Tutorial: Setting the Twist

Oftentimes when people ask about the spinning process, they are surprised by the steps in between spun yarn and finished yarn.  I get a lot of questions about these steps and how I set my twist and so I thought I'd share my process with you.  Keep in mind that there are many (many many) ways to do this and just because this way works for me, it may not necessarily be your cup of tea.  Spinning and preparing yarn is a personal thing, just like painting a painting or taking a photograph, just because I compose my photograph a certain way, it doesn't mean that someone else may compose the same photo in just as an effective way.  So, here we have my way of doing things... Feel free to adopt and change as you see fit!

First of all, what the heck is this 'setting the twist' business?  Well, when a yarn is just spun and untreated the spin you have put in the wool might cause the yarn to twist up on itself (more on that in a minute).  Setting the twist is the process of relaxing the fibers in the yarn.  Really, 'setting the twist' is a misnomer, as what you're really doing is bring the fibers back to their natural state.  If you have no idea what the heck I'm talking about, read on.  The pictures will help, promise.


So how do you go from this (spun yarn still on the bobbin)

to this (treated and ready to be knit yarn)?

The first step is unwinding the yarn from the bobbin into a skein.  There are (again) many ways to do this, sometimes involving expensive equipment, sometimes the back of a chair.  I do it with my swift and lazy kate.  I measure my swift to have a 54 inch (1.5 yards) circumference, and than I begin winding the yarn onto the swift.

After I've wound the entire bobbin (or two) onto the swift, I secure the skein by tying figure eights in two places (opposite one another) with scrap yarn, twine, or pretty purple hemp.

At this point you can take the yarn off the swift (chair back, skein winder, whatever it is you were using to make your skein).  You'll want to use two hands at opposite ends of the skein, otherwise the yarn will twist on itself and you'll spend half an hour trying to find your bearings.

Remember how I was talking about how handsome and helpful my lobster is how the yarn will twist up on itself?  This is an example of the yarn held loosely...  And here's a close up on that...

And then held tightly at both ends of the skein...

This nice and tight, flat yarn is what we're going for when we set the twist.  The next step is to twist the skein into a hank.

While you're doing this step, fill your sink with lukewarm tap water (or if you're like me and too lazy to do the dishes, use a large mixing bowl).  Place the hank in the tap water, squeezing gently to allow the water to penetrate the entire length of the yarn.  Then drain the water and turn your tap on hot.  Take the wet yarn out of the sink/bowl (to avoid felting)  and fill it back up with HOT water.  Place the wet skein in the water (if you're a fan of SOAK or Euclan, now is the time to put it in the water) and set a timer (hopefully one that you hear, unlike my very polite microwave timer that I often can't) for 25 minutes.

Now go about your business for 25 minutes (do the dishes perhaps?).  When you come back the water in your sink will be cooled and probably a pretty color (mine was sea foam green in this instance).  Once your time is up, gently lift the yarn out of the water and squeeze (no twisting!) the excess water from the hank.  Then lay a towel (I fold mine in half) on the floor and place the untwisted skein in the bottom most corners like so (helpful kitty optional):

Then fold the bottom of the towel onto the yarn...

And keep rolling until your towel looks like this and your yarn is safely tucked inside.

Now we're going to squeeze the rest of the moisture out of the yarn.  You can kneel on this roll, sit on it...  Or walk on it in your favorite pink slippers.

When you're finished playing circus tight rope walker, unroll the towel and take out your almost finished yarn!  Now find two hangers (from experience, don't find these hangers in your honey's closet and leave the leather jacket that was hanging on one of said hangers on your dresser.  Because then the cat will knock the leather jacket on the floor and you'll have an upset boyfriend.) and a place in which to hang them.  Place one end of the yarn on one hanger and hang it, then fold up that wet towel and place it in the other hanger at the bottom of the skein.

Let the skein dry completely before taking it off the hangers.  And enjoy your beautifully set new yarn!

Hello Darlings. Let's catch up, shall we?

First things first, eh?  Meet Penelope.  She is our newest foster and she is the sweetest and mellowest (Is that a word?) female kitty we've ever had the pleasure of sharing our home with.  You can read more about her here.

Second, this morning I woke up to the prettiest kind of rain.  It's the kind of rain that is steady, but light.  The temperature outside is warm enough to leave windows open and the sound of the droplets pattering on leaves is just the loveliest soundtrack for this lazy Sunday morning.  The lobster is still snoozing (Mops joined him) and my kitties are scattered on various windowsills, watching the birds and quivering leaves.  It's almost time for my second cup of tea and I'm loving the smell of forest pine incense.  (To throw a loop into this pretty picture I'm painting for you... The reason I'm burning said incense is because two days ago I made asparagus for dinner.  It was a lovely dinner of polenta in pink sauce, red potatoes with sour cream and chives, and oven roasted asparagus with lemon.  But in the process of oven roasting the asparagus I dropped a stem onto the bottom of the oven and promptly forgot about it.  Then this morning I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and hopped in the shower.  Yeah, not so good.)  It's quiet here for the moment and everyone is snuggly and grateful to be under a (leaking) roof.

Third, yarn!  How was that to get you drooling?  I've been spinning up a storm (and you've been buying up a storm!) and I have some dyeing to do this week for a roving update.  My roving updates have been so overwhelming due to announcing them on ravelry (join my rav group!) and on flickr.  The braids disappear from my shop so fast that it's not really fair to new customers!  So I've decided that once a month I'm going to do a surprise roving update where I shan't announce the time and date and you'll all be very surprised to see my shop stocked with pretties.  This, of course, is in addition to the regularly scheduled updates where my repeat customers can reserve braids as they are listed.  As for yarn, well, I list new yarn (those three up there ^ are still available, get them while they last!) almost every day so that means you'll just need to visit often!  OH!  And!  You have one more week to buy to participate in the birthday drawing!  See my shop announcement for details on that one.

Fourth, knitting projects.  I'm working on two of my own designs right now, how cool is that?  The first is a Noro dog sweater for Mops (spoiled!) and it's turning out quite well I think.  I've been meaning to knit him a sweater for quite some time but every pattern I found didn't work the way I wanted it to.  So custom sweater it is! I finally feel as though my knitting skills are up to par with creating my own patterns... It's quite liberating!  The other project is a secret, still.  It will be up for sale in my etsy shop at some point, so I'll keep you posted on that one.  Hint: It has something to do with handspun.  :)

Fifth, I have a very busy and important day of doing nothing scheduled.  What are you beautiful people up to today?

P.S.

New in the shop.

Renewal

There's nothing like getting up early to catch the perfect light on your front porch. This one is named "Wanda" and is worsted weight merino, 198 yards of yummy squishiness. Keep an eye out for it in the shop on October 1st!

Yesterday I was feeling a bit bored of life... You know the feeling. "Where do I go from here? Why hasn't anything new happened? Why doesn't home feel comfortable? Is this really it?" It was a difficult day spent spinning on my mother's couch.

So last night after an obligatory stop at the pool hall to hang with the boyfriend and friends (did you know I can be somewhat of a hermit? And a flake? But I showed up for a drink and a laugh... That's love.) I came home and did a little renewal ritual. A hot shower was in order, then a tiny little clean up of my bedroom (as in put away the piles of clean clothes and packing materials). How can I sleep comfortably with a big pile of 'to do' staring at me from the corner of the room? I lit a candle for a new day, a little aromatherapy (spearmint and eucalyptus for clarity of mind), some craft supply organization, a moment to write in my journal, and a deep sleep.

And you know what? Today feels good. Mr. Lobster is still sleeping soundly (he didn't get in quite as early as I did) and I got up early to use these moments of quiet to do a little revamping. The etsy shop is all ready for its first scheduled update, there's a new blog banner, my roving is organized, and the morning gave me some great pictures of the yarn I finished yesterday. I love the light on our front porch at 8:00am. It's just perfect in every way.


Our camping trip was lovely. It was really really cold and rainy, but so nice to get away for a couple of days. We did a lot of sitting by the fire trying to keep warm, we climbed some rocks, walked around the lake, and spent time talking and focusing on ourselves. Even though we were freezing, I wouldn't trade a view like this for the world.


I think the dogs had a good time, too.


And now, Lobster is awake and I'm going to try to convince him that we have a serious lack of eggs benedict (hold the ham, substitute avocado, please) in this house. See you tomorrow!

Oh, and I have to share... Look at my newest creations!

Details on my ravelry stash page.