Jessica writes: <<I do get elesticity with corriedale (processed by me) and a longwool blend (from a mill), but I find I have difficulty getting the corriedale to be as smooth and consistent as I would like (Though, adjustments to my preparation before spinning has helped this a lot).>>
I was glad that June wrote, as this is an area in which I have some intuitive ideas, but nothing I've studied thoroughly. June wrote that the amount of twist, spinning method, and of course method of preparing fiber all have impacts on the elasticity of the yarn, aside from the natural elasticity the fiber type provided to start with. In my observation, true worsted spinning has the least elasticity for a given fiber, followed by inchworm spinning, long draw from batts, long draw from roving, with handcarded rolags woolen (long draw) spun the most elastic, assuming the thickness and amount of twist are the same in each case. The more twist, the less elastic the yarn (until you get into the super-twisted yarns, in which case it's the twist energy that provides the elasticity, not the fiber itself). I *think* that if you have a hard take up onto the bobbin of your wheel, you may be artificially stretching the newly-spun singles (and, incidentally, probably putting enough twist to hold the yarn together til it gets on the bobbin that the twist is reducing the yarn's elasticity). If the yarn then sits on the bobbin, under that tension, for 24 hours or more, you will have an artificially limp yarn from a given fiber. Wash it and dry without blocking, and that limpness will go away, if other aspects of the spinning allow for elasticity. Washing and blocking the yarn will do the same thing--impose a stretched-out conformation on the fibers that lasts only until the yarns or finished goods are washed again, causing one form of shrinkage. So, if you're preparing your Corrie fiber by combing it, are spinning it true worsted with lots of twist, are blocking it in some way as or after it's spun, you will have the least elastic yarn possible from that fiber. It will probably still be much more elastic than, say, Romney treated the same way, but will be much less elastic than the same Corrie handcarded, woolen spun with little twist, and washed without blocking. It's a nice experiment, btw, and can teach an awful lot about the results of preparation and spinning techniques, to take one fleece and prepare and spin it in a great variety of ways, especially if controlled so the amount of twist and the thickness of the singles is the same throughout. I've done this a few times for class samples, and I'm always amazed by the differences in the finished yarns. Holly To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
