Tag Archives: spinning

Handspun – A Tale of Two Icelandic Yarns

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Since I love commercial Icelandic yarns I thought I’d give spinning that breed’s fleece a try. I got a pound of natural gray roving and 8 oz of natural white roving. First I used the gray and made it into a 2-ply. I was worried that my ability to spin singles was not up to speed, so I chose to do a plied yarn. Plus, I had never seen a plied Icelandic yarn.

It turned out very thick at 7 wpi. (wpi= wraps per inch. It is how many strands can wrap around 1 inch of a ruler.) I did a swatch with size 8 needles and got 14 stitches per 4 inches.

I’m not sure where the whole pound went because in the end I had 210 grams of finished yarn. (I think I blended some of it in another project that I didn’t make notes on.)

For the white Icelandic yarn I blended it with some Cheviot roving. I used 57% Icelandic and 43% Cheviot. I blended the roving by running it through my drum carder then I spun it into a single ply yarn. Yes, that’s right, I was brave and did a single ply yarn.

A note for all the non-spinners: The reason a single strand of yarn is difficult to make look good is because the inconsistencies will stand out. When you ply a yarn with 2, 3, or more strands, the inconsistencies get hidden and sort of even out. In a way, they are averaged out thus the yarn will look more uniform with more plies.

I ended up with 110 grams of finished yarn. The yarn is 13 wpi. I knitted a swatch with size 3 needles and got 20 sts per 4 inches in stockinette.

There are a lot of variables regarding the processing and spinning of these two yarns but my option is that the single ply yarn looks better than the 2-ply. I’ll eventually get around to knitting with them but my next big project is with commercially produced Alafosslopi. I can’t say I enjoyed spinning these Icelandic yarns enough to make a whole sweater’s worth.

The Resurrection of Spinning

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First of all, I must say that I am thankful for my health and my life situation in which I can stay at home and not worry about where the next meal is coming from. My husband and I leave the house about once a week to get groceries. My husband, adult children, and their families are healthy. The acquaintances I know that are sick with covid-19 are young and doing quite well at home.

Like so many other people who are home bound, I have an abundance of time on my hands. I indulged in the luxury of ordering supplies online and having them arrive a few days later at my door step. It’s been interesting trying to obtain my materials online. Normally I’d want to feel fabric before buying it. When it comes to a fleece, I’d want to see it, feel it, and smell it. (I once had a Shetland fleece that I couldn’t get the stink out of even after dyeing it, so smell matters.)

Being that I have the time to process and spin yarn right now, I went ahead and ordered a few pounds of Merino. I found an online supplier and read the descriptions of my options. I chose two differed colored fleeces, both with a 4 inch staple length—at least that’s what the description said. I had already washed them and was picking through the first one when I realized the staple length was more like 2 inches with only a few locks being in the 3 inch range. I took a good look at the second fleece and found it to be quite short too. After I double checked the description of my wool – confirmed it said “4 inch staple length” – I emailed the seller. She had a no-return policy but offered to give me some money back or send me more fleece. I opted for more fleece with a 4 inch staple and now I await the package.

It was a joy to take out my drum carder and get to work on this cinnamon colored Merino fleece. My spinning wheel has been in storage for TWO YEARS while I was traveling. Guess what? It was in disarray just like I left it! Sadly, the magic elves didn’t break in and repair everything while I was gone. It has several broken parts, it’s misaligned, and dirty. I’ve ordered the replacement parts – a new drive band and a spring for the tension. Now I’m awaiting that package too.