You have been spinning for a project and prepped fibre your way. Now, you have your bobbins filled with singles and are ready to get plying. Here are my top 10 plying tips for handspun:
- Wheel care. Prior to your plying session, remember to give your wheel some tender loving care by oiling it. Check out Katrina Stewart’s tutorial Day to Day Oiling of your Spinning Wheel for step-by-step guidance on this.
- Pay attention to the twist direction of your singles. When plying, twist them in the opposite direction from how you spun them. To verify what direction to ply, allow a strand of the singles on the bobbin to ply back on itself. If the singles were spun some time ago, you might need to reactivate the twist by briefly submerging the strand in a cup of water.
- Take your time with the plying process. Avoid the temptation to rush, as plying is a critical step in the final look and function of your handspun yarn.
- Utilize your control card. If you haven’t been using it to monitor the consistency of your singles’ diameter and the twist, start doing so. A control card can greatly improve yarn consistency throughout the spinning process. Refer to Kim McKenna’s Spinning a Controlled Release Sample tutorial to learn how to do it.
- Consider adding a touch more twist. Keep in mind that your yarns will relax after finishing, so adding a bit more twist, such as an extra treadle, before winding onto the bobbin is often beneficial. The exact amount may vary depending on the type of fibre you’re using, so some experimentation might be necessary.
- Rewind your singles onto lighter bobbins. Rewinding ensures a more even redistribution of the singles’ twist and helps maintain consistent bobbin filling compared to when you initially spun the singles.
- Ply through the rings. Once your setup is in place, plying through the rings can make the plying process more enjoyable and your finished handspun more consistent.
- Separate plies. Use your back hand fingers to separate your singles before the twist is added to them and your front hand to control when and how much twist is added. This tip does not apply when differential-plying.
- Wet finish. Remember to finish your yarns properly before making any judgments. The finishing process has its own intricacies and nuances, but that’s a topic for another article.
- Swatch with your finished yarns. Swatching with your handspun provides valuable insights and inspiration for your projects. You can follow the Knit a Wrist Distaff tutorial from Rachel Smith for a practical and wearable swatch.
And finally, remember your yarn it’s not done until you decide it is done. If you’ve finished and swatched with your handspun yarns and you don’t love it, identify what would make the yarn better; you can add or subtract more twist and finish the yarn again!
This was just a list of my top 10 plying tips for handspun. At the School of SweetGeorgia, we offer spinning classes ranging from fundamentals to advanced levels, providing a wealth of spinning tips and knowledge.
Where Are We Meeting to Spin Along?
The spin-along continues until Oct 31st, 2023. Join us spinning for a project and share photos in the SweetGeorgia Discord server.
As a School of SweetGeorgia member, check out the Events Calendar to find out the upcoming meetups, ideal for chatting and sharing projects with our community, as well as co-working sessions where we make time to make things together.
Remember, you can join the spin-along at any time, so dive into your stash or visit the SweetGeorgia shop to find some beautiful fibre and spin along with us! We’d love to see your spinning progress on social media using the hashtag #sosspinning, or join other School of SweetGeorgia members and instructors in the School of SweetGeorgia forums.
Original publication: October 16th, 2023; Refreshed: January 27th, 2025
