The Details

3oz. (approx) of Ashland Bay Diablo

Core of Knit Picks Felici

12wpi/Sport Weight

approx 125yds

Corespinning looks so easy – in fact, since you start with a pre-made core, it almost feels like cheating.

But, as I found out, achieving a balanced & usable skein of yarn is far harder than it looks. The core, which holds everything together, will – at least in theory – be a balanced yarn. So as you spin fiber onto it there will be a  tendencey for it to take on too much twist, resulting in an overplied single.

This is usually solved by plying the single with another in the opposite direction, but since I didn’t plan on plying this yarn I added additional S-Twist (counterclockwise) to my core, with the idea that when I spun the fiber on with a Z-Twist (clockwise) it would take out the twist I had added instead of adding more.

corespun – fresh off the niddy noddy

Right off the wheel I wasn’t so sure this was a successful tactic. It just looked like a hot, crazy, unstable mess. However, once I had set the twist and hung it to dry the core relaxed a bit more. It was less hot mess and more “mommy just really needs a full night’s sleep.”

I think the random kinks can be avoided next time by adding a bit more S-Twist to the core and adjusting my treadling. I tend to get into a groove and speed up – and speed is not your friend when you are learning, especially not with this technique.