What is the difference between Designing Yarn and Spinning Yarn?
Spinning Yarn vs. Designing Yarn
One of the things we look forward to advancing to once we start making yarn is spinning pretty roving and top, dyed several different exciting and harmonious colors. It may be handpainted or commercially prepared, but soon, our stash is overflowing with different pretty braids to choose from. It’s exhilarating to see the color twist and change before our eyes, and we anticipate using this handspun yarn once completed, whether it stays as a singles yarn or (my preference) a plied yarn of two or more singles.
But what if you wanted to push your creativity and design yarn, not just spin the pretty stuff? Maybe you want a specific color scheme, length, or gauge yarn. Usually, this is due to a specific knitting, crochet, or weaving project we have in mind. Most spinners grasp these concepts right away and work toward them.
But I’m not talking about spinning the yarn you want for a project, necessarily. What about spinning from an inspirational reference: can you interpret yarn from art (or nature or a person)? The only goal is to recreate a skein of yarn based on an inspirational reference point. The project comes after.
I consider myself a spinner and dyer before a knitter, so I enjoy making yarn and then deciding on a project around the finished yarn. If I can’t decide, then I’ll offer the handspun yarn for sale for other fiber enthusiasts to enjoy.
Being a jewelry maker first (before a fiber artist), I transfer many of my experiences from that craft over to how I spin yarn. I have always liked to use real-world or printed artistic references in the jewelry I design, which I consider a wearable art form. Why not do the same for handspun yarn?
Inspiration for Spinners
One thing I enjoy doing is creating yarn based on a photo. When I started this project, I had no intention of turning it into a video or blog post because I dyed the fiber 2 or 3 years ago. So, I set out to finally finish the intended project this past summer.
But after I spun the singles, I felt like this may be a good inspiration for other spinners, particularly new ones, so I decided to do a video. I know that when I am in a creative slump or looking to expand my skills, it’s always nice to see what others are doing to help boost my confidence and spark my creativity.
Unfortunately, I don’t have photos or videos of the fiber I dyed for this one or even how I spun the singles. We are starting this yarn’s story with three bobbins of spun singles and going from there.
I end up with a pretty interesting skein of yarn colorwise, at least I think so! Plus, a bonus little spiral-plied skein with the leftovers.
Designing Yarn: Spinning Inspiration for Spinners – Watch Now (Below)
Tips for Designing Yarn
Grab Inspiration From Many Different Places
I’m always on the lookout for what inspires me. For example, my cream-colored cat on a grey and blue bedspread will give me the desire to dye that combination, so I’ll snap a photo for reference. Maybe it’s my garden during different seasons, urban buildings or graffiti, or just surfing the internet for people, places, or things that will inspire me. For this project, I used a creative Tarot Card deck that I’ll shuffle and use to help draw my creativity out. The artwork in this set is fantastic and provides me with endless possibilities of inspiration and color work with jewelry and dyeing fiber/yarn making.
Choose Your Colors
My first task when designing yarn is to write down the colors I want to dye the fiber for the finished yarn. Typically, I will use a wool top commercial roving, but that’s unnecessary. You could also dye bits of wool and spin it as you go. I often write down several colors that could work and adjust as I go. Sometimes, I will even swap out sections of color before or after spinning. The key is to be flexible and adventurous – and have fun with the challenge!
That doesn’t mean you can’t design yarn if you don’t dye. You can always purchase the colors necessary either commercially or from indie dyers.
Learn to do Joins
Learning how to break off and rejoin your singles while plying is essential to tackling a project such as this. Once you master that, the sky is the limit for designing your desired yarn.
Here’s a snippet from one of my other videos where I do a join while plying on my e-spinner:
This is the primary way that I like to join singles while plying yarn; you may find another method or your own way easier.
Pause and Regroup When Necessary
Taking breaks when unsure or overwhelmed by the process is also essential. This is not a project to power through mindlessly—unless you want to! But purposeful spinning will always give you more satisfying results.
If At First, You Don’t Succeed…
If I’m not fully happy that the yarn doesn’t reflect the inspiration, I use that opportunity to try it again. That doesn’t mean the first yarn was not structurally successful; I use it as additional inspiration to get the colors more true to the inspiration. Practice makes everything easier, and I love the chance (and excuse!) to spin. It also means I will most likely have two skeins of yarn that complement each other, so that’s a bonus for larger knitting/crochet projects.
Challenge Yourself for the Greatest Rewards
I hope this post inspires you to try designing yarn using artistic references. It’s always a good practice to challenge oneself and push the envelope of what we know how – or are capable of doing. If you are like me, taking on a challenge such as this will provide you with endless creativity for future projects.
Until Next time,
Also, Be sure to check out my YouTube Channel for more helpful spinning and dyeing videos. I add one new one every month.