Because it's nice to know what
other spinners think about a fiber you haven't
yet tried, welcome to the Knittyspin Fiber
Fiesta feature! Each type of fiber is tested
by up to 5 average spinners, each with a different
background and level of experience. Each spinner
is provided with the same amount of fiber,
and each spinner spins, plies, finishes and
knits each fiber as it speaks to them. Their
feedback is collected on a standardized form
and summarized below. New! Follow
one spinner's comments all through each review,
right up to the yarn they spun and swatch they
knit.
Fiber that did not receive good feedback
will not be featured in Knitty, in accordance
with our review policy, so if a fiber
is featured here, it means the majority of
spinners liked it!
Retail prices are in USD.
Our spinners this issue:
Spinner
Spinning
how long?
What do
you
spin on?
What do
you like best about spinning in the fall?
A
About 7 years
Majacraft Rose
The cool fall weather
makes me want to cuddle up to new fibers,
spinning and knitting in anticipation
of creating cozy items for the cold winter
months.
C
Approx. 19 years.
I started knitting when my oldest was
1 and then I wanted to make my OWN yarn.
It was a logical next step to start spinning.
Schacht Cherry Matchless,
Louet S75
What I love about spinning
in the fall is the cool, crisp evenings
that let me spin without sweaty hands.
I don’t stop spinning in the summer,
but it’s not much fun to have roving
sticking to your legs because it’s
still so humid even with the air on.
I love spinning on the deck when the
breeze keeps the mosquitoes away and
the hot tea steams on the table next
to me.
D
About 12 years
Lendrum
The warmth of the wool
is welcome and the air is crisp and bright.
It’s not the stickiness due to
humid day and sweaty hands of summer.
I love getting inspiration from fall
colors.
E
I have been spinning in
my imagination for about 45 years. My
secret wish was granted about 5 years
ago
Schacht Matchless
Spinnig in the Fall is
pure bliss. The garden is in, the sense
of cozy, settles in, projects dance in
my head, fall colors, and wool festivals
loom, I say bring it on.
J
Started 15 years ago,
took a big hiatus (8 years?), obsessively
spinning for the past 7 years.
Schacht Matchless, Schacht
Sidekick, Majacraft Suzie Pro
For me fall is about the
last of the fiber festivals and settling
in with movies and spinning. Fall spinning
seems to exist in it’s own space
and time – I spin much more in
quantity and efficiency than any other
time of year.
L
Not sure but I think at
least 6-7 years. I can't
believe I can't remember.
Schacht Cherry Matchless
Spinning outside
CjKoho
Designs CJ can't resist messing
with dyes in the early morning dark
before her family wakes up and frequently
shows up at her day job with multi-colored
fingers.
Fiber
BFL
Color
Erica
/ Romina / Lynne V
Weight
4 oz
Put
up
top
Price
$22.00
#
of spinners
5
overall
impression
E=
Grand colors. Crimp still evident,
Great color transitions J= Love the icey blue and green A= Nicely prepared roving and fun colorway
how does it
feel? 1= pot scrubber
5= baby’s bum
how
much predrafting needed?
1= a ton
5= none
how did it
spin? 1= fought me like Moby Dick
5= aaaaaah
dye leak? 1=lots
5=none
describe it
in a phrase
E=
This color way reminds me of the lavender
bee balm in my garden J= cool blue D= quick and easy L= Soft clouds of
vivid color
how did you
spin it?
E=Short
backward draw. I stripped the roving
into 6 and then spun them in succession.
Spun worsted
J= Spun 4 singles, plied into 2 two-ply yarns, then plied those 2 plys
together to make a cable yarn. Spun it woolen.
A= Worsted
D= Let it do its color thing – stripped it to get
shorter color variations. Woolen
L= Took chunks of two colors and mixed them up a bit by
hand, then spun longdraw from the fold.
how did you
ply it?
E= 2 J= cable! A= 2 ply D= 2 ply L= 2 ply
WPI
E= 12 J= 7 A= 12 D= 9 L= 11
how did you
finish it?
E=
Hot water, thwack J= Hot water soak, hang on the porch A= rinse and hang D= hot water, microwave blast, hang dry L= warm water and a couple of
whacks
did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?
E=This
wool was a great spin. Nice and smooth,
great color blends
J= Just enough bite to make my cable ply pop and a tiny bit of BFL shine
to make the cable sexy.
A= spun up nicely, but expected it because the roving was nicely prepared
D=
great spin
L = I tried some color blending at
the wheel. I tried to do a gradation
thing but I think the colors were just
too far apart on the color wheel. The
yarn had an unintended yuletide vibe,
but I really like the swatch.
what
would you make with it?
E=We
are talking mittens here, with a nice
tight gauge. J= Texture, cables, twisted stitches – a long jacket A= coziness and fun colors would be great for a fall accessory – fingerless
gloves, cowl or hat. D= vest with wonderful subtle color variations L= Next to the skin sweaters, socks, baby stuff.
Good
Karma Farm Each of these luscious batts
is a full 8 oz of spinning or felting
fun. Every batt is one of a kind and
the overall fiber content varies slightly.
Fiber
alpaca
40% /Cormo 60%/sari silk/glitz
Color
reds/pinks
Weight
8 oz
Put
up
Big Phat Batt
Price
$45
#
of spinners
4
overall
impression
J=
rose rainbow, alpaca soft C= I don’t like
to spin chunky. I will spend a lot
of time picking out bits from my yarn
that make it anything, but smooth.
I took a chunk of this ginormous batt
and thought, “What the heck
am I going to do with this?” Turns
out, I had a lot of fun E= Santa fe colors, earth rock sunset.
how does it
feel? 1= pot scrubber
5= baby’s bum
how
much predrafting needed?
1= a ton
5= none
how did it
spin? 1= fought me like Moby Dick
5= aaaaaah
dye leak? 1=lots
5=none
describe it
in a phrase
J=
pink dirt C= more fun than a
barrel of monkeys L= Moab dirt with
a little bling E = Sunset on texture
how did you
spin it?
J=
coreless corespun C= corespun on 2-ply lace weight L= Semi-woolen supported long draw E= Supported long draw
how did you
ply it?
J=
n/a C= n/a L= 2 ply E= n/a
WPI
J= 4 C= 7 L= 9 E= 8
how did you
finish it?
J=
hot soak and hang C= washed and whacked L= warm water and some minor whacks E = hot soak, thwack
and hung to dry
did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?
J=
did coreless core spinning for the
first time and it was great.
C= I had a lot more fun than I expected. Having just come off a Jacey Boggs
class, I was ready to try the wrapping technique and was surprised at how
easy it was to get into a groove. The spinning went very quickly – once
I let go of my smoothing tendencies.
L= The color ended up more muted, and the overall effect
was more earthy than I expected. Every time I picked it up to knit I liked
it better.
E= Spun this batt into a tame single,
enjoyed the adventure of color and
texture as it flowed.
what
would you make with it?
J=
mittens C= A baby sweater
for someone who knows how to take care
of a wool sweater L= Chunky hat and
matching mittens E= Trim for a
funky hat
Rocky
Mountailn Dyeworks At Rocky Mountain Dyeworks we
take our inspiration from the deep,
rich colours of nature. Our studio
is located in the Canadian Rocky
Mountains surrounded by emerald green
lakes, clear blue skies, silver-grey
mountains and the beautiful chaos
of wildflower meadows. And
the occasional grizzly!
Fiber
Superwash
Merino
Color
Wood
Sprite / American Emerald
Weight
4 oz
Put
up
Rundle Roving - top
Price
$20.00
#
of spinners
4
overall
impression
J= earthy
and pillow soft E= Love the colorway, jewel and earth C= Green is my favorite color, so I was immediately drawn to this braid.
I love the subtle color shifts – the blue was a great surprise while
I was spinning. I absolutely love the resulting yarn and then fell in love
all over again with the knitted swatch. A= great subtle changes in green
how does it
feel? 1= pot scrubber
5= baby’s bum
how
much predrafting needed?
1= a ton
5= none
how did it spin? 1= fought me like Moby Dick
5= aaaaaah
dye leak? 1=lots
5=none
describe it
in a phrase
E =
Earth rock jewels J = fairytale woods C = mindless spinning – a real joy
how did you
spin it?
E=I spun
this up with a medium long draw. Worsted. J= woolen and fine-ish C= Thickish, worsted
weight singles, plied together on my
Louet S75 A = I decided on singles to
keep the subtle color variations
how did you
ply it?
E= 2 ply J= chain ply C= 2 ply A = n/a
WPI
E=
12
how did you
finish it?
E= hot
water thwack J= hot soak and hang C = wash and whack A = rinsed and hang
did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?
E=I just
sat and spun, the color variation needed
no assistance from anywhere.
J = I frequently stopped
spinning to examine the color combination,
I just love it.
C= This was my easy spin
braid this time. I split it into halves
and spun worsted weight singles. I love
the subtle color changes and it was dreamy
to spin.
what
would you make with it?
E=This
wool would make for an awesome
sweater.
J= I love the idea of a dark colored lace something
C= Something that would
get a lot of use – chunky, cabled,
deep winter scarf, thick shawl to wrap
up in while knitting on the porch in
fall
A= anything cozy for
fall time
2
Sisters Stringworks Two Sisters Stringworks is about
making a place for handwork. I provide
beautiful, handmade supplies for knitting,
spinning, crochet, weaving, and felting.
Fiber
100%
Shetland
Color
Green
Weight
4 oz
Put
up
top
Price
$16.00
#
of spinners
3
overall
impression
J= love
the deep dark green blue color
how does it
feel? 1= pot scrubber
5= baby’s bum
how
much predrafting needed?
1= a ton
5= none
how did it spin? 1= fought me like Moby Dick
5= aaaaaah
dye leak? 1=lots
5=none
describe it
in a phrase
D= springy,
lofty, sturdy J= deep green sea L= Soft, warm and light
how did you
spin it?
D= thick
and bulky, woolen J= woolen L= worsted, short backward draw
how did you
ply it?
D= 2 ply J= 2 ply, balanced ply L= 2 ply
WPI
D= 7 J= 12 L = 18
how did you
finish it?
D= hot
water, microwave blast, hang dry J= hot water, hang dry L= warm water and light wack
did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?
D=
it was softer in the yarn than the roving.
I might have spun it thinner in hindsight
J=
it was a great toothy spin. I wish I had
done a three ply. I plied this to just
balance, which is new for me. I usually
overply on purpose.
L= my knitter, Anne, says
this was the softest Shetland she’s
ever spun
what
would you make with it?
D= vest J= texture stitch slouchy hat L= Pretty little lace
cuffs to peek out from under a jacket
Woolgatherings Woolgatherings is a family
business, started over 20 years ago
by "Twisted Mom" Sandy Sitzman,
and continued today by principal dyer,
Kate Sitzman. Kate’s fibers are
hand painted in very small batches
in a continuously evolving range of
color combinations.
Fiber
80%
Merino / 20% Angora
Color
red
/pink / purple
Weight
2 oz
Put
up
top
Price
$20.00
#
of spinners
4
overall
impression
E= This
wool is phenomenally soft and cooshy.
The colors subtle and peaceful. J= Lovely soft C= I love anything that Kate does. Her colors glow, her braids are wonderful
to look at and to touch. Sometimes I cruise her internet shop just to see
everything together and wish I could buy it all to sleep on.
how does it
feel? 1= pot scrubber
5= baby’s bum
how
much predrafting needed?
1= a ton
5= none
how did it spin? 1= fought me like Moby Dick
5= aaaaaah
dye leak? 1=lots
5=none
describe it
in a phrase
E=Perky
perfect colorful goodness.
J= Bunny love
C = It was lovely to spin and when
I realized what a mess I had made, I
wanted to go back and start again. I
would re-spin this completely differently.
D= warm, soft, pleasure to spin
how did you
spin it?
J= fat
woolen, very slowly treadled to make
it puffy, then I underplied it barely. E = I stripped it in half and then stripped one half in to many thin strips.
I spun the first half straight and mixed up the tiny stripes for the second
bobbin. I spun it with a medium short backward draw. Worsted. C= Thick and thin single on my Schacht Matchless D= stripped into sections for shorter color lengths.
how did you
ply it?
E= 2 ply. Loosely
plied J= 2 ply underplied C= Wrapped the single around lace weight yarn D= 2 ply
WPI
E = 10 J = 8 C = 6 D= 8
how did you
finish it?
E= Hot
water bath then a thwack J= Hot water then hang C= Rinse and hang D= hot water, microwave
blast, spun it around to release water,
hung to dry
did
it do what you expected, or were you
surprised?
E= I
loved watching the bloom of the angora
come out as it dried.
J= It has just the
right amount of angora to be crazy soft
and still hold together. I was worried
about it flying apart while I spun, but
it didn’t happen because
it was so well blended.
C= I made a dog’s breakfast of the
braid. I did a thick and thin single and
wrapped it around lace weight plied yarn.
The thick parts were too close together
and I had a hard time keeping them the
same size. The larger thick bits didn’t
wrap very well and ended up looking like
clots. They wouldn’t go through my
orifice because they were too big, so I
had to stop and hand wind – A LOT!
Major disappointment/failed experiment.
what
would you make with it?
E= I
would create an awesome warm cooshy hat. J= cowl or scarf, something
that would get very little abrasion.
I fear pilling, between the fiber and
the way I spun it. C= Neck cowl, lacy cuffs to go under my winter jacket D= lovely scarf or sweater
