When I'm moving from spinning thin to spinning thick, I'll do some pre-drafting down to where I think it needs to be for the thickness, and spin up a sample -- then adjust, repeat, until I can see how thick I need to draft for the spun yarn to come out right. Once I have it right, I save a sample drafted and a sample spun on a card that I keep nearby while I continue spinning.
Also with thicker yarn, less twist is needed for it to be yarn, so put in a little less twist before winding on to your spindle, or treadle slower on your wheel.
A 3-ply will give you a rounder yarn to knit with, but then again you'll have to spin that many more yards before you are done ... if you've time and patience, spin up a 2 ply and a 3 ply and knit up samples to see which you prefer. On the plus side, the singles for the 3-ply will need to be a little finer than those for the 2 ply, so that might be an easier thickness to spin.
(posted by me this day on spindlers)
1 comment:
A few more notes ...
Paula Simmon's book "Spinning for Softness and Speed" is really good instructions for spinning lofty yarn; one key thing is not to compress the yarn as you spin, but allow air to stay in the spun yarn as much as you can. Making rolags or spinning from roving rather than combed top is also a good idea, as they contain more air than the more compressed preparation of combed top.
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