Spin Art #1 - Racing stripe
Sep. 25th, 2025 05:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
merrileemakesErlier this year I bought an Ashford Jumbo Espinner second hand for a very reasonable price. It's an absolutely gigantic Irish tension/flyer led wheel with massive bobbins. Here's a shot of it next to my Eel Wheel 6.
It's an... interesting wheel to spin on. Heaps of pull, lots of inertia with those heavy bobbins and not that much speed. It's definitely an art yarn wheel, designed to do that one thing really well. So after struggling with spinning "normal" yarn on it and feeling like I'd turned up to NASCAR with a combine harvister I decided to actually use it to make art yarn.
My local spinners and weavers group has an excellent library, including a copy of Jacey Bogg's Spin Art. So I grabbed that and decided I'd work my way through it. After having a mild existential crisis upon realising I now only have one device that can actually play the included DVD, I sat down to watch.
The the first technique is 'racing stripe', where a second yarn is incorporated into a singles yarn as you spin. I chose this Merino/stellina combed top and a spool of viscose embroidery thread to try.
I've only spun singles yarn when I've challenged myself to do so (which isn't very often). But I followed Jacey's suggestion of spinning a fairly low twist single, one that looks very loose and fluffy in a ply-back test. Even this is probably slightly overspun.
Even using this wheel for its intended use it's still a beast. I bought a slightly loose drive band for it, so the motor is slightly less effective at driving the bobbin, and an extra set of flyer hooks so I can lace my yarn and reduce the pull of the bobbin. But I still have to manually dial the speed up when I start the wheel or I snap my yarn because the bobbin turns too suddenly.
The technique to make the racing stripe is effortless. You attach the second thread to your fibre and then just hold onto it in your forward hand as you draft. You don't need to change anything at all about how you draft your yarn, the twist of the wheel will spiral the stripe around the drafted yarn. You almost forget the second yarn is there.
I kept spinning until I ran out of embroidery thread.
And here's the finished skein, wound off the bobbin, fulled and then dried.
The racing strip effect is subtle, but I like it.
I'm not sure I'd really bother with this technique again. I'm not really a fan of singles yarn, and honestly I think spinning a singles and then plying it with a second yarn, like embroidery thread, will give you all the visual effect of this yarn plus the benefits of a balanced, plyed yarn and the textual effect of a gimp/spiral spun yarn.
But nice to play art yarn with the art yarn wheel.
It's an... interesting wheel to spin on. Heaps of pull, lots of inertia with those heavy bobbins and not that much speed. It's definitely an art yarn wheel, designed to do that one thing really well. So after struggling with spinning "normal" yarn on it and feeling like I'd turned up to NASCAR with a combine harvister I decided to actually use it to make art yarn.
My local spinners and weavers group has an excellent library, including a copy of Jacey Bogg's Spin Art. So I grabbed that and decided I'd work my way through it. After having a mild existential crisis upon realising I now only have one device that can actually play the included DVD, I sat down to watch.
The the first technique is 'racing stripe', where a second yarn is incorporated into a singles yarn as you spin. I chose this Merino/stellina combed top and a spool of viscose embroidery thread to try.
I've only spun singles yarn when I've challenged myself to do so (which isn't very often). But I followed Jacey's suggestion of spinning a fairly low twist single, one that looks very loose and fluffy in a ply-back test. Even this is probably slightly overspun.
Even using this wheel for its intended use it's still a beast. I bought a slightly loose drive band for it, so the motor is slightly less effective at driving the bobbin, and an extra set of flyer hooks so I can lace my yarn and reduce the pull of the bobbin. But I still have to manually dial the speed up when I start the wheel or I snap my yarn because the bobbin turns too suddenly.
The technique to make the racing stripe is effortless. You attach the second thread to your fibre and then just hold onto it in your forward hand as you draft. You don't need to change anything at all about how you draft your yarn, the twist of the wheel will spiral the stripe around the drafted yarn. You almost forget the second yarn is there.
I kept spinning until I ran out of embroidery thread.
And here's the finished skein, wound off the bobbin, fulled and then dried.
The racing strip effect is subtle, but I like it.
I'm not sure I'd really bother with this technique again. I'm not really a fan of singles yarn, and honestly I think spinning a singles and then plying it with a second yarn, like embroidery thread, will give you all the visual effect of this yarn plus the benefits of a balanced, plyed yarn and the textual effect of a gimp/spiral spun yarn.
But nice to play art yarn with the art yarn wheel.
(no subject)
Date: 25 September 2025 08:51 am (UTC)I've never spun but I'd love to try someday.
*laugh*
Date: 25 September 2025 10:03 am (UTC)I love that description.
(no subject)
Date: 25 September 2025 08:58 pm (UTC)