With art yarns all the rage, you may know how to
spiral ply. If you’ve been spiraling your thick and thin
yarns onto commercial laceweight, more
than likely you haven’t
run into many structural issues.
But if you’ve tried using
your own handspun as a core (why? Cuz
it looks so creamy good and feels even
better!) you might have a few questions by now. Like how to spin
a truly balanced spiral plied yarn. Or how to spiral ply for
a balanced bound boucle. There’s
What’s a Spiral Yarn?
spiral [left], boucle [right]
First off, definitions. What makes a spiral ply yarn work?
A normal two-ply yarn is made by holding
two singles under equal amounts of tension, usually side by
side at a very small angle, say 5 percent, regardless of similarities
and differences in weight of the plies. A spiral ply yarn is
made by holding one yarn (the core) under tension while leaving
the spiral ply (the wrapper) untensioned and guiding it as
it wraps onto the core at an angle of between 45 to 90 degrees.
angle of ply
This simple plying method
is the basis of spirals, coils, tornadoes
and more complex boucles.
Tips for Spiral Pliers
Before we go on I’m assuming you
know how to spin both fine, smooth singles and thick and thin
singles, cuz that could be a whole ‘nother article.
When you set up to spiral ply, it’s really best to
have your two bobbins well placed to
start. I like to have my core yarn
sitting to my left or in front of me
(on the CJkoho Kate 45), and
my wrapper to my right (mine is on
my Katie A Go Go), since I feed it
on with my right hand. I want the core
to show, so I ply at less than a 90-degree
angle. I hold the wrapper at the thin point with my right hand
while rolling the wrapper onto the core because this allows
twist to redistribute from thin into thick areas, making a
nicely defined spiral. To wind onto the bobbin, I pinch the
plied yarn at a thin spot so as not to mess with the twist
in the thick spot (such rocket science).
pinch at thin spot of ply so as not
to mess with thick spot
Balanced Spiral Ply Yarn
To spin a
balanced spiral plied yarn like the
one shown in Thruway from
Lucca Dot Yarns, you need to spin both
your core and your wrapper to the right,
or Z. Not just that, you need to introduce
more twist in both these plies than
you would if you were to ply them with
equal tension. If you don’t
add enough twist to the singles, as
you increase the angle of ply, the
core single loses more and more twist
as it takes more twists per inch to
wrap the spiral ply, eventually coming
apart. If your singles differ greatly
in size (skinny core, fat spiral) like
the ones shown here, the fact that
the core has more twists to the inch
than the wrapper will keep it from
coming apart during plying. If the
two plies are of relatively equal weights
and thicknesses, then you may find
you need even more twist in the core
yarn. How much twist? I introduced
enough twist in my core to make a firm
how much twist in fine singles
It’s not overtwisted,
but readily tries to ply on itself
when slackened. My thick and thin has
so much twist that the thin areas are
almost but not quite overspun. Twist
accumulates in the thin areas of the
single, but redistributes into the
thicker areas during spiral plying.
It all evens out in the end.
thick and thin ready for plying
finished spiral yarn
Bound Boucle’ Yarn
The bound boucle yarn shown in the other
two versions of Thruway is a spiral ply
yarn that has been bound with a third
ply (the binder) forming a traditional
boucle style yarn. It requires one extra
step than the balanced spiral ply yarn
Begin by spinning the core to
the left (S). Because you are going to
increase the twist in this single during
the plying process, you don’t need
as much twist as the balanced spiral
ply yarn above. Spin with just enough
twist to make a soft yarn. Spin twice
the yardage you need, because this singles
will be your core AND your binder. Spin
the wrapper to the right (Z) with lots
of twist as usual. You now have two singles:
one to the left, one to the right,
one loose and one tight.
Spiral ply these two singles to the left as usual. Don’t
try to give it the slack test, because
it’s going to be pretty
Now you are ready to cable to the right. Why don’t
I just call it plying? Because cabling
requires significantly less twist,
just enough to allow the binding yarn
to wrap around the spiral plied yarn. The term “cable” you
automatically know to take it easy
in the twist department. Cable what’s
left of the S spun core and the spiral
ply yarn to the right (Z) as follows.
two plies tensioned for cabling
Hold both yarns with equal tension
just like a balanced two ply yarn,
keeping hold of the point of twist
at the orifice. Treadle 2 or three
times and allow the twist to enter
the yarns (don’t guide it…you'll
lose loft and definition).
Check for balance by allowing
the yarn to go slack. Yarn not slack?
If your plied yarn wants to twist back
onto itself to the left, it needs less
twist in the ply; to the right, it needs
more twist in the ply.
Grab the yarn
where the point of twist has come to
rest and wind on.
How Much Fiber?
For the spiral ply
yarn, spin at a ratio of about 1 to
3 ounces of fiber for core and wrapper.
Yardage? You’ll need close
to twice the yardage in the wrapper
as you have in the core.
For the Boucle, spin the same amount
of yardage in core/binder and wrapper.
Fiber ratio, about 1 -2.5.
two bobbins on kate ready for cabling
Gotta love the lazy loops in these
balanced yarns (still unwashed). Left,
boucle; right, spiral ply.
Spinning Tool: Schacht
Koho Kate 45,