{"id":5699,"date":"2020-12-12T08:22:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T07:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=5699"},"modified":"2020-12-13T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T09:03:50","slug":"sock-yarn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/sock-yarn\/","title":{"rendered":"Sock yarn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about blending rya wool and adult mohair<\/a> to get the characteristics I needed for a sock yarn. Today I will share my adventurous journey of spinning that sock yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I had achieved the blending result I was after I combed the blend into strong and silky roving. I spun the roving worsted for extra shine and strength. A sock yarn needs to be durable in all directions and I decided to spin a cable yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cable ply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A cable yarn generally consists of four Z-spun singles<\/strong>. They are then plied into two balanced S-plied 2-plied yarns<\/strong>. After that you S-ply the yarns again<\/strong> with just as much ply as in the first ply. The 2-plies are now very overplied. In the final step you ply the overplied 2-plies Z<\/strong> into a cable yarn that contains all the four singles. The difficulty is to get to that magic cable ply where the fibers align in the direction of the yarn and create one balanced yarn unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An even, cable plied, strong and shiny sock\u2026string.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sock string<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The problem was that the beautiful yarn I had created was basically string. There was no softness, no elasticity, no way near what I would wear next to even the roughest skin on the soles of my feet. It had also been quite exhausting to spin. The fibers were fighting me and I needed to keep my fingers quite tensed during the drafting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sock string swatch knit on 2 mm needles. The yarn split and resulted in a flat swatch with the texture and flexibility of suede.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still I knitted a swatch from my sock string. If nothing else, I figured I at least would have the opportunity to learn something. The sock string was dreadful to knit with. It was very dense and a struggle to work around the needles. Also, the needle kept finding its way in between the 2-plies and splitting the yarn, which resulted in a flat (as opposed to rounded) yarn in the swatch. I couldn’t live like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why am I writing about a disatrous sock string and a leathery swatch? Well, I do have a point. I always tell my students that their mistakes are maps of what they have learned. I consider myself just as much a student as my own students and in this string adventure I have learned a lot that I have put to use in my second try. And the leathery swatch is my map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second try<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back to square 1. I needed a preparation and spinning technique that would result in a softer yarn without taking the strength away. I still wanted a sock yarn that would last. So I decided to change the preparation technique, the drafting technique and the spinning direction. The spinning technique (a cable plied yarn) and thickness would stay as much as possible the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carding and spinning woolen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This time I teased<\/strong> the blend with combs<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. I loaded the combs with the blend with no consideration of which staple end was where.<\/li>
  2. I teased the wool with the combs like I normally would when combing<\/li>
  3. I pulled the teased wool right off the combs, perpendicular to the direction of the tines.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The resulting cloud was now teased and the mohair, rya outercoat and rya undercoat well separated. I then carded<\/strong> the teased blend into rolags and spun the singles woolen<\/strong>. All to bring some softness and air into my yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Three stages of fiber preparation of my sock yarn: Blended rya and mohair locks, the teased blend and carded rolags.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Compared to combing for the sock string, carding resulted in far less waste. In the combing process I had to leave a lot of the shortest fibers since they would make the worsted spinning more difficult. In a carded preparation I could keep more of the shortest fibers. They would also add more softness to the resulting yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Carding long fibers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    But can you really card fibers this long without disaster? Wouldn’t the long fibers just double around themselves in the rolag and create a tangled mess? Well, they would if they were<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    My sock yarn consists of long rya outercoat fibers (left), medium and short rya undercoat fibers (middle) and adult mohair (right). The combination of lengths makes the blend spinnable after carding.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    When I card fibers of this length (in this case around 20 cm) I always make sure they are accompanied by shorter fibers. In a combination of short, medium and long fibers the fibers sort of marry each other and create an airy rolag. A dual coat therefore usually works well carding since there are different lengths in the staples. Combining three different lengths of different breeds would also work fine. In my sock yarn I use a dual coat with lengths between 7 and 20 cm and mohair of around 12 cm. The longest fibers will double around the rolag, but I don’t see that as a problem since there are so many other lengths that won’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A new direction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Since I had had the experience of splitting yarn I also changed the direction<\/strong> \u2013 I<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. spun the singles S,<\/li>
    2. 2-plied Z,<\/li>
    3. plied again Z and<\/li>
    4. cable plied S.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n