Friday, December 12, 2008

Fiber Friday - Cabled Yarn

I finally got the remaining singles from my SAFF classes off my bobbins. I decided to use the singles and make a 4-ply cabled yarn.

I took the two bobbins of singles and plying those together for a 2-ply yarn. I used my ball winder to get the two ply off the bobbin. I weighed the ball on my digital kitchen scale and then wound half of that weight into a second ball. I then plied the two balls together.

The only trick to remember about making a cabled yarn is the direction you need to ply. If you spin the singles with Z twist (clockwise), the first time you ply will be using S twist (counter clockwise). When you are ready to ply again you go back to using Z twist.

The results yarn is rounder than the other 2 and 3 ply yarns I've spun. It is also a bit firmer. I think I'd like to try it out sometime with two different colored singles instead of a variegated ones. I imagine it would be easier to see how are four plies are twisted together.

Geddesburg Handspun Yarn
Fiber Content: Peruvian Merino
Fiber Source: Black Bunny Fiber Club
Color: French Lavendar
Yardage: 176 yards
Notes: 4-ply cabled yarn

10 comments:

Trillian42 said...

That's really pretty stuff! I love the look and feel of cabled yarns - I'm going to have to try that at some point. Did you find you needed to put more or less twist in at any point, since you were plying twice?

Julie said...

I really like the cable, pretty!

Anonymous said...

Really nice blend of colors!

Karen said...

Very nice! I want to give cabled yarn a try one of these days too.

mel said...

Gorgeous spinning as always! I love the way this looks, I bet it will be so great to knit with!!

Bezzie said...

Very cool...and it looks easy enough. I'm glad you mentioned switching the directions of the twists the two times you ply. I'm sure I would have messed that up!

Zonda said...

That is just gorgeous!! Nice job on your cabled yarn! :)

bockstark.knits said...

very very pretty!!! i'll have to try this sometime!

Jennie said...

wow, very nifty!!

Batty said...

Pretty, and purple! I love cabled yarns for garments. They give them structure and support, I've found that cabled yarns make things stretch less.