The Making of a Handspun Sweater Lot

A few weeks ago, Rohn Strong posted this image to his Facebook page. He thought this would make a great yarn colorway, and frankly I had to agree. Everything about this picture speaks to me, I knew it would be perfect for my first handspun yarn sweater lot.

I've been working through a bump of corriedale wool and new that I could get the colors to translate perfectly onto the wool. I chose to do two, 1 lb dye lots using similar colors.  First I dyed one, and then I re-used the original water and built my second round of colors off of leftover dye from the first lot. 

You can see that each pound of wool turned out different, but similar. The subtle differences would provide lots of depth in the finished yarn. I used the fractal spinning method that I typically use and spun 4, 4oz singles out of each pound of wool.  

It took me a long time to spin 8- 4 oz bobbins. A bit longer than usual in this case because my focus was interrupted by wholesale orders and fiber prep.

Once all the singles were spun I had to wind them off into center pull balls. I don't normally do this as I prefer to spin off the bobbin, but I ran out of bobbins!

And there you have it! 2 lbs, or 8, 4 oz skeins of handspun yarn! Each worsted weight skein is approximately 150 yards so, 1200 yards total in the lot!

This colorway is currently available as the whole lot for ONE WEEK. Next Saturday I have a show at One Lupine Fiber Art in Bangor, Maine and this lot will be coming with me and up for individual sale.

This handspun sweater lot is now available in my Etsy Shop, to purchase click, here.

OnTheRound Luxury Batts to Yarn

Good morning! It feels like I was waiting for Friday all week, and now that I'm here, I don't quite know what to do with myself.... I have so many thoughts and ideas and projects going on I keep finding myself spinning in circles!

Usually when this happens (I must admit it happens frequently) it's best to just sit down and see what computer work needs to be done. So here I am.

Earlier this week I posted a picture on my Facebook Fan Page showing off the batts that I recently spun into yarn and listed in my Etsy Shop. I thought i might be nice to post it here and maybe talk a little bit about the process.

Here are three of the colorways that I recently listed, as well as the batts that they were spun from.

Fun, right? I spun these batts by ripping them into strips and lightly pulling them into roving. I was careful not to draft them out too much because I wanted to keep the dramatic pops of color and texture. You can read more about how to prep a batt for spinning here.


Spinning from batts is probably my favorite prep method to spin from. I like how all the fibers are all fluffed up and ready to go, unlike roving there the fibers are so perfectly in place and snugly packed together.

OnTheRound Luxury Batt, available, here.

Art batts are especially fun because of all the great texture changes. I like to spin my art batts into a traditional, worsted - sport weight 2 ply. I like the way you can really stretch out the different fibers and colors when you spin a batt thin, and the plying is nice because it balances out the inevitable thick and thin spots of the yarn. Navajo plying a thinly spun art batt is also really beautiful!

Apart from the way these yarns look, they also have a wonderful feel to them. The base of all these batts/yarns is merino- that means merino makes up the majority of the content and the other fibers are more accents. The reason for this is to ensure that your yarn is still super soft and can be used for next to skin projects.

I personally love using my handspun yarn spun from batts for scarves and wraps because I love the all over pops of colors vs variegated striping.  Also, all the add ins and different fibers like bamboo and silk give the skein great weight which makes it hang well and is ideal for lace work.
 
Speaking of scarves/wraps. I have a new pattern that I will be releasing next week that is specifically designed for my luxury handspun yarn. Here is a little teaser of that pattern!

Some of you may have seen this pattern in person at the craft shows I did this summer! I am really in love with it because it is a simple quick knit that really shows off your beautiful handspun. It's also a totally versatile pattern that doesn't rely on correct gauge, so you can substitute in any yarn type, brand, or weight.  

You'll have to wait to see more about the details of this pattern, but you should know all the Luxury skeins in my shop right now would be perfect!

The sample for this pattern was knit with a luxury blend that I pulled from my shop after I closed for vacation.

See how the bits of orange and blue knit in? I love that! I had about 8 oz of yarn and over 400 yards so this scarf is REALLY long. Probably awkwardly long, but frankly that's how I like my scarves.

So, stay tuned on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or sign up for my Newsletter to check out the new pattern that will be released next week.

For you spinners out there, I'm hoping to get some bright and beautiful luxury batts carded up for your spinning pleasure this weekend. For now, I have plenty of Made in Maine Batts available and new hand dyed Corriedale Top/Roving listed in my shop!

And if you like what you see, go grab a skein of Luxury Handspun Yarn now at www.ontheround.etsy.com

And have a great Friday!

Tips for knitting with handspun yarn

It's that time of year friends, cold weather is offically here and people have already started counting down the days until Christmas. That means it's time to start knitting (if you haven't started all ready that is)! I thought it might be helpful to put together some tips and ideas about working with handspun this knitting season.

Citron Shawl knit using ontheround luxury handspun

If you have never tried knitting with handspun, I highly recommend it (obviously), but let's talk about why.


Knitting with handspun is awesome and I can guarantee a knitting experience like no other. What more do you need to know?


Next up, choosing what to knit (or crochet). If you are new to working with handspun yarn, I recommend choosing a "Lifesyle Pattern" Something basic, written for a yarn weight verses a specific yarn brand. A raglan pullover I would consider to be a lifesyle pattern, a simple top up sock pattern. Something that will allow you a little wiggle room if you need it.

Or you can just wing it! Handspun yarn is great for accessories like hats, mittens, scarves, cowls- just cast on and go wild!

ontheround handspun Merino Yarn

Whatever you decide to knit, consider working your project in the round since it use less yarn then a project worked back and forth.


Now, let's just assume for the sake of this post that you have the handspun yarn (I hope it's OnTheRound Handspun Yarn!) and a pattern ready to go. First I recommend hand balling your yarn. Now you are either thinking, "obviously, how else do you ball it"; or you are "thinking heck no I only use my ball winder." Either way I will explain. I look at hand balling my handspun yarn as a sort of first date, a get to know you meeting. Pay attention to the thick and thinness of the yarn, the color changes and the overall feel. Once you are done, you should have a pretty good idea of what your yarn is all about.


Next, knit a swatch. Most people who knit with handspun are generally scared that they won't have enough. I don't know what it is about it, I do it myself. Regardless of this fear, you must still knit a swatch, in fact it's even more important that you knit a swatch! This is your second date with your yarn. Don't fee like you have to keep the swatch though. Instead of cutting your yarn at the end of your swatch, get the information you need (WRITE IT DOWN) and then rip out the swatch.

Top down raglan children's sweater, ontheround handspun yarn

Now you are ready for a full blown relationship with your yarn. Don't waste any time, get casting on! Speaking of casting on, depending on the twist in your handspun yarn and how you cast on, the twist might come undone and look like two stands on your needle. Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, it will work itself out once you have knit your first row. However, be mindful when you are knitting that first row, you don't want to pick up any extra stitches.


Lastly, get right with ripping out. Your handspun yarn is special, under no circumstances are you going to toss your project because it's gone horribly wrong. Go in with the understanding that if your project just isn't working out, you are going to rip it out and find something better. If you love the project, no problem, just do it again later with another yarn. After all, we're knitting because we love to knit right?


Still want to know more? Check out this great Article in Knitty Spins for more information about knitting with handspun yarn.   If you have any questions about knitting with handspun, please leave them in the comments bellow.

Looking for handspun yarn? I have a fully stocked Etsy shop full of different wool breeds and yarn weights! 

Next week I'll have project suggestions for handspun yarn, stay tuned.

Have fun and happy knitting! 

Fresh Fleece!

I think I am committed to my New Look...

Tonight I'll be spinning some freshly scoured Romney/Merino fleece. It's pure heaven in my hand! 

Spinspiration: Roving to Yarn

Good morning!

My summer spin-a-thon has officially begun! I have to spin a minimum of 2 skeins a day just to keep up with my show schedule and online sales. It's a lot of work, but I really do love it- I just drag my wheel around with me where ever I go. You can follow along with my spinning progress on my Instagram or Flickr, I am using hashtag #spinathon and #ontheround.

To help get you in the spinning mood for the Tour de Fleece, I thought I would share some spinspiration! These are all skeins that I have spun in the last couple of weeks. Please note, I spun all of these yarns on my Ashford kiwi, I used the fractal spinning method to prepare my roving, and I spun worsted style. I've included purchasing information for either the yarn or the roving in the caption, just click the link to be taken to my shop.

Hand painted BFL

Roving available available for purchase, here

Hand painted BFL

Roving available for purchase, here.

Hand painted Merino, thread plied

Yarn available for purchase, here. 

Hand painted Merino

Yarn available for purchase, here. 

Hand painted Merino

Yarn available for purchase, here.

Hand painted Merino

Yarn available for purchase, here.

Hand painted BFL

Yarn available for purchase, here. 

Hand painted Merino

Yarn available for purchase, here. 

Happy Spinning!

Handspun Self Striping 2 ply Yarn Tutorial

This is a simple tutorial to show you how to spin a self striping 2ply handspun yarn. I used my Pastel Rainbow Merino Wool Spinner's Pack- available here, but you can use any wool you like! I recommend using 3 or more colors, just be mindful off how much your bobbin can hold. My spinner's pack includes approximately 3.5 oz of merino wool dyed in 7 different colors- Rose Pink, Peach, Lemon, Nile Green, Aqualon Blue, Baby Blue, and Violet. You can use this technique for any yarn weight you like- just remember while you are spinning your singles that it is going to be twice as thick when you ply. For this tutorial I am going to spin about a fingering weight single which will result in about a DK weight 2 ply.

Pastel Rainbow Merino Wool Spinners Pack by OnTheRound

The first thing you are going to do is split each different color in half. You can do this by weighing out the wool to ensure equal parts, or you can do it like I do and just eye ball it. Once you have split the wool up, lay it out in the order that you are going to spin it, this will keep you from spinning the wool out of order.

Split your roving into 2 even pieces.

Notice how I laid the colors out- the purple is the last color in the skein so it in the middle. You will spin you last color all in one long row and then repeat the color order backwards so that you end with the color you began with.

split your roving in halves or thirds.

 Divide or draft each piece of roving into thin strips, this will help even out the color on your hand dyed wool.

Keep joining the new colors all on one bobbin.

 Spin through each color strip you have laid out. Join on a new color by holding the new fiber at a 90 degree angle from the spun strand and core spin it on to attach. Make sure your yarn is joined securely so it doesn't break when you are plying.

Wind your full bobbin off into a center pull ball.

Once your bobbin is full, wind it off into a center pull ball using a ball winder. If you are not comfortable with this technique you can spin each half of the yarn onto separate bobbin's and ply that way (in that case, divide all the colors in half, including the purple).

After you have finished spinning your single, be sure to give your yarn at least 12 hours to rest before plying. Allowing your yarn to rest will help ensure your finished yarn is balanced.

Remove some yardage from the single to make the colors line up.

 Once your yarn has rested begin plying- remember to ply in the opposite direction that you spun the original single in.

I like each color change to have a slight overlap. For example, I like the pink to merge in with the orange for a yard or so before the 2 orange strands come together. If you feel like there is too much color overlap, break color strand off that is too long to remove the extra yardage. Reattach where the new color begins and continue plying. You can see in the picture above I had to remove a bit from all most all of the color changes.

Ta-Dah! Finished 2ply, self striping yarn. 

And that's it! Now you have a perfect self striping skein of handspun yarn. 

Self striping yarn is super fun to knit up. It is ideal for hats and cowls, the yoke on a sweater or my personal favorite, shawls! If you have two skeins of matching striping yarn you could make a pair or striped socks or some mittens!

 Whatever you choose to do- get creative and have fun! 

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them here in the comments section or email me at rachel@ontheround.com. And please share your work HERE in my Facebook Fan Page.

Happy Spinning! 

OnTheRound Shop Update 5/2/13

OnTheRound Shop Update 5/2/13, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

This update will feature handspun BFL and Merino wool, hand dyed sport weight BFL, 2 new colorways in my Maine Yarn & Wool collection.

This update will also feature one of my newest products- a felting kit! More information on that to come tomorrow....

www.ontheround.etsy.com

Sunday Spinning

In case you're looking for me today, here is where I will be. In my rocking chair, tucked in neatly with my baby wrapped tightly to my body, peddling away at my wheel and a glass of water near by.

Happy Sunday!

Navajo Plying

NavajoBlog, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

Lately I've been experimenting with Navajo Plying, or chain plying handspun yarn. I work with hand painted roving a lot and I really like the way that the method retains the color changes in the wool.

When I am trying a new technique, I prefer to wing it initially, and then research the technique. The yarn above is my first attempt.

I've since done quite a bit of research on the subject and have learned a thing or two.

Overall, my first attempt turned out quite well. I used a one hand method and it became clear to me that I need to use my left hand to hold the twist so I don' t get little tangles as I work a new loop (see middle photo). I also was treadling very quickly and had my bobbin on fast intake resulting in a frantic spin...clearly I need to slow it down next time.



This morning I found this great video by Sarah Anderson on youtube. I really think that this video is THE video you should watch if you are interested in learning to N-ply yourself. She explains quite a lot in a very methodical, logical way all while showing the technique, slowly and clearly.

I'm going to do a few more play skeins with little bits of singles I have laying around before taking it to the shop. My plan is to N-ply the Finn wool I recently hand painted and offer it up in the shop next week.

Stay Tuned!

Handspun Yarn Update

UpdatePromo2012, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

Good morning!

Today I am editing photos for my next shop update. At the rate that I am currently waddling, it's looking like I'll be listing new yarn on Thursday, Feb 2nd. Be sure to come by the shop and see all the beautiful blues and greens I have in store for this week!

How To Prep A Batt for Spinning

Love the look of batts but don't have the slightest idea how to work with them? Allow me to show you how to prep a fibery fun batt for spinning!

This is how your batt will arrive.



First you want to open up your batt and lay it out flat.



Then you want to gently pull your batt into strip's. Leave the end of the strip connected to the whole and alternate ends so that you end up with a zig-zag.



Next you are going to draft out your batt into one long piece- like roving. When you are drafting out the wool you are going to want keep your hands about 6 inches apart. It will require some strength- but be sure to keep control so you don't just rip the wool apart.



It's best to draft out the wool several times to get it the thickness you want rather than try and draft it out very thin all at once. When your batt is drafted to your desired thickness, roll it up into a ball.



Now you are ready to spin!