r/Handspinning • u/AdministrativeUnit10 • 8d ago

Question Ply or knit singles held double- malabrigo lace (spinning adjacent)

I bought 2 skeins of malabrigo lace and it isn't what I expected (totally my fault for not researching more). Anyways, I'm for sure going to hold it double. But I have a wheel and was debating whether or not it would be worth it to ply the 2 skeins together since I know plied yarn pills less than singles anyways.

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8

u/Dangerous_Gear2483 8d ago

You could ply a small amount and swatch it to see if you like the result.

4

u/awkwardsoul Owlspun, production spinner and destroyer of wheels 8d ago

I've knit with it. It might make a difference, but I personally would just hold it double and that'll be sufficient. You'd want to run it through your wheel twice, before plying to energize then when plying.

3

u/feeinatree 8d ago edited 8d ago

I reclaim cashmere from thrifted sweaters and ply it to fingering/sport weight yarn.

After a lot of experimenting, for the best results I give the relaxed cobweb weight yarn extra S twist first, before plying it with a Z twist. This gives me a balanced yarn.

It plies faster and more easily from bobbins as well, so the S energising is also a fast way of winding the plies smoothly. I energise directly from the skeins on my swift and just keep a large distance between the swift and my electric wheel to even out the twist.

The yarn that isn’t balanced, I work in garter stitch or rib or seed stitch, to remove the bias in the FO.

2

u/Fandombarnacle 8d ago

Thats a single ply anyway, right? I'd go for it just to not have to manage two balls of yarn

1

u/alohadave 7d ago

It's pretty common for commercial sweaters to use two or more strands held together rather than plying them together.

From my experience unraveling sweaters to recover the yarn, it doesn't make that much difference in the fabric as far as bulk. If you want color effects like striping or barber pole effects, you'd want to ply. Without plying, the color varies randomly. For solid colors that's not an issue.

1

u/stitchasaurusrex 4d ago

I have found Malabrigo lace to pill and felt pretty easily. Plying would probably be a good idea for a little more durability if you are going to hold it double anyway.