# Spinning - Navaho plying



## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

How many Navaho ply? I am wondering because from what I see, if you Navaho ply, you lose a third of your yardage. Do you plan on spinning more yardage to allow for the loss? I did a little bit when I had extra yarn on one bobbin but ran out on the other. I like how it looks but wondered about the loss of yardage. Thanks.


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## wordancer (May 4, 2011)

Hum, just thinking here. It is not like you are losing a third of the yarage..it is like you are doing less spinning to get a 3-ply yarn. 

But yes, if one wants the finished 3-ply to be a certain yardage, I guess you would have to spin enough yarn to end up with that wanted yardage.

????


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## mama879 (Jan 27, 2011)

I thought when you Navajo ply you use most of the the spun yarn because you can make small circles or large ones so towards the end you could use small ones you can also add to it by just putting the next bobbin or tip of the yarn up to where the three ply joins and just spin it in. I'm going to see if I can find the video I watched that showed it.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

You can also do a 2ply yarn just by drawing one long loop through another and another and so on. You aren't really using more yarn up. You would have to spin twice of much of a single for a 2 ply, and three times as much for a three ply, it all depends on what you want as your finished yarn.


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## nellig (May 10, 2016)

That makes sense because you are plying three singles. If you were to 3 ply your singles you would spin three bobbins full so to Navaho ply, you need three times the singles on one bobbin. That sounds convoluted. Makes sense to me, hope it makes sense to others. 
Another thing to keep in mind, that I just read about, is measuring your yarn. After it is washed, some yarns shrink. The different yarns behave differently as do different prep methods and spinning methods. According to the article, yarn should be measured after it is washed for a more accurate measure. I'll see if I can remember where I read it and post a link. I just hope it wasn't in the Knitty archives.


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## dogyarns (Oct 28, 2014)

Cdambro said:


> How many Navaho ply? I am wondering because from what I see, if you Navaho ply, you lose a third of your yardage. Do you plan on spinning more yardage to allow for the loss? I did a little bit when I had extra yarn on one bobbin but ran out on the other. I like how it looks but wondered about the loss of yardage. Thanks.


You are only losing yardage if you were not planning a 3-ply yarn when you spun the singles. If you were planning a 3-ply yarn to begin with, then you are simply plying it in a different way to get the same result. That is, if you were planning to ply a 3-ply by spinning three bobbins and then plying them together, you are not going to need to spin any extra if you decide to N-ply instead. However, if you spin a bobbin and were planning to use it as singles, but then decided to N-ply it instead, then, yes, you would end up with 1/3 of the yardage you would have gotten from the singles.

I knit a lot of socks from my handspun, so I N-ply a lot to give me that lovely, rounded and strong yarn that holds up well with socks. Being easily distracted (Oh, look! Shiny!), N-plying means I only have to spin one bobbin before moving on to whatever else has caught my attention.

:sm16: :sm02: :sm02:


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## Goodshepfarm (Jul 20, 2014)

Yes, I do Navajo ply, and there are many things that I like about it and agree with above. The only thing I don't like is the irregular loop that is formed when you pull the yarn through the loop.


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## IndigoSpinner (Jul 9, 2011)

Linda6885 said:


> You can also do a 2ply yarn just by drawing one long loop through another and another and so on. You aren't really using more yarn up. You would have to spin twice of much of a single for a 2 ply, and three times as much for a three ply, it all depends on what you want as your finished yarn.


That's Navajo plying and is three ply and leaves you 1/3 of your original length.


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## spins2knit (Jul 29, 2013)

It is a three ply yarn so I can't see how you lose yardage. You would have to spin three singles anyway. I like Navaho plying because it makes such a nice round yarn and I am not very good at two ply even after 35 years.


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## BirchPoint (Feb 12, 2016)

The other nice thing about Navajo plying is the ability to spin long color runs and then Navajo ply to keep the color runs distinct. And, yes, 3 ply yarn is rounder and smoother. One must spin thinner singles to 3 ply into a worsted weight. There is more air in the plying, so it is generally a cushier yarn than a single or 2 ply.


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## shepherd (Feb 25, 2012)

As "nellie" pointed out, yarns can shrink. One group at Rhinebeck this year wove a lovely shawl but lost out completely because they didn't allow for the shrinkage and their shawl turned up short - a huge loss of points. Of course that had nothing to do with the plying method, but it is a factor in all spinning.


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## Condia (Jul 24, 2012)

I Navajo ply at least half of the time. If you give more tension at just the right time when coming up to the "join or loop point" you have no little "bump" and all is smooth. Yes, you do have to spin more yarn if you did not plan on doing a 3 ply but this is no different than if you are doing a 3 ply with 3 bobbins. I like it because sometimes the fiber "decides" how thick it wants to be spun so if it likes to be spun finer you can still get the weight you want by Navajo plying. I have also used it when spinning extra extra fine thread thickness fiber like when I do cotton off the seed. If you want bulky it goes the same way. With Navajo you can get the thickness you want with just about any singles you like.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

Thank you everyone for your replies! I love getting everyone's knowledge from your own experience.


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## Linda6885 (Feb 13, 2011)

BirchPoint said:


> The other nice thing about Navajo plying is the ability to spin long color runs and then Navajo ply to keep the color runs distinct. And, yes, 3 ply yarn is rounder and smoother. One must spin thinner singles to 3 ply into a worsted weight. There is more air in the plying, so it is generally a cushier yarn than a single or 2 ply.


Great idea. Think I will try this with some color matched roving I recently got at a fiber fest. I didn't want to blend it but couldn't think how I could stay true to the colors when plying. This solves the problem. :sm24:


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## henhouse2011 (Feb 20, 2011)

I like Navajo plying for the color control. I have also been using it with my cones of machine knitting yarn to make a thicker yarn to hand knit.


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## Cdambro (Dec 30, 2013)

henhouse2011 said:


> I like Navajo plying for the color control. I have also been using it with my cones of machine knitting yarn to make a thicker yarn to hand knit.


That's another great idea that I would never have thought about. Thanks.


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## JuneB (Oct 10, 2014)

I like Navajo plying since I only use one bobbin and spin back on its self I spin rather thin I always seem to get a sport weight yarn and I do like the color control can t get it with two bobbins


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

mama879 said:


> I thought when you Navajo ply you use most of the the spun yarn because you can make small circles or large ones so towards the end you could use small ones you can also add to it by just putting the next bobbin or tip of the yarn up to where the three ply joins and just spin it in. I'm going to see if I can find the video I watched that showed it.


That is correct. You use it all up


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## desireeross (Jun 2, 2013)

I Navajo ply for colour control . I do however prefer a 3 ply. I'm not getting an even n-ply with my espinner. Something I have to work on and that's why I still have a conventional wheel so I can n-ply.


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## marianikole (Aug 29, 2011)

I do Navaho plying from time to time. I like it for self-striping plied yarns, if I don't want to mix-up the color. Also, makes more "round" yarn, better stitch definition. It is good for some projects.


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