Ah, the smell of wet wool and the sounds of laughter.
So I was downstairs contemplating casting on for a new sweater
and trying to work out the math, totally avoiding the work I should be doing,
when upstairs I hear the sounds of laughter. Mac then calls down and asks
how he is supposed to use the bathroom. (Note the bottom skein's hanger was
attached to the doorknob so it was suspended over the rest of the room.) I
told him the yarn was occupying that room, he would have to ask nicely to
get it moved or walk downstairs. I must admit it is a funny site to see the
yarn all stretched across the room, but how else are you suppose to set the
twist?
(1 lb of freshly plyed California Romeny)
Update: Thanks
so much
Lori and Andrea
on the comments about my bathroom. I really wanted to go with something
graphic for the tiles, white really isn't me. :) I love my black
tile walls, 12 inch black tile floor and white accent walls. Its
a fun element and makes me really happy.
So thinking about the comments you both made. The normal process
I have been using to set it is to first wash the yarn with some
really light glycerine soap and a couple of sticks of lavender in
a home made tea bag. Then after it runs clean slowly increasing
the temp of the water (without further agitation) until it is almost
at boiling point and allow the yarn to set for 30 minutes or until
it naturally cools down. Then I stretch the yarn with lots of tension
across the floor and bathtub to allow to dry. Using the door knob
and the bathmat with hair tail things. I create a spring tension
on the set up. So I am wondering is this enough to set the twist
or should I do something else. I guess I could steam it while stretched
out on the hangers as well. I was using the hangers to create really
tight tension as it dried. Now I am really worried. I haven't actually
used any of my yarn yet to make anything.
Ideas and comments would be greatly appreciated.
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you have a very fancy feeling bathroom! I dig the black tiles. Actually, you set the twist in the yarn by steaming it or washing it with hot water (I get mine very wet and wrap a wet dishcloth around it and microwave it for 2 min. Then I take it out, and give it a good whack against the shower wall and hang it loose on a hanger).
ReplyDeletePeople sometimes weight their yarn by putting a can (like a can of beans or tomatoes or whatever) in the loop of their hanging yarn, but that's normally to help balance the yarn if it's over twisted. Balancing your yarn this way can help, but it also makes your yarn less springy.
hee, love the bathroom ;)
ReplyDeleteyou can set the twist of yarn in several different ways, essentially by wetting-and-whacking or steaming, but i think weighting the yarn doesn't really help balance out the yarn. it will make the yarn more balanced when dry initially, but ultimately the twist will come back and show up in your knitting. that's my experience, at least, sigh.
lovely yarn, nonetheless! and anyhow, some spinners want their yarn overtwisted slightly to create a bias in the knitted fabric. also, slightly overtwisted singles can make a balanced ply.
happy may day!
I know nothing about spinning, but I love your creative apparatus! When I've washed yarn after unravelling it to straighten it out, I've hung a weight off the bottom. I don't know if this would work for setting the twist or not. I slip a meat hook through the bottom of the loop; you can buy less dangerous versions from places like Ikea for hanging your saucepans off a rail in your trendy kitchen, or something like that. It's heavy enough to pull the yarn taught but doesn't make it too unspringy, and if you want more weight then you can hang something else from the bottom of the hook.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are setting the twist just fine by wetting and heating the yarn. :)
ReplyDelete