Now that you have spun a single it is time to ply….
Do I have to ply? No.
Why do you ply yarn? A Plied Yarn makes the finished plied yarn stronger, more stable, and more consistent. It averages out the diameters of the singles as they are plied together. The more singles used to make a plied yarn, the more even the resulting yarn will be.
I have always had a problem over spinning my singles. Spinning is my stress reducer so my mood seems to determine my twist. I used to worry about even this (see I stress about EVERYTHING ;) lol)…. How do I make my singles not so kinky? Treadle slower? Increase my tension? Yes that does help, was it the answer for me? Not all the time, but was it the right answer sometimes… I remember asking a spinning teacher about this a few years ago. His one statement is all I needed to hear… “Take the twist out as you ply” A light bulb went off…. Stop worrying about my singles, and pay more attention to my plying…. Ahhhh what a difference that made.
There are many different ways to ply..
~ Ply from bobbins using a Lazy Kate (most recommended)
~ Ply from a center pull ball (least recommended but I do this all the time ;) )
~ Andean Plying (same concept as plying from a center pull ball)
~ Navajo Plying also known as Chain Plying (Fun to try)
Remember the most important part to plying is spinning in the opposite direction as your singles were spun. Some say you MUST spin singles in a Z (clockwise) direction and ply in an S (counterclockwise) direction. I find just do what is best for you and always ply opposite direction as you spun your singles… There are no rules in spinning… Just find what works for you!
Here are a few links you may find helpful
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