In the Loop
Get in touch and share your photographs, tips, ideas, tweets and comments on what you’ve seen in The Knitter
Your letters, photos and tweets, plus a special offer for our overseas readers
A spinning adventure
Like many of your readers, I have been a life-long knitter, although I had a number of years (I like to think of them now as the wilderness years) when knitting did not feature in my life. The precious gift of grandchildren sent me scurrying into my local wool shop for needles, patterns and yarns and suddenly I felt like a child in a sweet shop. The yarns of yesteryear had been replaced with luxury brands with yarn mixes of merino, alpaca, angora and mohair to name but a few.
I was hooked, and loved the wide range of yarns on offer, from the hand dyed to the natural colours of British sheep. Then I read an article entitled ‘The Art of Spinning’ in Issue 92 of
The Knitter. The article made me want to find out more, and, appreciate the process which creates this wonderful variety of luxury yarn.
In March 2016 I went on a workshop in Wales to learn how to spin fibre. My intention at this point was to simply understand the process by which fibre becomes knitting yarn. I was introduced to a range of fleece types and how to process the fleece ready for spinning, and suddenly a whole new and exciting world presented itself to me. My second workshop introduced me to spinning techniques such as short draw, long draw, worsted, woollen, twists per inch and wraps per inch - I had to buy the spinning wheel and a bag of fleece locks.
Like all beginners, I could only produce thick and thin yarn. I joined my local Guild of Spinners and with their encouragement I have persevered. I decided to give myself a realistic project to aim for as I’m not yet at the point where I would consider spinning to knit a garment. I’m still learning about which fibres give good drape and which spinning technique should be used and all important spinning to a consistent thickness. I came across Ella Austin’s ‘Fancy Hen’ cushion pattern, and it seemed an ideal first project. The pattern also appealed to my love of stranded colourwork.
Here is a photo of finished cushion knitted entirely in my own handspun yarn! I spun both the Merino (brown and red) and the Corriedale (cream) in the worsted style to a double-knitting weight. I discovered that knitting with handspun yarn is a completely different experience to knitting with commercial yarn: this handspun yarn was full of energy, springiness and softness.
I would like to thank you for your articles that promote all things fibre-related. I would also encourage other knitters to explore the wonderful world of fibre and have a go at spinning. We need to keep this heritage craft alive and pass on the knowledge and skills to future generations. Julie Wymer Ravenstone, Olney Julie wins a copy of Yarnitecture by Jillian Moreno (Storey, £19.99)
JEN SAYS: Congratulations on getting to grips with spinning, and for producing your first project knitted with your own handspun! Like you, I have spent some time learning to spin, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I also feel it gave me a better understanding of knitting yarns, their construction and different qualities.
Special memories
I was interested to read Joan Clifford’s letter in Issue 106. I was lucky to save all my mother’s knitting and crochet patterns when she died. We had always knitted and crocheted together, and keeping her patterns and magazines gives a sense of continuity. Mom loved to produce baby clothes, and I’m now able to make garments for great nephews and nieces which their parents would have worn courtesy of mom. I have lots of old Woman’s Weekly magazines which are lovely to thumb through. Val Smith, via email