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Spinning

Last night at about this time, my kitchen smelled of orange kool-aid, and I had a lovely pink, orange, and yellow hand dyed roving drying in my bathroom.  Tonight, that roving has begun its transformation into yarn….my Art of the day!

dyed roving

dyed roving

Step 1:  The roving was separated lengthwise into 4 equal segments.  This makes the roving more manageable to draft (spread apart with your fingers during the spinning process).  It also helps make sure that the colours are equally distributed.

roving split in 4

roving split in 4

Step 2:  Spinning the singles (one ply).  The spinning wheel spins clockwise, which causes the roving to twist and be drawn in and wrapped around the bobbin.  My spinning wheel is a single treadle Lendrum that I bought second hand with my birthday money 2 years ago.  I have had such fun learning how to spin different fibers from silk to cotton, wool to bamboo, and even things like yak down or milkweed fluff.  This merino has got to be some of the best stuff I have gotten my hands on.  I love it!

spinning singles

spinning singles

singles

singles--I really like this macro shot!

Step 3:  Plying the singles.  Two bobbins are on the lazy kate (bobbin holder) and the spinning wheel turns counterclockwise spinning the two ply together, loading them onto a third bobbin.  One single is pink, the other is variagated (orange, pink, yellow).

plying with the lazy kate

plying with the lazy kate

plying

plying

Step 4:  The two ply yarn is wound into a skein using a niddy noddy.  The two ends are tied around the skein to keep it from unraveling.

niddy noddy

niddy noddy

Step 5:  The skein is twisted up so it doesn’t get knotted.

skein

skein

Before it is used, the skein should be soaked to allow the twist to be set.  The yarn will bloom (get fluffier) as the twist evens itself.  This will also get rid of any extra dye remaining.

I’m so pleased with the results!  I’m not a fan of pink, but this pink yarn is variagated, and so soft and smooshy, I can’t wait to knit something with it.  This is just half of the roving that I dyed.  I’ll spin up the rest at a later date, and then make something awesome out of it for someone who will appreciate the pink-ness.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 12:46 am and is filed under Art Every Day Blog Challenge, knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://www.chrissyforemanc.blogspot.com/ Chrissy Foreman C

    Ooh this is a wonderful post! I love seeing the ‘behind the scenes’ action!

  • http://www.chrissyforemanc.blogspot.com Chrissy Foreman C

    Ooh this is a wonderful post! I love seeing the ‘behind the scenes’ action!

  • http://www.pquinn.typepad.com/ pamq

    That is just so cool!!!

    I have wanted to learn how to spin for years, so it was really neat to see your step-by-step photos….

    Wish I could come watch in person!

  • http://www.pquinn.typepad.com pamq

    That is just so cool!!!

    I have wanted to learn how to spin for years, so it was really neat to see your step-by-step photos….

    Wish I could come watch in person!

  • noor

    this is awesome. you once (like back in grade 10 or something) gave me a little ball of wool that had colours similar to these kool-aide ones, though more yellowy and orange. i have a wonderful wristwarmer of it, which i’ve actually brought with me, but i lost the ball before i could make a second. :’( now that wristwarmer is sering as a model for a new pair because it happens to fit perfectly. not that i have any time for that. or for this. why am i here? im off to start a 5-page paper thats due in 6 hours. :|

  • noor

    this is awesome. you once (like back in grade 10 or something) gave me a little ball of wool that had colours similar to these kool-aide ones, though more yellowy and orange. i have a wonderful wristwarmer of it, which i’ve actually brought with me, but i lost the ball before i could make a second. :’( now that wristwarmer is sering as a model for a new pair because it happens to fit perfectly. not that i have any time for that. or for this. why am i here? im off to start a 5-page paper thats due in 6 hours. :|

  • http://innerspiritarts.blogspot.com/ Diane M. McKnight

    I just love the colors of the kool-aid wool. A much healthier way to use kool-aid than adding a ton of sugar and drinking it and calling it a beverage. Good luck with this, it looks like it is going to turn into something beautiful.

  • http://innerspiritarts.blogspot.com/ Diane M. McKnight

    I just love the colors of the kool-aid wool. A much healthier way to use kool-aid than adding a ton of sugar and drinking it and calling it a beverage. Good luck with this, it looks like it is going to turn into something beautiful.

  • http://vickiholdwick.blogspot.com Vicki

    Love the colors!

    xoxo

  • http://vickiholdwick.blogspot.com/ Vicki

    Love the colors!

    xoxo

  • http://keepitsimplemakeitgreat.blogspot.com/ Paula – Buenos Aires

    Fabulous! Thanks for sharing a step by step description of the process. :)

  • http://keepitsimplemakeitgreat.blogspot.com/ Paula – Buenos Aires

    Fabulous! Thanks for sharing a step by step description of the process. :)

  • http://midnitecreations.blogspot.com/ Renu @ midnitecreations

    That’s really a beautiful color. I never thought of using kool-aid to dye, but if this the results, I’ll definitely be giving it a try.

  • http://midnitecreations.blogspot.com/ Renu @ midnitecreations

    That’s really a beautiful color. I never thought of using kool-aid to dye, but if this the results, I’ll definitely be giving it a try.

  • http://juliejordanscott.typepad.com/julie_unplugged/2009/11/how-to-create-art-in-a-busy-busy-busy-day-art-every-day-month-day-5-begins.html Julie Jordan Scott

    ohmigawsh, you spin your own yarn?! I bow in deep admiration. WOW! WOW! may I say it again? WOW!

    Love the result, too.

    Wow.

  • http://juliejordanscott.typepad.com/julie_unplugged/2009/11/how-to-create-art-in-a-busy-busy-busy-day-art-every-day-month-day-5-begins.html Julie Jordan Scott

    ohmigawsh, you spin your own yarn?! I bow in deep admiration. WOW! WOW! may I say it again? WOW!

    Love the result, too.

    Wow.

  • http://crinkleroot.blogspot.com/2009/11/aedm-day-5.html susie

    Such beautiful colors. Thanks for the step by step description and pics.

  • http://crinkleroot.blogspot.com/2009/11/aedm-day-5.html susie

    Such beautiful colors. Thanks for the step by step description and pics.

  • http://vbook.blog.soulspackle.com/ Sara @Soulspackle

    I find dyeing so fascinating.. I can almost smell the Kool-Aid.. love the colors, and wow, you’re a yarn spinner! That looks so cool, how many folks spin their own yarn these days?!

  • http://vbook.blog.soulspackle.com Sara @Soulspackle

    I find dyeing so fascinating.. I can almost smell the Kool-Aid.. love the colors, and wow, you’re a yarn spinner! That looks so cool, how many folks spin their own yarn these days?!

  • http://www.creativejuicesarts.com/blog chris zydel

    Oh my goodness but those colors are outrageous!! And it was so amazingly cool to see how the yarn is actually made. What a wonderful, creative process!!

  • http://www.creativejuicesarts.com/blog chris zydel

    Oh my goodness but those colors are outrageous!! And it was so amazingly cool to see how the yarn is actually made. What a wonderful, creative process!!

  • http://hammermarks.wordpress.com/ Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

    The colors you were able to get are great! They remind me of sherbet too. I didn’t know that you could dye fabric with Kool-Aid (at least not on purpose), but in High School I heard that you could use it as a temporary hair dye. I tried it, even resorted to putting my hair in Kool-Aid being cooked on the stove, and it didn’t work. So I was surprised when you mentioned this.
    Your results are really spectacular though! Maybe grape would be the next flavor, or lime!

  • Leah Virsik

    How cool! Thanks for sharing! What a great way to use Kool-Aid too.

  • http://hammermarks.wordpress.com Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

    The colors you were able to get are great! They remind me of sherbet too. I didn’t know that you could dye fabric with Kool-Aid (at least not on purpose), but in High School I heard that you could use it as a temporary hair dye. I tried it, even resorted to putting my hair in Kool-Aid being cooked on the stove, and it didn’t work. So I was surprised when you mentioned this.
    Your results are really spectacular though! Maybe grape would be the next flavor, or lime!

  • http://leah@leahvirsik.com/blog Leah Virsik

    How cool! Thanks for sharing! What a great way to use Kool-Aid too.

  • http://mendana.blogspot.com/ Elizabeth Mendana

    Thank you so much for this beautiful and informative post! I love knitting. This post helps me to understand the process of making beautiful variagated yarns. The yarn turned out so beautiful–makes me want to knit something with it! Keep us posted on what it turns into!

  • http://mendana.blogspot.com/ Elizabeth Mendana

    Thank you so much for this beautiful and informative post! I love knitting. This post helps me to understand the process of making beautiful variagated yarns. The yarn turned out so beautiful–makes me want to knit something with it! Keep us posted on what it turns into!

  • http://lisasartjournal.wordpress.com/ Lisa

    I LOVE this post! I have always thought it was such a great thing to be able to create a garment with “sticks and string!” I can’t imagine how wonderful it feels to do that with yarn you created too! I agree with the commenter who posted WOW, WOW, WOW! Can’t wait to see what you make with it!
    Lisa!

  • http://lisasartjournal.wordpress.com Lisa

    I LOVE this post! I have always thought it was such a great thing to be able to create a garment with “sticks and string!” I can’t imagine how wonderful it feels to do that with yarn you created too! I agree with the commenter who posted WOW, WOW, WOW! Can’t wait to see what you make with it!
    Lisa!

  • http://mycreativeyear.wordpress.com/ Sneaux

    Oh my gosh – what gorgeous yarn! I soooo want to learn how to spin. Did you teach yourself?

  • http://mycreativeyear.wordpress.com Sneaux

    Oh my gosh – what gorgeous yarn! I soooo want to learn how to spin. Did you teach yourself?

  • http://www.swatchless.com/2009/11/fo-slouchy-hat/ Swatchless» Blog Archive » FO: Slouchy Hat

    [...] process of dying and spinning the yarn is outlined in previous [...]

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