On May 23, 2006, at 23:45, bevw wrote:
Hmm, define 'plied wire' ? Industry refers to 2-strand wire, not 2-ply wire.
Well, I'm not "industry"; just a dumb-Polack amateur lacemaker :) I'm used to the term "ply" in thread and simply carried it over to wire, since I use wire as "thread" for lacemaking.
So - when you use 2 strands of wire for bobbin lace are you simply using 2 together (side by side or however way they wrap around the bobbin and work into the lace), or do you put twist in them first, clockwise or counterclockwise? if the latter then technically, in spinning terms, it is 2-ply wire :)
Actually... I do both :) Mostly, I just use 2 "strands" together and let them do as they will within the lace. But, when there are more than 2 "strands" (plies?) I pre-twist them (loosely), because they're easier to handle (wind) that way. And, recently, I started pre-twisting even in some cases when there are only 2 strands/plies to manage -- when they're of two different colours, and I want a more regular effect than I get from two "independent" ones.
What I still hadn't decided on -- or not for certain-sure -- is whether to pre-twist or to "pre-cross" (can't figure out which one's clock-, and which counter-wise any more than I can figure out Z and S twists. Am terminally challenged as to left-right direction and other such "geometric puzzles" <g> And never had any spinning or weaving experience, which is where "you're coming from") ...
If you grab two "independent" pieces of wire and start twisting them together, the instinctive way -- at least for the right-handed folk -- is to twist away from yourself with the right hand, and towards yourself with the left (check it out if you don't believe me; I never thought about it, but Susan Lambiris brought it to our attention during her wire class). Which produces a "crossed" piece of "thread". But, if you hang a bent piece of wire on a pin and start twisting its two "legs", then the tendency -- at least for the right-handed lacemakers -- is to _twist_ ...
I have not yet experimented enough with pre-twisting, to determine which way produces better lace.
Hah! Eureka! Hallelujah! I have -- better late than never <g> -- checked Brenda's book (Threads for Lace). And she -- the _darling_ -- used _lacemaking_ terms in describing the S/Z spins/twists... To quote: "The direction of the spin is a small consideration in the making of lace. Bobbin lace is made with more Z-direction twists (right over left) than S-direction crosses (left over right) [...]" Since I know that most threads made for lacemaking are S-twisted, I guess I'll follow that method in wire too (ie cross it). Thanks, Brenda!
Fine wire and cotton thread are both strands;
If that's so, then what's "single-ply wool"? Why isn't it "single-strand"? And why is the "/2" (as in: 80/2) interpreted as "2 plies of 80 weight thread"? And why, if you buy your Medici wool for tapestry, each _strand_ is constructed of two? And two of what?
Yours, still not packed (but the alarm clock is set. For 6:30. Yuck) -- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
