# S - am i losing the battle or the war???



## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Well....here is where I am. I spun two braids and i think each bobbin looks nice. Graduated shades of pink to burgundy. I thought I would ply them to themselves and started that but didn't care for the strip pole look so stopped that and decided to Navajo ply so I could keep the colors separate. It was going pretty well other than my flow isn't smooth but I was doing it. Then, i needed to move the slider a bit forward and that is where it all went funky. The intake stopped and the ply just would not move forward through the orifice. At all. That didn't happen when I was just spinning the single. I have tried both tightening the tension and making it looser. Nothing is working and I am beyond frustrated. I took off the bobbin what I had completed because the yarn had broken and here it is. I think it is far too kinky but I thought soaking and thwacking would take that off and when I was checking it for twist as I plied, it had some twist but didn't seem to me like there was too much. So, spinners, what in the world am I doing wrong? I could sit and cry but I am not going to let this get me. I probably need to just leave it alone for now. If all else fails, I will just barber shop pole it and be grateful to get that much done.


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## Cookie61868 (Sep 19, 2011)

It's not as bad as you feel it is, my first yarns were definitely funky!!!! I look back at them now and I'm proud of how far I've come. In time you will be more relaxed and it will come as second nature. The best thing to do is take a break and return relaxed and with an open mind. Some fibers have a mind of their own to begin with, some like to be spun bulky, some thin and other chunky and bumpy. Yours looks pretty smooth just a little over spun which is fine, usually gets better with a soak. Spin happy!!!


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Cookie61868 said:


> It's not as bad as you feel it is, my first yarns were definitely funky!!!! I look back at them now and I'm proud of how far I've come. In time you will be more relaxed and it will come as second nature. The best thing to do is take a break and return relaxed and with an open mind. Some fibers have a mind of their own to begin with, some like to be spun bulky, some thin and other chunky and bumpy. Yours looks pretty smooth just a little over spun which is fine, usually gets better with a soak. Spin happy!!![/quote
> 
> Thanks. I think the ply will even out but I lost the intake of the yarn going through the orifice when I moved the sliding ring and that's the most frustrating part and i cannot seem to fix it. I need a glass of wine but it is not even noon. Lol. I planned my day to ply but that's not happening. I will tackle it later.
> 
> BTW....your batts and spinning are beautiful. I hope to get there someday.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Cdambro said:


> Well....here is where I am. I spun two braids and i think each bobbin looks nice. Graduated shades of pink to burgundy. I thought I would ply them to themselves and started that but didn't care for the strip pole look so stopped that and decided to Navajo ply so I could keep the colors separate. It was going pretty well other than my flow isn't smooth but I was doing it. Then, i needed to move the slider a bit forward and that is where it all went funky. The intake stopped and the ply just would not move forward through the orifice. At all. That didn't happen when I was just spinning the single. I have tried both tightening the tension and making it looser. Nothing is working and I am beyond frustrated. I took off the bobbin what I had completed because the yarn had broken and here it is. I think it is far too kinky but I thought soaking and thwacking would take that off and when I was checking it for twist as I plied, it had some twist but didn't seem to me like there was too much. So, spinners, what in the world am I doing wrong? I could sit and cry but I am not going to let this get me. I probably need to just leave it alone for now. If all else fails, I will just barber shop pole it and be grateful to get that much done.


Update....I plied it regular and here it is. I will work on Navaho plying another time.


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

It is a sweet pink. I like it.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

wordancer said:


> It is a sweet pink. I like it.


Thank you.


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

I think it is very pretty. I have not tried Navajo plying yet either have the yarn ready to go just chicken I guess then I have been doing so much lately.


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

I don't think washing and thwacking are going to fix the lively yarn. You're going to have to run it through the wheel again to remove some twist in my opinion.

I suspect that what went wrong when you moved the slider is that the yarn got caught somewhere and that made it stop feeding in. If the slider is a hook, it could have gotten caught on the hook. If not, it could have gotten caught between the slider and the flyer. Or it could have gotten caught somewhere else entirely.

When yarn stops feeding, check your brake band (which you seem to have done) and then check for where the yarn got caught that's keeping it from moving.

As for the overtwisted yarn, there _IS_ a way to tell if you're spinning balanced yarn visually, just by looking at it.

Look closely. You may want a magnifying glass to do this. You'll see that the _plies_ spiral around the yarn, but if you look _really_ closely, you'll see (if you have a balanced yarn) that the actual _fibers_ in the plies seem to be running in the same direction as the yarn.

Scroll down a little in the site you get from the link, and there's an explanation of it along with a photo that illustrates what I'm describing.

http://www.hjsstudio.com/balance.html

Good luck!


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

Indigo spinner, great article! Thanks.


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## spins2knit (Jul 29, 2013)

Navaho plying requires slowing down a great deal. At least for me. It is very easy to get over twist if you go too fast. Several of us in my spinning group have been discussing this. We also agree that we need to set aside the time to do the whole bobbinrather than stopping and starting again.


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## jenjoyo (Sep 21, 2011)

It's a beautiful color. Good for you for staying with it and seeing it through.


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## nuclearfinz (Feb 23, 2011)

I like the second ply better because I love varigated and tie dye. To me the second skein has more personality. I too, suck at navajo ply. I usually split a roving down the middle and spin it and then ply the yarn from a single ball.


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## mjo (Jul 21, 2012)

IndigoSpinner said:


> I don't think washing and thwacking are going to fix the lively yarn. You're going to have to run it through the wheel again to remove some twist in my opinion.
> 
> I suspect that what went wrong when you moved the slider is that the yarn got caught somewhere and that made it stop feeding in. If the slider is a hook, it could have gotten caught on the hook. If not, it could have gotten caught between the slider and the flyer. Or it could have gotten caught somewhere else entirely.
> 
> ...


Really like this link. 
I have had the frustration of losing the uptake when spinning and it is a good suggestion to double check the fiber when you move the hook. On my wheel when I stop and start it sometimes wraps itself twice around the hook with that slowing motion and then starting up again. So I have learned to check that before anything else if the fiber isn't feeding onto the bobbin. 
Don't give up in chain plying. Look at different videos. I know the first ones I watched didn't help and then I just stumbled on ne that clicked for me. Now NP is my default plying style.


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## fibermcgivver (Dec 18, 2012)

I agree with mjo... with Navaho plying, you have a few things going at once and sometimes one of the plys can get "hung up" at the eyelets as the yarn loads on the bobbin. Check it frequently and esp. if it isn't flowing well. And if it starts not loading as well, tighten the tension just a tad at a time. It is a fun method of plying and Inthink the resulting yarn would be perfect for slippers! If I get some done (after the first of the year) I'll post a pic!


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Thank you all and thank you for the really interesting link. I so appreciate all the help you all are so ready to give.


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

WOW! what a change. Came out beautiful.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

sockyarn said:


> WOW! what a change. Came out beautiful.


Thank you


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

Love it plied normally


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Goodshepfarm said:


> Love it plied normally


Thank you.


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

Why don't you practice the Navaho plying on some old or cheap commercial yarn. Don't forget to reverse the direction of the twist that it is in.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

wordancer said:


> Why don't you practice the Navaho plying on some old or cheap commercial yarn. Don't forget to reverse the direction of the twist that it is in.


Great idea...thanks. I have some cone yarn I can use and it will easily ply off the cone.


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