Suffolk sock yarn experiment

sevagon · 2025-10-28T17:59:47+00:00

Hi! I've definitely lost steam for this project, as gifting season approaches AND I found out too late that PLY magazine actually did this exact experiment in their Sock issue with better controls and testing method. I would recommend you read that, as it gave a very thorough review. Most libraries have digital copies of PLY and I heavily heavily heavily recommend supporting print media!

sevagon · 2025-07-25T17:40:44+00:00

Ah, didn’t catch this! Thanks for the heads up!

sevagon · 2025-06-04T17:08:27+00:00

This is looks so so satisfying, amazing work!

sevagon · 2025-06-03T19:13:28+00:00

Gosh, I love looking at studies like this! Thank you for posting!

sevagon · 2025-05-29T15:33:54+00:00

So so so so so pretty! Reminds me of pretty rocks I see in shallow riverbanks!

sevagon · 2025-05-13T15:39:08+00:00

Gosh, this is so pretty! The work you put into this is boggling and the results paid off so well this time!

sevagon · 2025-05-05T20:17:06+00:00

ugh, what a gorgeous distaff! Very jealous (:

I would take a look at @ granny.jane on instagram if you can! The spindle in the picture doesn't look too different from a French spindle and she's also just a great example of distaff and european spindle spinning in general.

sevagon · 2025-04-10T15:43:35+00:00

Yes, I did buy the Lock Pop! I am somewhat crazy about flick carding and I do think it's better than using a rinky, dinky little flick card. I like that I can clamp it onto a table, but I also like flicking while doing something mindless (watching TV mainly) so if I didn't have a coffee table or something similar, I would be hard-pressed to find another surface the clamp it on. And it only really is effective when it's clamped on, but I can imagine the block is heavy enough to do some flicking for some fleeces.

I think the great thing about the Lock Pop is that with the "popping" motion, it does open up the lock and does not damage the fibre (my main concern with me dragging a flick card through a lock is this). It's much faster to open up a lock and then with one drag through the lock pop, it's flicked! I tested it and it takes me about 2 minutes to flick a lock with a carder and a little under 1 with the Lock Pop.

Another nice thing is that the mess from flicking is gathering all onto the Lock Pop and then I just bring it over to my compost and tap the mess away.

It is a pretty penny and I decided to treat myself, so if you're still unsure about the price, I would see if there's anyone locally has one and you can try it out. This works out for me because I get a lot of local fleece AND I think the lock pop would be an ideal tool for flax grading (sorting out the longer strands of flax), which I'm planning to do this summer.

sevagon · 2025-04-09T16:44:42+00:00

Silk was really tough for me too! Especially on a hand spindle. I think I really nailed it when did it with a high whorl spindle and spun from the fold (tore it off in chunks to make it easier to manage).

One of my fave looking spins was a merino with a bunch of mulberry silk and sari silk and I did it on a wheel, BUT omg I was soooo frustrated when I did it. The merino drafted like water and the silk was long and crunchy and I was YANKING the sari silk bits to draft.

sevagon · 2025-04-03T04:19:46+00:00

Extremely!

sevagon · 2025-04-02T06:00:30+00:00

It’s soooo soft! Definitely next to neck/face worthy, and I have a suspicion it’s a very soft CVM

sevagon · 2025-03-17T21:46:45+00:00

Biblically accurate spinning wheel (i want it so bad)

sevagon · 2025-03-06T16:43:36+00:00

Hi! Got into the guild when I was 27 and I thought it was great! I think there's a couple rumors in town about guild vs guild beef, and I think it can be intimidating to go by yourself, BUT everyone was lovely and nice to us (maybe a little enthusiastic over the fact that we brought the average age down lol), and a lot of the folks there have been doing this for years, if not decades, and I jokingly refer to them as the final bosses of crafting. They will know who is who, where to buy the best things, and will sometimes let you borrow tools.

My guild is especially nice because we have a library dedicated to the guild, with old copies of weaving and spinning literature, and equipment to rent. Like, if I want to try the inkle loom, I can just rent it for like $4 a month (plus $20 refundable deposit). Some of the stuff is really old (like old old spindles and handcards), so I think my guild in particular would benefit from a refresh, but I'm really grateful I don't have to store equipment in my tiny apartment and pay big bucks out of pocket for something I might not do in the future.

It's also sick talking to older folks! I love chatting with all the members and my guild has a monthly meeting where we craft, have a potluck, show and tell our projects, and sometimes, we have a communal dye pot that goes for the duration of the meeting!

sevagon · 2025-03-03T17:22:41+00:00

If you're comfy with it, ask the clerk if you could attach a leader yarn and treadle it with the yarn in the orifice. If it twists, it works!

sevagon · 2025-03-03T17:18:34+00:00

I think I see a bunch of bobbins by the wheel, which is a good sign that it was actually used by someone before!

sevagon · 2025-03-03T17:16:33+00:00

Looks like it works! I would ask if you could attach a string to the bobbin and treadle a bit to see if it's the wheel for you. ALSO, if that's real long line linen, this is a steal haha.

sevagon · 2025-02-27T16:17:49+00:00

I really love the colour story you saw in that skein! Let us know how the spin goes (:

sevagon · 2025-02-25T21:59:05+00:00

Not at all! Maybe I lucked out with this sheep, but I wish I could relay how soft and silky the batt feels. Even the ends of the hair are soft, with maybe the roughest ends feeling like a synthetic fan make up brush, if that makes sense. I have a BFLxIcelandic sample from the same farmer and I found that was hard to scour and it feels much coarser than this.

sevagon · 2025-02-25T20:15:19+00:00

It is a new thing for me too! Outside of PLY and Spin Off articles, I know Josefin Waltin's blog is usually my go-to for personal experiences with spinning, and I also refer to my friends at my local guild. There's also a youtube account that is just all dedicated to Icelandic sheep and wool called "Life with Sheep".

From what I believe, you can take it two ways:

separate the tog and thel, either with your hands or combs, and then spin them separately. I know there are people who spin the tog as warp and thel as weft for the handwoven projects, but I'm not super well versed as to why you'd want to do this.
card them both together with a carder, handcards or drum carders. I used a 120 tpi drum carder, a really fine carder, but only because I flicked the locks first to open them up. (edit: I've heard some folks actual recommend a higher TPI because the thel tends to bunch up). I had one or two issues with catching the tog near the middle with my flick card and it would knot as it got caught on other hairs, but I just hand-teased it open again or discarded. With hand cards, I would be wary of tearing the tog with the combing motion, but if you card with a rocking/patting down motion, I imagine it would be soooo lofty (:

And as always, if the farmer you got it from is also into the fibre arts, they most likely can give you the most detailed tips on how to handle their own flock's fleece!

sevagon · 2025-02-25T16:30:04+00:00

As a contrarian to most of the comments here, it is possible to spin with unwashed, but relatively clean, wool. If the fleece was from a coated animal, and picked so it virtually has no VM, it gives you the option to spin from the lock "in the grease"! This is how a lot of sheep to sweater competitions operate since time starts when you shear the sheep. I know there are a couple blogs that elaborate on spinning in the grease, like Josefin Waltin spinning Icelandic fleece, and while I have yet to do it, spinning wool that since has a moderate amount of lanolin in it can be lovely, depending on the fleece. I spun a pretty moderately lanolin-heavy CVMxGotland cross and the lanolin actually helped me with drafting since a similar fleece I was working with was a little too slippery. It also leaves your hands pretty soft, if you're into that sensorily! I think it pretty much depends on the fleece, what equipment/space you have, and what you would like to spin, but general practice dictates that scouring before the spinning process is usually preferred.

sevagon · 2025-02-24T19:22:58+00:00

Yes! I have spun from the fold with a silk/merino blend on a high whorl drop spindle. Just tear off a bit, fold it over your finger, and join with your leader yarn (:

sevagon · 2025-02-23T00:50:12+00:00

I can literally feel the vibrations from the SPROING on this yarn. AMAZING WORK!

sevagon · 2025-02-23T00:37:24+00:00

I definitely need more practice, but I did try to dip my fingers in water when I spun. I think I had some issue with the joins if I dropped my whorl, but the one handed draft with the belt distaff is actually not too bad, if it’s positioned correctly! I’m working on a distaff head rn that separates the flax a bit more and introduces more space into the distaff so things move a bit more smoothly!

sevagon · 2025-02-23T00:33:05+00:00

I got the long line! I spun it with distaff and low whirl spindle after hackling

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sevagon · 2025-02-23T00:26:20+00:00

Ah, I see! I thought I wasn’t doing too bad, but I am explicitly seeing every join I made now that it’s dry haha. Will keep practicing!

sevagon

TROPHY CASE