For my next spinning project, I am going to spin a braid using fractal spinning. Briefly, this means I’m spinning and plying the yarn to get specific color changes that look lovely when you knit it up. This time I’m using pure merino, purchased from Apothefaery Fabrications at SAFF last year. The colors remind me of apples!
I’m doing this as a 1-to-4 split – in other words, I split the braid in half lengthwise, then split one of those halves into fourths (also lengthwise). One half of the 2-ply will be the “whole” half, spun in its entirety. The other half of the 2-ply will be the skinny 4ths, spun end to end. So you get long color changes and short color changes mixed together.
I’ve spun a little sample to knit and be sure I’m happy with the result. I’d like to end up with a lace-weight yarn (~18 WPI), so fairly thin. It’s very springy, which I like. But springy wool shrinks & fattens with finishing, and my sample came out at 16-18 WPI after the wash. So care will be required when spinning to keep it thin.
Here are my little fiber “nests”, ready to spin.
I love these colors! So cheerful! And you’re right, they remind me of apples!