Why I Prefer Plying from the Bobbin
I finished plying up Pinero's yarn this morning. It's almost done -- I simply have pull two skeins off the plying bobbins and wash the yarn. Feels like a weight off my back. I can finally move on to the next project.
As mentioned yesterday, I was having absurd difficulty with ends and breakage on one bobbin. I finally gave up and emptied that bobbin using the ball winder. As predicted, I had several extra ends and the end I ultimately needed was buried. Frustrating.
Once I removed the problem yarn, spinning the rest of the singles was quick. I plied the yarn from the bobbins very quickly, and then continued plying using one strand from a bobbin and the other strand from the center of my center-pull ball. As predicted, I had some uneven tension between the two sources, but I was able to handle that and make nice yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't get my yarn sources even, so I ended up with almost half a bobbin of singles and nothing to ply against those singles.
I could have delivered a large skein of singles with the two-ply yarn. However, I had a lot of yarn left, so I got out the ball winder and wound the yarn into a ball. Then, I started plying using both ends of the center-pull ball.
There are times when plying from both ends of a center pull ball is appropriate. I use this technique frequently when I'm making yarn samples from my HeatherSelect™ blends. It's a very quick process to spin up a few yards, wind it onto a ball, grab the ends, and ply right back onto the same bobbin. The whole purpose of the yarn is to show off what the blended roving will look like when spun.
When I'm making large quantities of yarn, I don't like plying from the center pull ball and the yarn doesn't look the same as when I ply from bobbins.
The first problem is the yarn plying as it comes off the ball before I'm ready for it to ply. One strand pulls out the center of the ball. The other strand unwinds from around the ball -- and winds around the center strand in the process. Because of the unwinding process, the strand from the outside tends to be longer and slacker than the strand pulling from the center. This means I have to constantly re-tension that strand. It slows down the plying and makes the plied yarn slightly inconsistent.
Problem number two has to do with fuzzies on the single -- usually the strand from the center of the ball -- catching on other strands much as fuzzy yarn tends to catch when ripping out knitting or crochet. Some yarn is a lot more of a problem than others depending on how worsted (or semi-worsted) the single is spun, how much the single is overspun, how crimpy the fiber is, and how long the fiber is. With long-staple suri spun fine, this problem doesn't happen. With soft, woolen-spun huacaya from a crimpy fleece, this can be a real problem.
The third problem is consistency of loft and twist when some yarn is plied from the ball and some from the bobbin. In my hands, yarn plied from the ball tends to be loftier than the same singles plied from bobbins. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when delivering a number of skeins, some plied from the bobbins and others from the ball, consistency is an issue. I think what happens is that the yarn gets relaxed when it is wound into the ball. Therefore, it's more relaxed when plying happens and it is plied under less tension -- meaning it untwists more during plying. Part of this can be addressed through experience by adjusting my treadling speed to accommodate the different tension from the ball. Some of it, however, will always be different because tension and relaxation affect how the yarn untwists during plying and those will always differ between a ball and a bobbin.
Finally, I have more experience plying from bobbins and at my current skill level, I have more control. I know what I can do and what to adjust when I'm plying from a bobbin. I don't have this control when I'm plying from a ball and I lose that control when I have to stop to unwind the yarn or de-tangle the center strand.
It feels great to be through spinning Pinero's fiber into yarn. Now I can move on to the next project -- although I haven't figured out what that is yet.
As mentioned yesterday, I was having absurd difficulty with ends and breakage on one bobbin. I finally gave up and emptied that bobbin using the ball winder. As predicted, I had several extra ends and the end I ultimately needed was buried. Frustrating.
Once I removed the problem yarn, spinning the rest of the singles was quick. I plied the yarn from the bobbins very quickly, and then continued plying using one strand from a bobbin and the other strand from the center of my center-pull ball. As predicted, I had some uneven tension between the two sources, but I was able to handle that and make nice yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't get my yarn sources even, so I ended up with almost half a bobbin of singles and nothing to ply against those singles.
I could have delivered a large skein of singles with the two-ply yarn. However, I had a lot of yarn left, so I got out the ball winder and wound the yarn into a ball. Then, I started plying using both ends of the center-pull ball.
There are times when plying from both ends of a center pull ball is appropriate. I use this technique frequently when I'm making yarn samples from my HeatherSelect™ blends. It's a very quick process to spin up a few yards, wind it onto a ball, grab the ends, and ply right back onto the same bobbin. The whole purpose of the yarn is to show off what the blended roving will look like when spun.
When I'm making large quantities of yarn, I don't like plying from the center pull ball and the yarn doesn't look the same as when I ply from bobbins.
The first problem is the yarn plying as it comes off the ball before I'm ready for it to ply. One strand pulls out the center of the ball. The other strand unwinds from around the ball -- and winds around the center strand in the process. Because of the unwinding process, the strand from the outside tends to be longer and slacker than the strand pulling from the center. This means I have to constantly re-tension that strand. It slows down the plying and makes the plied yarn slightly inconsistent.
Problem number two has to do with fuzzies on the single -- usually the strand from the center of the ball -- catching on other strands much as fuzzy yarn tends to catch when ripping out knitting or crochet. Some yarn is a lot more of a problem than others depending on how worsted (or semi-worsted) the single is spun, how much the single is overspun, how crimpy the fiber is, and how long the fiber is. With long-staple suri spun fine, this problem doesn't happen. With soft, woolen-spun huacaya from a crimpy fleece, this can be a real problem.
The third problem is consistency of loft and twist when some yarn is plied from the ball and some from the bobbin. In my hands, yarn plied from the ball tends to be loftier than the same singles plied from bobbins. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when delivering a number of skeins, some plied from the bobbins and others from the ball, consistency is an issue. I think what happens is that the yarn gets relaxed when it is wound into the ball. Therefore, it's more relaxed when plying happens and it is plied under less tension -- meaning it untwists more during plying. Part of this can be addressed through experience by adjusting my treadling speed to accommodate the different tension from the ball. Some of it, however, will always be different because tension and relaxation affect how the yarn untwists during plying and those will always differ between a ball and a bobbin.
Finally, I have more experience plying from bobbins and at my current skill level, I have more control. I know what I can do and what to adjust when I'm plying from a bobbin. I don't have this control when I'm plying from a ball and I lose that control when I have to stop to unwind the yarn or de-tangle the center strand.
It feels great to be through spinning Pinero's fiber into yarn. Now I can move on to the next project -- although I haven't figured out what that is yet.
posted by Upper Alpacas | 9:54 AM
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