Friday, October 04, 2024

Navajo (Chain) Plying


Chain (Navajo) Plied Yarn 

This is my first try, so it looks a little rough -- but certainly better than the layers underneath when I first started!  It's definitely something I'll get better at with practice. 

I wanted to give this a try.  Previously when I saw it demonstrated, I was just too confused to figure it out.  But it is essentially sort of hand-crocheting.  You can ply a single strand of yarn into a 3-ply with this method.

With this method, you can chain ply an art bat and match the colors without creating a barber pole effect. And you work with what you have, so there's no running out of one bobbin. 

 

 

Here is the single strand of yarn I started with.  This was one of the bobbins that came with the Matchless Spinning Wheel.  Because it wasn't mine (ie I wasn't attached to it), I felt I could use it to practice chain plying.   It looks similar to the yarn from the art batt I spun up last week.  Hopefully, I will get better at it so that my own yarn will look good enough to be used for a future project.  

A few notes:

  • Turn up the tension on your wheel, and use a larger whorl.  You want the yarn to pull onto the bobbin.
  • Spin counter-clockwise for plying. 
  • You may want to treadle a little slower than usual for plying.
  • Start with a slip knot as the first loop.
  • Think of chain plying as making giant hand crochet loops.
  • Use right hand to make the loops.
  • Left hand holds the top and will slide up and down, and push the plied yarn onto the bobbin.
  • Watch the tension as you ply: All 3 strands should be under even tension as you ply.

 

For reference:

Classy Squid Fiber Co's excellent video on chain plying.

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