HOW TO SPIN A CABLE YARN

Have you ever tried spinning cable yarn?  It's a four-ply with a twist.
Some spin a thinner cable yarn for socks and love it. Some spin a thicker cable yarn and knit a comfy blanket that has a bit of oomph aka weight to it.  Others love using cable yarn to knit cables because it's so round and shows off the pattern quite well.

First off, why did I say it was round? Check out this diagram. 

 

If you want to knit something with a pattern and have the pattern pop try a three or 4-ply yarn. But back to how to spin a cable yarn.

So, here are the instructions to spin a cable yarn that are easy peasy.  If you only have standard bobbins, spin your first four bobbins 1/4 full.  If you have standards and a jumbo bobbin, spin the 4 bobbins 1/2 full and do your final ply on the jumbo bobbin.  

Here is the 1st pro tip.  Spin consistent singles.  Use the same whorl, the same drafting length, the same treadle speed per drafting length and the same yarn thickness.

2nd pro tip: some instructions I have read online say to overtwist the 1st ply.  However, they don't say how much to overtwist the ply.  40 degrees?  50 degrees?  60 degrees?  The ply angle does make a difference, let me show you.

If you ply the 1st ply at a 60-degree ply angle you will not get that classic locked in cable look. However, if you achieve a 50-degree ply angle the 2nd ply will lock into that classic cable look.  It's quite impressive really and everyone will ask you how in the world did you do that?  It almost looks like it was woven.

And your next question might be how in the world do I measure the angle?  I have the answer, The Eszee Twist tool is easy and simple. Not only can you measure the angel of twist, but you can measure yarn thickness, wraps per inch, and see if yarn was spun S or Z.  It also comes with a hand booklet with step-by-step instructions on how to spin various yarns. It also talks bout spinning fundamentals and more. 

CLICK HERE TO GRAB ONE

Happy Spinning 

Mary Egbert

Camaj Fiber Arts

The School of Camaj Fiber Arts 

Are you new to spinning or struggling?  I can help. Take my huge online workshop today and spin better yarn tomorrow.  Learn about spinning consistent yarn, a balanced ply, woolen, worsted, combing, carding, scouring, dyeing and MORE!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THIS DYNAMIC WORKSHOP