Category: Un-Spun

My January Obsession

Published on by Jen7 Comments

I’m back at deconstructing yarns again, breaking down then bringing together great value, custom weight, novel feel with hand-made quality, even if it is all somewhat long drawn out. I’ve discovered Simply Wool from Knitpicks to be the best starting point for some upcoming “Un-Spun” projects, especially as being an OEKO-TEX product, it is absolutely minimally processed with no chemicals, nor dyed, the natural result is/will be optimal for me. I do believe the feel of the natural wool is best without the dye process, so it is really a lovely yarn to work with, even if a little dirt comes out in the first wash, that is a good sign.

Both the bulky weight and the worsted weight have 3 plies, so it isn’t as easy as splitting the plies in the untwisting “Z” direction, with this I must divide 2 and 1 plies, then when I re-twist the 2ply in “S” direction I have a the other 1ply left over which I must divide in half and S-twist against itself… and well… it all seems rather ridiculous now that I am trying to explain it, but the result is some fantastic yarn that I love, love, love, and that is all that matters.

The Simply Wool bulky weight is 193y = 100g, and worsted weight is 218y = 100g, which is not a huge difference in yardage between the two, however, the end result after my unplying & replying trick is 2ply DK and 2ply Sport weights, and the time it takes to do it is something I actually enjoy a lot. Time? Answer is my new Ashford E-spinner, which may ultimately serve me as a super fast plying & unplying machine, because in a relatively short amount of time I managed to make a lovely 100g skein of “Un-Spun” DK weight wool, even while standing ! I also gave it a “scour” soak to relax the twist, and left to hang dry, and the next day I had something I could really use from a leftover skein in my stash. I’m waiting for my second wave of experimentation, hoping this yarn will be perfect for what I am working on that I can’t discuss just yet, but soon. I just love a good January obsession, starts the year out right.

delving

Published on by Jen9 Comments

jenjoycedesign© unspun 220

I was going to give myself January to work on knitting my drawer full of winter woolens, but January is over now, and I am still *quite* enjoying knitting the gloves, so much so, that I’ve decided to extend my winter woolen knitting for at least another month. Maybe the rest of Winter! So here I am, delving into my yarns for the perfect yarn to cast on yet another little something in the perfect heathered tweedy tones for my Drawer Full of Winter samples, I’ve brought out my drop spindle and revisited ideas for my Unspun, to create a lovely rustic sock & glove yarn I’m calling “Unspun 220”.

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Yup, you guessed it ~~ one 50g ball of Wool of the Andes worsted weight, un-plied into two balls of 2ply yarn that is a very relaxed and loosely wound together fingering weight of 220 yards at 25g each. So pleased with the results, I’m testing it on another pair of gloves. Here it is . . .The color is Amber Heather , one of my favorites, so complex with red, orange flecks in a brownish gold mix, tones that are so much like a wild animal, a fox or deer or rabbit, just screaming to be a pair of gloves I think.

See all posts Unspun,

(and for those of you who don’t know what it is,  scroll down to the first posts.)

Unspun & Toe-up

Published on by Jen4 Comments

A forgotten ball in a drawer, rather disheveled, and remembering back when it was part of something bigger than itself, when it was part of the sum of a whole, when the Hillwalker pullover was born, and my lovely nieces modeled it. Its life begun in Donegal Ireland, shipped over in a large bag with many skeins, excited on its journey to have such a future of artful functionality . . .

DSC_0205 jenjoycedesign© .

Now just a lonely part-ball which has lived a part-life, sure to be camped out until its days are done, in a dresser drawer of yarn stash, not making a difference in the world, and very likely unhappy.

Unless of course, I do something to save this poor unhappy ball of tweed. Some Unspun magic, where I separate the plies and make two fine weight singles out of the 2ply worsted weight, perfect for a pair of socks, and a toe-up sock to be sure I don’t run out of yarn ( how I do this from two years ago). Of course, I was being suggestive of this technique in the last post with the Lady In Tweed.

One sock finished, second sock… a toe-up sort of thing, and the pair will likely use up most of the ball, seeing that the first sock is 29 grams, the second one will be a close finish! I am testing out my frolick of a toe-up pattern with yarn I have about, left-over, left-out, left-unfulfilled balls in my yarn stash, and as I made a goal a couple of posts back about not buying yarn mindlessly, easily, but instead I am doing things the hard way. And enjoying every minute!

Actually this is the beginning of a new series. . . I feel it taking shape . . . a series about knitting with repurposed yarn, of transforming the languishing unused and awkwardly rejected things in the back of our closet and our drawers to energized loved things that move to the happy & prideful front of our dresser drawers. Watch this space, “stash-busting” is going to be frothing-at-the-bit and a very important theme around here in the future.

Unspun, revisited.

Published on by Jen11 Comments

Lady in Tweed:   “I have just knit myself this lovely Tweedex cardigan out of yarn that I had to put on layaway for six months before I could even start, and dammit to everlasting fire and brimstone, I’ve got a whole ball left over… a whole ball!   I am thinking I  really would like to knit a pair of gloves, or socks to match my tweed cardigan, but I need fine sport yarn, and as far as I know this yarn, in this amazing red color, only comes in worsted weight. Bah humbug!”

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Lady in Tweed: “Oh, but wait,  if  I could somehow unravel,  disentangle,  or,  um,  untwist the two strands,  then I would get two balls from the yarn with half the thickness.  Oh, and that would be double the yardage too! I would have one hundred grams of fine weight tweed to then make a pair of gloves or socks from. Hmm,  most definitely.

[ Looks off into the distance with smug contemplation. ]

Lady in Tweed: “Heavens to Betsy, I think I’ve got a plan!”

Jen:  So yes, its back to getting the drop spindle out to use it for something completely different, and I just have to say ” watch this space ! “

Posted to Pennsylvania

Published on by Jen7 Comments

jenjoycedesign© Unspun for Virginia.JPG
Well folks, off goes another “pampas heather” ultra fine UnSpun 1100 in the mail, and this time to Pennsylvania. I have specifically made UnSpun yarns for some knitter friends of mine who have lavished their time knitting up tests of my patterns, time and time again. So thank you thank you thank you Virginia!

Technical stuff: 

I’m refining my technique for the UnSpun, especially with the very fine lace weight,  UnSpun 1100 , which is 550 yards per 50 grams.  After I separate the plies and splice them all together while winding on to the swift,  I then give the skein a careful hot wash to only slightly felt the strands, so that when they are dry and wound into a skein or cake, they are de-energized nearly completely.  Do you see how the dried washed skein below is ever so slightly ‘clumpy’ ? That is because its ever so slightly fused to itself — and I mean very barely — before winding back on to the swift or into a cake to release and smooth out.  One must really know the behavior of wool to try felting a yarn.  My thinking is,  if Rowan can do it , well then so can we. 🙂
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The slight felting process is essential, and when I’m winding it off from the swift to a cake the single strand of yarn slightly pulls away from the whole mass, creating actually a lovely halo of woolen fuzz.    Anyway, I think that the UnSpun 1100 really is a winner accomplishment for me, and I look forward to sharing more experiments!

All tutorial posts under the title of Unspun are HERE