Direction of Twist
So I pulled out some carded wool from the stash and got to experimenting. After I pulled the batt into a roving and started spinning--with more twist that I normally put in the singles and at a slightly higher ratio--whatever the middle ratio on my Lendrum is--I pulled out a sample lenth, let it twist back on itself and compared it to my "model" yarn, a length of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (as far as I can tell, it's the same damn yarn as Koigu).
That's when I noticed it.
I spin my singles with a S-twist, then ply them with an Z-twist. The CTH Supersock is the opposite.
As was the other millspun plyed yarn I have sitting on the couch next to me (KnitPicks Gloss, Louet Gems Opal, superwash wool from Sundara Yarns), with the exception of the Silk Garden Lite, which is a singles yarn, spun with a Z-twist. Which makes sense, as it's a singles yarn.
I know there's no "right" direction to spin/ply, but how does everyone else do it? Is there a concensus that Z-spun, S-plyed yarn is better for handknitting and this is why all the millspun yarn that I checked is spun this way (I know that knitting can introduce/eliminate twist from yarns)? Or is it just the way all the big mechanical spinners are set up?
On the upside--the higher ratio and increased amount of twist in the singles does seem to be producing the sort of yarn I want to produce--a tightly plyed and somewhat springy sockweight yarn (still not as tightly plyed or as springy as the CTH, though). We'll see if the technique carries through to the good fiber.
That's when I noticed it.
I spin my singles with a S-twist, then ply them with an Z-twist. The CTH Supersock is the opposite.
As was the other millspun plyed yarn I have sitting on the couch next to me (KnitPicks Gloss, Louet Gems Opal, superwash wool from Sundara Yarns), with the exception of the Silk Garden Lite, which is a singles yarn, spun with a Z-twist. Which makes sense, as it's a singles yarn.
I know there's no "right" direction to spin/ply, but how does everyone else do it? Is there a concensus that Z-spun, S-plyed yarn is better for handknitting and this is why all the millspun yarn that I checked is spun this way (I know that knitting can introduce/eliminate twist from yarns)? Or is it just the way all the big mechanical spinners are set up?
On the upside--the higher ratio and increased amount of twist in the singles does seem to be producing the sort of yarn I want to produce--a tightly plyed and somewhat springy sockweight yarn (still not as tightly plyed or as springy as the CTH, though). We'll see if the technique carries through to the good fiber.