Blending Colors at the Wheel

Blending at the wheel is a simple way to get interesting results that are not typically found in millspun yarns, and a way to make several different but related yarns for a single project.

Early in the author's spinning pursuits, she had a spinning wheel but few other tools—no handcards, no combs, no drumcarder, so she tried to extend her fiber stash by combining fibers without those tools. She would simply predraft two rovings or tops together and found that the benefits were many—she got greater amounts of yarn for larger projects; yarns that were unique because of her blending choices; and yarns that produced very interesting textural effects in her knitting due to various fiber and color blends.

The resulting yarns varied and were dependent on several factors:

• How similar the fiber sources were in coarseness and fiber length
• Whether the fiber sources were combed or carded
• Whether the yarn I made was a singles yarn or plied
• Whether the yarn was thick or thin
• How consistently I blended colors within a single skein
• The contrast or closeness of color hue and value
• The relative percentages of the blended fibers

Read the full article to see how Amy blended various colors of fibers for a multitude of effects.

Amy Tyler lives in the northwest corner of the lower peninsula of Michigan, quite near Lake Michigan. She sometimes visits the upper peninsula to spend some quality time near Lake Superior. She often finds inspiration from Michigan and its lakes for her spinning and knitting creations. Her website is stonesockfibers.com.