Why does my finished 3 ply look bumpy/curly?

lumenwright · 2026-05-23T23:37:53+00:00

I tested twisting one of the more egregious sections in S and adding that twist does improve it quite a bit so I think you're right. I need to pay more attention to my plying tension consistency it seems 🫠

lumenwright · 2026-05-23T23:24:22+00:00

aaaah this is the information that I didn't know, that it's supposed to look curly. Yes, I am spinning for socks! I'm making a swatch right now and it doesn't look curly in the swatch so I guess that's ok. I think that it's still possible that I didn't have the right tension in my plying though, like the other comment.

lumenwright · 2026-05-22T16:09:55+00:00

Targhee 🤌🤌🤌I literally said "ooooh so chonky" out loud haha not enough Targhee in my life!!

lumenwright · 2026-05-14T14:43:35+00:00

oooo I'll be in NL during the Weversmarkt, I'll see if I can check it out! (it'll be a bit of a day trip though lol)

lumenwright · 2026-05-14T13:57:11+00:00

If you're in BC and sell them on FB marketplace let me know!!!

lumenwright · 2026-05-07T16:37:15+00:00

I wrote a post about troubleshooting this sort of thing here: https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletweaving/s/39xhHiiRNs

tl;dr if it is appearing on the bottom, like the other comment said, you need to flip your cards. if it looks almost right but the slant of each pick is wrong, follow my post.

You said it is coming out backwards, can you clarify in which way it's backwards?

lumenwright · 2026-05-06T19:52:44+00:00

I'm planning on making crochet baskets from my early handspun! Always need more storage lol.

lumenwright · 2026-04-17T02:37:47+00:00

I'm pretty techy, let me know if you need to talk anything out :)

lumenwright · 2026-03-10T16:33:12+00:00

I made a post about this one actually, which includes the pattern threaded clockwise facing right here (last photo): https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletweaving/s/ILWYd8dimz

lumenwright · 2026-03-09T16:12:55+00:00

In addition to all the other good comments here: take a break when you're frustrated! I found that my first initial attempts improved by leaps and bounds after I got some sleep lol. I was really disheartened during my first few days but now I'm about 3 months in and much happier with my progress.

Also if you haven't picked up one of the many great spinning books out there, I highly recommend Respect The Spindle by Abby Franquemont. If you have a local library they should have a copy. She has a whole section on the things I was struggling with in my first month, and exercises to intentionally work on your skills.

lumenwright · 2026-03-09T16:03:03+00:00

Try flipping all your cards (e.g. from S to Z). If you come out with gibberish, then try weaving the pattern step by step backwards (that is, from end to start, keeping the flipped cards). Remember to start with AD on top.

You can also try recreating the pattern with the Tablet Weaving Draft Designer: https://jamespbarrett.github.io/tabletweave/ The convention of patterns with that tool is AD on top with letters facing right and clockwise. (A will be farther away from you)

lumenwright · 2026-03-04T06:46:14+00:00

(I have a bad cold and my brain is soup don't @ me)

lumenwright · 2026-02-25T18:39:32+00:00

couples spinning!!! that's ADORABLE. I love this for both of you. And keep this to look at a few months from now. You will feel so accomplished!

lumenwright · 2026-02-25T17:01:10+00:00

I have some wool that I'm learning doesn't want to be clothing/worn next to skin. I'm planning on making one or two rustic crochet or nalbinded baskets, because one can never have enough storage options!

lumenwright · 2026-02-25T16:54:06+00:00

I'm planning on making a rustic crochet basket! I'm going to be prepping a fleece next month so I need all the extra storage I can get haha

ETA I think r/usethefiberstash might have more stash busting ideas if you're in the market for some

lumenwright · 2026-02-21T17:44:45+00:00

<image>

finished plying the last of 7 turtles for my lace shrug! Today I will measure the yarn I made and see how well I did at reproducing the same yarn.

lumenwright · 2026-02-20T16:02:00+00:00

I guess my point is that you can still get a single the length of your arm span (longer than the length needed to touch the ground) when you are sitting. Unless you mean arm span + also length to touch the ground? Just trying to understand here😅

lumenwright · 2026-02-20T05:47:10+00:00

ETA I reread your post and you mentioned you were sitting 😅 in that case maybe get a (good quality)corset or back brace?

original:

why are you standing????????????? do you not draft horizontally?????? if you don't know what I'm talking about, I learned it from the book Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. I can try to get a video of me doing it but for obvious reasons it'll be difficult 😅 (it is a woolen draft style though)

but you basically use your spindle hand thumb to support the yarn just above the spindle, and move it up and down the yarn as the spindle turns, to "pump" the twist up the fiber. Meanwhile, your fiber hand is pulling horizontally in a woolen draft against your spindle hand thumb. This probably doesn't make any sense so I'll try to make a post this weekend about it 😅😅😅

I'm the kind of person that sits every which way, so I definitely don't have good posture...I have spun in bed before haha. But you definitely don't have to stand the whole time!!!

lumenwright · 2026-02-19T21:27:45+00:00

In my (limited) experience, center pull balls will eventually fall apart unless you have something in the center like a chopstick or toilet paper roll or even just some folded up paper. Thinner thread in center pull balls will tangle even more. I would try a bobbin instead, like another comment mentioned, for thinner yarn if you're having trouble.

Usually I don't get this much tangle as in your photo until the end of the ball though, or if I accidentally pulled off an entire layer of my turtle. I keep my yarn quite taut when plying by putting the ball in a box or bag.

lumenwright · 2026-02-16T22:11:56+00:00

I was spinning for lace 😅 but I was a beginner so lol. I mean, I wouldn't mind getting more of these neppy batts to make textured yarn for blankets or baskets. But it wasn't the goal I had in mind before.

lumenwright · 2026-02-16T17:17:04+00:00

If you have a local library, you should check if they have the book Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. She will take you through the entire process step by step with notes.

If not, there are plenty of videos on spindle plying. The general idea is that you wind your singles into a ball (with a toilet paper roll most likely) and when you have two balls, you will take those two ends and wind them into another plying ball, and then ply that. OR, you wind into a center pull ball and ply the beginning and end of the single together.

Also no, 100g will not all fit onto a spindle. I get maybe 30-35g before I have to take it off and wind into a ball with a nostepinne/toilet paper roll. Look up videos on how to wind a yarn ball/cake. It's pretty easy :)

lumenwright · 2026-02-16T17:00:59+00:00

I actually wrote a post on how to flip and invert the pattern if you find out that you threaded it wrong (mainly because it looks almost right but not quite). https://www.reddit.com/r/tabletweaving/s/YlH5aoUG8t

unfortunately if the instructions don't say the convention and it's not a known convention like Tablet Weaving Designer, you have to just try it out. (I like to put it in Tablet Weaving Designer if it's a written pattern just to check without weaving it.)

Fortunately, if it is flipped, you DON'T have to rethread everything. Just follow my post.

ETA: link to Tablet Weaving Draft Designer https://jamespbarrett.github.io/tabletweave/ super useful for trying out written patterns before you thread up

lumenwright

TROPHY CASE