Prickly Pear Cotton Spin (2023)
Fibre: Pima Cotton Sliver from Buchanan Fiber, Prickly Pear colourway (2oz of fibre)
Yarn: Approx 197yds two-ply, slightly less than sock weight. Also approx 3.3yds chain-ply.
Method: Madness! See below
Completed: May 14, 2023.
My first cotton spinning experience. I bought a few turkish spindles (wood and 3D printed), and a supported spindle. I wound up spinning a lot of it on a regular drop spindle. And then I finished the spinning on my Matchless spinning wheel. All of that over a span of a few years.
So, no — not so much with the consistent singles! But, by the end, I didn’t really care. I wanted it done. I found the turkish and supported spindles were a little to fussy and fiddly, at least for dealing with this prep. (The supported spindle was a delight with the sample fibre (wool) it came with). I was fighting with a drive band problem on my Matchless (the incredible growing cotton drive band… sigh).
All that to say: I hope for better cotton experiences in the future.
I did ply most of it 2-ply. I was concerned that would make the colours pretty muddy, and it kind of did. But, I was not confident that I could successfully chain ply my singles — they were pretty delicate (poorly spun — see above). In the end, I did the last bit of singles using a chain ply. It was a struggle, but I do think the yarn worked out (all 3 yards of it). Mostly, it makes me want to practice my chain ply technique so that it’s a skill I can use more readily.
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