How did I Come to be a Spinner - 1981 Part 4 - Treadling My Biggest Challenge

Back at home, with the NEW Tradional Ashford, I tried remember what went on at our evening get togethers, but I had been weaving and chatting.  

Spinning was difficult!  

Treadling was difficult!  

Very difficult!  

None of this was going well.  I couldn’t keep my wheel going in one direction. 

My husband sat down and showed me that if I just thought of tapping my foot, like to music in 3/4 time, one, two, three, it would be easy.  But music rhythm did not come easy to me either, even with years of accordian lessons, back in the Lawarence Welk days..

I snapped, “Get off my wheel and don’t touch it again.”  Not my best moment.  A very gloomy start.  Okay, I thought, I need to get this, it's kind of like riding a bike, also not my specialty. I did know that managing the rotation of the wheel was going to be my first big challenge, hand and finger fine moter coordination seemed so much easier.  

I started in earnest, treadling so the wheel went slow enough but didn't reverse directions.  I treadled while watching TV.  I treadled while reading magazines or bedtime stories to my children.  I understood I needed to get beyond thinking about the treadling but to a place where I could just trust my foot and leg to know how hard to push so I got a full rotation and how often so the flyer would go at a reasonable speed as I learned to spin.  

I even attached a kid's block with rubber bands to make

 the footman come to the top.    

I practiced treadling while I taught myself how to hand card.  At one point I was amongst a large group of hand spinners treadling and carding, but not yet spinning.  Everyone there was worried, not because I was so slow in learning, but because a local newspaper reporter was going to visit with a photographer for a human-interest story.  They made me promise to get up and go into the kitchen the whole time the reporter was there, as surely it would be 

            a photo of me being so effiecent "carding and treadling" at the same time 

that it would land in the newspaper, confusing the public on how you could card and spin at the same time.

Finally, after a full month of treadling I could finally trust my foot to do what needed to be done.  I actually began to spin.  

So don’t despair if treadling and keeping the rotation smooth is difficult.  If I could learn this, so can you.  Just practice the rhythm of treadling, going for slow and smooth, the faster your foot goes the faster your hands will have to move to keep up.

Fixing a yarn that has been washed and set.

 Q - Can you change a yarn even though it is already spun, plied, washed and set?

A - Above is a video of the most important part of correcting a yarn 

Here below is a step by step how to that you can read and work your way through. 

Starting with the pink and blue silk yarns that I had hoped to use together but after I started crocheting, I realized that I had spun the blueish one softer and with larger slubs that showed up during the plying.  The two were not going to work together.  

Changing a yarn isn't fast, nor is it guaranteed but if the fiber is precious or expensive like silk, it may well be worth your time. 

To change or fix a yarn you need to realize your options:

A - You can relax tight plying by removing some of the plying twist.

B - You can unply a plied yarn to use as a single or reply with more plies or a different yarn. 

C - You can unply the yarn and draft the single thinner, you CANNOT DRAFT IT THICKER  

D - You can remove some twist from a single that was overspun, which may allow the yarn to puff up more andlook thicker, but that is difficult to do evenly.  

Since this was a small ball of plied silk I choose to remedy the yarn with option C.  

First, I treadle the yarn onto a bobbin with the flyer going Z to remove the S-ply and passing it in when just as it looks like the ply has been removed. I started with the folded end since it had been plied as a ball and I didn't want to cut it.

Second, while still on the flyer and hanging out the orifice, I split the plys and wound one end on each hand, starting around two fingers . When it starts to build I add a third finger and wind more, then I can  remove a finger to keep it from getting too tight.  It's an odd little hand dance, that will end with two small balls still connected.  

If it had been a larger yarn I have used a second spinning wheel with a tight takeup to wind one ply and use a ball winder for the other.  Or my preference when I can lock up all cats, dogs and toddlers, I have simply pulled the plys apart and let them fall in a puddle one on each side of my chair.  As long as nobody messes with each puddle the ends will be on top.  If it was plied from a large ball you will be better off breaking the two sections apart, so you don't disturb the puddles.

As you are pulling it apart there will be areas where you probably went too far with the Z twist, or didn't quite do enough, but with the yarn still in the flyer you should be able to turn the flyer a few times to remedy those situations.

Third, now you need to correct your original problem.  My problem was too soft twist and too large slubs.  

My set up: 

1. I set up my mini spinner on a slow Z speed but a slightly stronger takeup since I only needed a bit more twist. 
2. I put the yarn balls into a zip bag mostly closed so they would not be rolling around the floor to be chased by a kitty. 
3. After joining the end of the yarn to leader I sat about 4 feet away.  The extra space allowed me to see a slub coming and to work it out before it got the extra twist. 

Reducing slubs: I watched as the yarn went though my hands and if I saw a slub coming I placed my hands more than a fiber length apart at the slub.  Quickly, both hands were reversing the orignal Z twist until I saw untwisted fibers then I drafted just enough to smooth down the slub.  A quick release of the held back twist and I could move the yarn into the orifice and watch for the next slub. 

All that remained was to re-ply the yarn and re-set the twist.  Now I think the yarns will crochet well together to make narrow neck scarf to match this lovely square woven silk shawl that the yarns are sitting on.  Stay tuned for the finished scarf.

This shawl was a precious buy when we visited relatives in  Germany in 1989.  The cousin's wife took me to a weavers studio and where I admired all of her work, but we had a hugh language barrier.  The cousin bought a silk shawl for herself.  After we were back at her house, her husband was able to expain how much it had cost.  "Oh my! Please", I said, "Can you take me back as I also need to buy one."  I have loved it ever since. 

2/14/23