes sense (as you write very good directions), but also seems like it will be tricky. But I am not one to back down from a challenge, and I have plenty of regular fiber I can practice with first. I can tell from what you told about it that it would make a very luscious yarn.
Thanks for the advice!
Carolyn
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:46:39 AM
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Nay - not tricky. See, because it is such a highly textured yarn all sorts of flaws and mistakes get hidden. Just like knitting with novelty yarns hides your mistakes - making the stuff does too.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:46:39 AM
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Nay - not tricky. See, because it is such a highly textured yarn all sorts of flaws and mistakes get hidden. Just like knitting with novelty yarns hides your mistakes - making the stuff does too.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:46:39 AM
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Nay - not tricky. See, because it is such a highly textured yarn all sorts of flaws and mistakes get hidden. Just like knitting with novelty yarns hides your mistakes - making the stuff does too.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:46:39 AM
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Nay - not tricky. See, because it is such a highly textured yarn all sorts of flaws and mistakes get hidden. Just like knitting with novelty yarns hides your mistakes - making the stuff does too.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 05:46:39 AM
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Nay - not tricky. See, because it is such a highly textured yarn all sorts of flaws and mistakes get hidden. Just like knitting with novelty yarns hides your mistakes - making the stuff does too.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 11:59:28 AM
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Sounds too good to be true!! (But I AM trusting you on this....)
I will let you know how it goes after I try it. It may be a week or so, as I have a heavy work schedule this coming week.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 11:59:28 AM
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Sounds too good to be true!! (But I AM trusting you on this....)
I will let you know how it goes after I try it. It may be a week or so, as I have a heavy work schedule this coming week.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 11:59:28 AM
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Sounds too good to be true!! (But I AM trusting you on this....)
I will let you know how it goes after I try it. It may be a week or so, as I have a heavy work schedule this coming week.
Carolyn
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:18:17 PM
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Oh! Carolyn - here's something I forgot to mention -
I told you to use a plastic bag banded to your wrist - because that's the instructions I got. BUT
I HATE elastic things on my wrist so I keep my thread in a very tall plastic drinking glass. The 20 oz type. If you find you hate the plastic bag on your wrist, you may prefer the tall cup technique. Mainly you want to keep that spool of thread from traveling all over the house and tying you to your chair like gulliver.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:18:17 PM
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Oh! Carolyn - here's something I forgot to mention -
I told you to use a plastic bag banded to your wrist - because that's the instructions I got. BUT
I HATE elastic things on my wrist so I keep my thread in a very tall plastic drinking glass. The 20 oz type. If you find you hate the plastic bag on your wrist, you may prefer the tall cup technique. Mainly you want to keep that spool of thread from traveling all over the house and tying you to your chair like gulliver.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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BessH
Permanent Resident
2946 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:18:17 PM
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Oh! Carolyn - here's something I forgot to mention -
I told you to use a plastic bag banded to your wrist - because that's the instructions I got. BUT
I HATE elastic things on my wrist so I keep my thread in a very tall plastic drinking glass. The 20 oz type. If you find you hate the plastic bag on your wrist, you may prefer the tall cup technique. Mainly you want to keep that spool of thread from traveling all over the house and tying you to your chair like gulliver.
Bess
http://likethequeen.blogspot.com |
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:35:24 PM
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Bess, I am glad you added that. I was already trying to think of a way to hook a plastic bag to one of my wrist distaffs, since I didn't like the idea of a rubber band either! The tall glass sounds like just the ticket.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:35:24 PM
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Bess, I am glad you added that. I was already trying to think of a way to hook a plastic bag to one of my wrist distaffs, since I didn't like the idea of a rubber band either! The tall glass sounds like just the ticket.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2003 : 1:35:24 PM
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Bess, I am glad you added that. I was already trying to think of a way to hook a plastic bag to one of my wrist distaffs, since I didn't like the idea of a rubber band either! The tall glass sounds like just the ticket.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2003 : 2:34:11 PM
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Bess,
I have tried the Corespun Boucle some - I think it is going to take some practice to get it the way I want it to be. But I guess I am getting the general idea. By the way - I found a great thing to hold the sewing thread in. I put it in one of those metal car mugs (we get tons of the things free from drug companies) and threaded the thread out the top. It is working really well and is stable.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2003 : 2:34:11 PM
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Bess,
I have tried the Corespun Boucle some - I think it is going to take some practice to get it the way I want it to be. But I guess I am getting the general idea. By the way - I found a great thing to hold the sewing thread in. I put it in one of those metal car mugs (we get tons of the things free from drug companies) and threaded the thread out the top. It is working really well and is stable.
Carolyn
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Knitting Fever
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2003 : 2:34:11 PM
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Bess,
I have tried the Corespun Boucle some - I think it is going to take some practice to get it the way I want it to be. But I guess I am getting the general idea. By the way - I found a great thing to hold the sewing thread in. I put it in one of those metal car mugs (we get tons of the things free from drug companies) and threaded the thread out the top. It is working really well and is stable.
Carolyn
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