With all due respect to core spun yarns, plying is critical to the appearance, strength, warmth, and durability of yarn. Why then, in modern spinning culture is plying considered a second rate procedure? Spinners that have many beautiful, expensive spindles, use toilet paper rolls as storage/plying bobbins and a shoe box with knitting needles as a lazy Kate.
Sorry, but singles do not feed smoothly and evenly off of a toilet paper roll on a knitting needle stuck through a shoe box. The result is less even plying. A smooth, even flow of each single is required for good plying. This is not a noticeable issue working with a few skeins of low twist woolen singles for 2-ply worsted weight yarns or even 4-ply DK yarns. However, if one is making fine sock yarns or warp for a large weaving project it quickly becomes an issue.
Alden Amos is craftsman that knows how to ply, and is honest enough to tell his students and readers the truth. Alden's Four Great Principles of Plying work. However, Alden does not want to scare spinners off by telling them that they need a lot of expensive tools for plying. That is my job. (On the other hand, he has never been bashful about selling a lot of expensive tools for plying.)
Good plying tools are as essential as good spinning tools. Instead of buying that third spinning wheel, use the money to get yourself some really good plying tools. Get or make a good lazy Kate, with bobbins that fit, so that they turn smoothly. (Along the way, you are likely to discover that you need a good bobbin winder.)
If you are working with fine or high twist singles, then they are much better behaved if they are blocked before plying. Blocking singles prior to plying can result in much less over all effort, and much better yarns. With high energy singles, Alden's principle of rewound bobbins is an understatement.
Blocking can be accomplished by running the single through a steamer under tension. Such a device can be made from a "T" of PVC pipe attached to an inexpensive clothes steamer. Less energetic singles can simply be wound onto reels, then washed and dried on the reel or the "Shaker Rocket Ship". This will take the combing/spinning oil out of the yarn and allow extended storage. Here are some currently in use at the Tulip Patch:
Sorry, but singles do not feed smoothly and evenly off of a toilet paper roll on a knitting needle stuck through a shoe box. The result is less even plying. A smooth, even flow of each single is required for good plying. This is not a noticeable issue working with a few skeins of low twist woolen singles for 2-ply worsted weight yarns or even 4-ply DK yarns. However, if one is making fine sock yarns or warp for a large weaving project it quickly becomes an issue.
Alden Amos is craftsman that knows how to ply, and is honest enough to tell his students and readers the truth. Alden's Four Great Principles of Plying work. However, Alden does not want to scare spinners off by telling them that they need a lot of expensive tools for plying. That is my job. (On the other hand, he has never been bashful about selling a lot of expensive tools for plying.)
Good plying tools are as essential as good spinning tools. Instead of buying that third spinning wheel, use the money to get yourself some really good plying tools. Get or make a good lazy Kate, with bobbins that fit, so that they turn smoothly. (Along the way, you are likely to discover that you need a good bobbin winder.)
If you are working with fine or high twist singles, then they are much better behaved if they are blocked before plying. Blocking singles prior to plying can result in much less over all effort, and much better yarns. With high energy singles, Alden's principle of rewound bobbins is an understatement.
Blocking can be accomplished by running the single through a steamer under tension. Such a device can be made from a "T" of PVC pipe attached to an inexpensive clothes steamer. Less energetic singles can simply be wound onto reels, then washed and dried on the reel or the "Shaker Rocket Ship". This will take the combing/spinning oil out of the yarn and allow extended storage. Here are some currently in use at the Tulip Patch:
The pointy thing, holds reels for winding off.
After washing and drying, singles can be wound into skeins for storage or put on plying bobbins. I have also started using pirns as cores for winding cones. More docile singles can simply be wound into center pull cakes for storage.
Now, comes the point of this post. Very fine singles are still a challenge to ply, particularly if you are doing 6 or 10 or more plies. When working with large numbers of fine plies, consistent and uniform tension can be achieved with a tension box of the type used by weavers for warping sectional beams.
I use one made by AVl. The one above by Leclerc is simpler. For a spinner to buy, there is some sticker shock, but they are easy to make, once you have the idea - dowels between 2 reeds or raddles.
I have mine about 6' from the spinning orifice, and use DRS controlled twist insertion. I allow twist to occur as the singles exit the tension box. The result is fast uniform plying even when working with fine, high energy singles.
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