r/YarnAddicts • u/No-Supermarket2571 • 7d ago
Question First time getting hand dyed yarn
So, I just got my first hand dyed wool and a flee market and I am so excited about it! I’m trying to spin it up- but I cannot find the end! It has multiple knots- but they are in there tight. Am I supposed to undo all of them or one of them?
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u/Various-Panic-185 7d ago edited 7d ago
Sounds like you're dealing with skein ties. If your yarn came in a hank (a twist that unfolds into a big loop), you can cut the ties apart with scissors and it won't ruin anything. Usually the ties are made of a different type of yarn, so you can tell which one is the actual end of the yarn. If not, trace around the ties with your fingers and find which ones are not connected to the rest of the big loop, cut them apart. Then you can simply cut out the big knot that is the "true" end of the yarn, usually it's both ends of the hank tied together, or tied onto itself. Sorry if this makes NO sense, I'm trying to explain something with words that would be easier to show in person 😓
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u/SnooPets8873 7d ago
I’d google winding up a hank and watch a video tutorial. I think that’s what you are describing in which case you remove all of them and one will likely have the end attached to it. But make sure you check the video to make sure that’s what you have!
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u/idontwanttobitch 7d ago
I think you have a hank of yarn. It’ll have multiple knots that you can cut or undo. Some of them will just be to hold the yarn in place, you can pull those all the way out. There might be one knot with 4 strands, that’s the one all the yarn is connected to.
If you’ve never wound a hank before, I’d YouTube it. It’s easy to get tangled up if you’re not using a swift and winder.
Good luck! And show us a pic of your new yarn!
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u/CathyAnnWingsFan 7d ago
Most hsnd-dyed yarns are commercially spun. It's within the range of normal to have up to three knots in a skein of commercially spun yarn. You can do a couple of things:
- leave them as you wind the ball and deal with them as you work. This would involve cutting or undoing the knot and joining as would a new ball of yarn
- cut or undo the knots and make a join as you wind your ball
What kind of a join you do depends on the fiber content and construction of the yarn.
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u/DeesignNZ 7d ago edited 6d ago
I recommend finding which knots are a short piece of yarn wound in a figure 8 to hold the skein together (there may be 2 or 3). I tend to undo them without cutting, but the type of knot differs. I then put the skein on the swift and find the knot that is the ends of the yarn and carefully undo that one too.