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beau

Admin

Posts: 45

Problem with plying - 2007/05/17 19:49 Posted on behalf of Patty:

I'm new to spinning and only recently have produced something that actually looks like yarn (rather than dreadlocks). Its my understanding that when you ply your singles you ply in the opposite direction that the yarn was spun, but I find that I'm unspinning my singles during the plying process and it's coming apart. What am I doing wrong?

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allena

Admin

Posts: 159

Re:Problem with plying - 2007/05/17 20:12 Patty,
I need a little more information to tell exactly what is going on. Are you using a wheel or spindle? Are both singles coming unspun or just one? Here is a list of things to check over, and I hope they help.

1. You may not have added enough twist to the singles to make them
ply. Take a piece, fold it in half like you are checking for
balance, and let it drape down, does it ply together? Take a
length of singles and give it a stout tug, it should not pull
apart. If it does not ply back onto itself or pulls apart, then
you need to run it through again and add more twist.
2. You may have mistakenly spun in the other direction, try plying
the other way with a short length of singles.
3. You may have one singles spun in one direction and the other in
the opposite direction, this would make one single unspin.
4. Lastly, you may have lost the twist in the ends, which would cause
this problem, either add twist with your fingers, or snap the yarn
ends off, begin careful to not let them unspin, and try again.

I hope this helps Patty, and if not, send me another line, and we will look into it a little more closely. If you fall off, get back on and try again.

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jACQUIW
User

Expert Boarder

Posts: 28

Re:Problem with plying - 2007/05/19 03:25 If you are unspinning your singles the you need to ply in the other direction and see what happens. If its still unspinning you probably haven't put enough twist into your singles to begin with.Sometimes when we begin spinning we can get mixed up as to which way we have spun our wool so if you always spin in one direction you train yourself,then you know always to ply the other way.Hope that helps.

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Patiofurniture_2000
User

Fresh Boarder

Posts: 1

Re:Problem with plying - 2007/06/13 11:43 My plying has improved greatly (I still have alot to learn, but progress is always a good thing). I'm much better at spinning my singles more evenly, and when I ply I've learned to hold the two singles in one hand separated by my fingers, then pinch with my other hand to let the twist travel at a more even rate. Now this may sound obvious to you more experienced spinners, but let me tell you a GREAT BIG OLD LIGHT BULB went off over MY head that day!!!

-Patti

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allena

Admin

Posts: 159

Re:Problem with plying - 2007/06/27 22:35 Patti,
We all have big ol light bulbs, no matter how long we've been spinning. Suddenly you're doing something, and you say "AH HA! Now I know why..."

It's all part of the magic. If you fall off, get back on and try again.

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jACQUIW
User

Expert Boarder

Posts: 28

Re:Problem with plying - 2007/06/29 05:22 I found that plying to music helped me get the rhthym that made it go smoothly for me as a new spinner.Also not trying too hard to get it perfect.

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