Ann Grout | As Kat Knits

Fiber Friday – August 12, 2016

by Kat | Aug 12, 2016 | General

This installment of the Sheepspot Fiber Club is a lovely Shetland top and, I have been doing some sampling to see what it can do and it is interesting what I am learning, thus far.

I spun my first samples on my Schacht Matchless using the largest whorl I have (10.5:1) and I slowed my treadling way down and I increased my take up. My single ended up with about 3 TPI (twists per inch), my twist angle is 65-degrees, but I think that might be a bit too much twist. I’d like it at about 2 TPI, but I don’t think I can do that on my wheel with the whorl I have. I just am not certain I can treadle any slower! (The bottom skeinlet is the singles yarn)

I then spun up a sample that I plied. I did not change the whorl or my treadling for the singles, although I spun them a bit finer and decreased my take up significantly. I plied the yarn with a 40-degree twist angle and 3 TPI. I like this yarn very much before finishing. (The top skeinlet is the plied yarn) It is very interesting how different the two samples are in color as well.

I then sampled using spindles.

I spun the same amount of fiber on my Ann Grout Acorn Spindle – my goal was to create a low twist single. I got much better and more controlled results using a spindle – 1.5 TPI, a 25-degree twist angle, and it is a cohesive yarn. I have yet to wash and set the yarn, but I will full it a bit to help it stay together. (The skeinlet on the left is the singles yarn)

I spun a much finer single on my Jenkins Kuchulu Turkish Spindle. I wound the singles off into a plying ball and plied them on the same spindle. My twist angle was 50 degrees in the plied yarn and I got 4.5 TPI before finishing.