# Spinning: 2 ply question



## celtic dragon (Dec 13, 2016)

Thanks to all the help in the main forum about picking out what I could make with only 74 yards from my first two ply drop spindle attempt (top whirl). My question is is it under-spun as far as the ply is concerned? How do I know? I know it's art yarn due to the unevenness. But will it work better with knitting or crocheting? The more I'm reading, the world opens up and the less I know. Maybe I'll get a blending board and try that for spinning both plys next. 

You are all such great resources!
Sue


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## celtic dragon (Dec 13, 2016)

Oh. The weight is 31 grams and 13 wraps per inch. Light weight.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

I am fairly new to the spinning world and so many spinners here have a lot more experience to help you. I have learned a lot and like you, the more I read and see, the less I know. It is a whole new world but exciting and fun. I think your ply looks really good and not underplied at all. I watch YouTube videos....huge help. I actually found myself gravitating to the art yarn so I got a jumbo flyer and am trying to learn to spin coils. I love the art yarns. I have not done any crochet with my spun yarn....just knit. I have not spun any large amounts of yarn so I just am adding my spun yarn to a project made with commercial yarn. Actually, the first ply I did was using a commercial yarn with a single spun. Also, Craftsy has great classes and they have sales pretty often. Glad you found this section. I love it.


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

That looks good. I look for a 30 to 40 degree angle . The yarn will look good knitted or crocheted and any unevenness will disappear once worked up.


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

One indication is how the hank hangs after you've washed it. If it hangs straight and even, it's balanced. If it tries to twist around itself, something definately not balanced.

Another way of checking while you're plying is to see the direction that the individual fibers are going. They will wrap around the individual ply, and the plies will wrap around the yarn in a helix, but if you look closely at the individual fibers, they will seem to run parallel to the direction of the yarn if they're balanced. If they're not balanced, they'll seem to run at a diagonal to the direction of the yarn. You may need a magnifying glass to see this clearly.

Another test is to pull out a length of just-spun plied yarn and turn it back on itself, fold it in the middle. If it behaves itself, it's reasonably balanced. If it tries to ply itself (twist around itself), it's not balanced.


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

IndigoSpinner said:


> One indication is how the hank hangs after you've washed it. If it hangs straight and even, it's balanced. If it tries to twist around itself, something definately not balanced.
> 
> Another way of checking while you're plying is to see the direction that the individual fibers are going. They will wrap around the individual ply, and the plies will wrap around the yarn in a helix, but if you look closely at the individual fibers, they will seem to run parallel to the direction of the yarn if they're balanced. If they're not balanced, they'll seem to run at a diagonal to the direction of the yarn. You may need a magnifying glass to see this clearly.
> 
> Another test is to pull out a length of just-spun plied yarn and turn it back on itself, fold it in the middle. If it behaves itself, it's reasonably balanced. If it tries to ply itself (twist around itself), it's not balanced.


This is great info, thank you


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## Pam in LR (Feb 16, 2012)

Looks perfect to me.


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## celtic dragon (Dec 13, 2016)

Thank you! All this info is going in my notebook and charts!


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Looks great to me. If the single is spun with little twist, and it is plied to itself, it will be a loose ply to be balanced. A loose ply will be like holding two yarns together with just a bit of twist. I prefer spinning a singles with enough twist that when balance-plied, the yarn is 'solid' - no air between the plies. You have done that beautifully.


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

I never give it a thought as to using crochet of knitting. I do what ever I want. It is a small amount so just go for what ever you want to do and if you do not like it then try another way.


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## sockyarn (Jan 26, 2011)

I never give it a thought as to what I want to do it with (crochet or knit) I just go for it. You have such a small amount there that you can try one and if you do not like it then go for the other. Make sure you set the twist.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

I think it looks perfectly balanced.


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## Spindoctor (Sep 6, 2016)

Looks great to me. And when you get more experienced, you will spin perfectly even yarn and have to argue with people that won't believe it's handspun because it's even....


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## nellig (May 10, 2016)

I like your yarn. My yarn, too, is thick and thin, but I like it that way and have no present aspirations to spin perfectly balanced yarn. IMO if I want perfectly balanced yarn, my LYS benefits. In the meantime, I am very happy spinning along as I am. ????


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

Spindoctor said:


> Looks great to me. And when you get more experienced, you will spin perfectly even yarn and have to argue with people that won't believe it's handspun because it's even....


I know some spinners who spin perfectly even yarn. And when they attained that ability, they looked at their yarn and realized they could have gone out and bought that yarn.

I, personally, like to leave just a tiny bit of unevenness in my yarn. It looks more alive and organic to me. It has character. Being uneven is OK, if that's what you want.

But even if you don't spin perfectly evenly, you may still have to argue with people who don't believe that anyone can do handspinning in this day and age.


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

nellig said:


> I like your yarn. My yarn, too, is thick and thin, but I like it that way and have no present aspirations to spin perfectly balanced yarn. IMO if I want perfectly balanced yarn, my LYS benefits. In the meantime, I am very happy spinning along as I am. ????


I hope you mean you have no aspirations to spin _even_ yarn.

If you spin unbalanced yarn, you'll wind up with yarn that skews. In other words, if you knit what should be a square, it will actually be a parallelogram. If the top and bottom are horizontal, the sides will go at an angle, not at 90 degrees. Or, if it's a little closer to balanced, it will have one leg of stockinet stitch that's vertical, and the other that sticks out at an angle. I'm sure you've seen samples of this from people asking what they did wrong. Unbalanced yarn is not a problem if you plan to weave with it, but knitting with it will be a problem.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

Some of us are commenting on balanced ply, some are commenting on thick and thin yarn. That's 2 different subjects. For knitting or crochet or weaving, a balanced ply is best - no leaning stitches. Unless you want, I believe it's called, a live cloth, where the excess twist causes the fabric to sucker or move. That's different than thick or thin, which gives interest and handmade looks to your work. Yes, one can spin so even that it looks like store bought. I once had a teacher tell me the same about my 3 ply yarn. So, though I don't try for imperfections, when they happen( often enough ), it's OK! Thick and thin is beautiful! Balanced yarn is practical.


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## nellig (May 10, 2016)

IndigoSpinner said:


> I hope you mean you have no aspirations to spin _even_ yarn.
> 
> If you spin unbalanced yarn, you'll wind up with yarn that skews. In other words, if you knit what should be a square, it will actually be a parallelogram. If the top and bottom are horizontal, the sides will go at an angle, not at 90 degrees. Or, if it's a little closer to balanced, it will have one leg of stockinet stitch that's vertical, and the other that sticks out at an angle. I'm sure you've seen samples of this from people asking what they did wrong. Unbalanced yarn is not a problem if you plan to weave with it, but knitting with it will be a problem.


Did I say it wrong? My yarn hangs straight--well most of the time. It knits up well and weaves nicely. I correct myself--"no present aspirations to spin even yarn". The future, who knows? I might want to sell to my LYS.


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## Spindoctor (Sep 6, 2016)

LOL--I agree--people tell me all the time "nobody spins, that's not how clothes are made anymore". I point out that the flyer assembly is still used in fabric production, only rubber rollers are used in place of hands. Those whose minds are open want to learn more, the rest I just ignore. My favorite pin when doing demos is "Spinning--because knitting isn't weird enough".


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## Cheryl Straub (Mar 20, 2014)

This is something to consider when you are spinning yarn. How are you going to use that yarn. The direction of the twist will make or break a project. Here is a web site that explains better about twist: http://yarnsub.com/articles/twist


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## nellig (May 10, 2016)

Cheryl Straub said:


> This is something to consider when you are spinning yarn. How are you going to use that yarn. The direction of the twist will make or break a project. Here is a web site that explains better about twist: http://yarnsub.com/articles/twist


Thanks for this. I knew someone had once told the different uses for each. Couldn't remember.


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