By Anne Podlesak
Because this very deep, rich colorway was dyed on SW wool, it retained sections of white throughout, so I decided that I wanted to spin a 3-ply yarn to minimize high-contrast barberpoling and help the sections that were much lighter than the dyed sections blend the colors together more evenly.
I split the roving into three equal lengths (I folded the roving into thirds, and pulled it apart at the fold line across the roving, rather than splitting it lengthwise, so the colors would blend and not stripe). I double-checked that the three pieces weighed approximately the same on my postal scale.
I then spun the three equal portions onto 3 separate bobbins. I put a tight twist into the singles, since I was planning on using the yarn for socks, and I put an equal amount of tight twist into the plying, to help with wear of the finished yarn.
Once the yarn was plied, I wound the finished yarn onto my skein-winder, added 3 choke-ties and allowed the finished yarn to soak in a lukewarm water and wool soak bath until completely saturated. I spun the excess water out in the washing machine (set on the spin only cycle – no spray), and then snapped the finished skein between outstretched hands to help set the twist. I rotated the skein 90-degrees as I snapped it, and did this 4 times, to help the twist distribute evenly. I hung the finished skein to dry without weights.
Technical Details:
Fiber: FatCatKnits Superwash merino roving, 4 oz. Colorway “Sugared Beets”
Singles: 76 wpi, spun Z-twist.
Plied yarn: 3-ply, 27 wpi, plied S-twist
Final yarn: 324 yards [296 m]/4 oz [113 g]
Photos © Anne Podlesak.
