Today we move onto plying our alpaca singles. Be sure to give your spools time to rest. Freshly spun singles have quite a bit of energy in them and can fight you a tad at the plying stage.
When knitting I’m not fond of working in ends. For this reason I like a fair amount of yardage in my skeins of yarn. By plying onto a jumbo bobbin I can maximize my yardage per skein.
For my yarn I’m using the second slot of the jumbo flyer. I set up the tension of the bobbin to be quite strong. When plying I like a fair amount of resistance between the bobbin and my right hand that holds the singles.
The spools are added to the lazy Kate. They all face the same direction. This way the singles are all coming off of the top or the bottom. I never mix match this setup. That way the singles seem easier to control.
My right hand controls the singles. The singles are separated evenly between my fingers. This hand remains in the same place as I spin. I also pull back to keep the singles taut between my right hand and the bobbin. This will help to avoid pig tails in the yarn. Even tension on each single will ensure a nice even twist.
While treadling keep the right hand holding the singles in the same position. For me this in generally the right side of my waist. Count your treadles. For example treadle four times and on the fifth allow the yarn To go onto the bobbin.
After a long few times winding onto the bobbin, pull a piece of yarn from the bobbin and allow to fall from the flyer. If it hangs without twisting you have a balanced yarn. This can take some trial and error. Pulling from the bobbin is key as it is fully twisted where the yarn that as not wound onto the bobbin is not. Continue to ply. It’s a good idea to check your yarn as you advance the yarn onto the bobbin.
Once you have completed plying the singles, loosen the tension on the spool. I find wrapping onto a kniddy knoddy much easier from the flyer than from the lazy Kate.
Before removing the skein from the kniddy knoddy make 4 figure eight ties. Release the skein. Now your skein is ready to be set by washing it. For this I alternate between a hot and cold water bath. This will full the yarn. Don’t be overly aggressive at this stage as you want it fulled (stabilizes the yarn to keep the singles together forming a relaxed knitting yarn) not felted.
Be sure to stop by our YouTube channel for the video to accompany this article.
Other alpaca videos
Washing Alpaca
Picking and Carding Alpaca
Spinning Alpaca
Until next time happy spinning!