You definitely don't have to ply, although usually you would already decide in the beginning if you want to spin a single or plied yarn, as a single will need far less twist to remain even. If you're starting out, plying is a great way to even out your yarn and take any excess twist out of it.

To keep the yardage, plying with sewing thread or crochet cotton, as has been said already, is definitely the best advice.

yay, Fibre Friday!!

I have been nearly absent, but am always drooling over the great yarns you all spin!

Some of my most recent ones:

Grey elegance, handspun Alpaca/Tussah silk 2ply with freshwater pearls and sequins


Hippie chick and a sequined version of it, both scrap yarns:



Simply pearls, grey Merino with pearl beads:


...yeah, I guess I am on a bit of a grey+pearls=elegance trip.

And last but not least my interpretation of pop/dance singer Lady Gaga as an art yarn:

Lots of silk, glitz and sequins.... mainly inspired by a daring light blue outfit in one of her videos, lol. Oh, and how about blonde goat as her hair?

Hellooooo Friday!
There are some real colour explosions going on in this thread already!
The cloud yarn looks like fun and I love how intense Pixi garden is.

My new yarns for the week are:

Grey pearl, a Merino and silk yarn with real freshwater pearls, glass beads and sequins:


Gwydolwyn, a tweedy wool and soy silk yarn with lots of added beads and more:



Some more organic cotton:


Blue handspun, hand dyed soy silk:


I spun quite a bit more, but they still have to be washed to set the twist, perhaps next week.

No need to kick, here I am again.

I have recently been in the mood for thin, summery silk and soy silk yarns, like these:

Green hand dyed and handspun soy silk:


... and Firenze, a pure hand dyed Tussah silk


I also spun a few artier yarns:

Cocoon, Merino/silk with linen


Electric indigo, Hand dyed Merino wool with Wensleydale locks


The green flash, Merino/silk with gem stone beads


Ocean


yay! I love fibre fridays.

Veronika

weeeeeee.... you are fast today! Pretty yarns as well, love the colours!
Today is the day, I will definitely show some recent yarns again. Kick me if I am not here again in a few hours.

Veronika

Brilliant yarns as usual! Baby bird is one of my favourites, such pretty colours and it already looks soft!

I should really try to take part here more regularly again, but since I work full-time I never get here in time anymore, hehe.

Against popular belief (of me completely disappearing) I am actually spinning lots and even taking pictures, yay! I am just a bit behind with a lot of things, but I will definitely try to post again one of these Fridays...

Isamax, I couldn't find you on ravelry but I have to say that you yarns are really pretty. Definitely convey that beachy feel, as someone already mentioned. Selling locally can be a tough sell, I have only done 3 craft fairs so far here in Germany and whilst I always made back the essentials, none of them were incredibly successful. I am now fully concentrating on my online presence with the odd craft fair when available. However I do believe Germany is even a little harder as far fewer people knit and nobody has ever heard of yarns that are a little off the wall.

Either way you go, I definitely wish you the best of luck! What I meant to ask, was that a fair organised by spinners (sounded like it)? It is really crucial to pick the right fairs and it helps to check them out the previuos year, if you can.

Such great yarns, as every week! Nice to see a few newbies - and a free wheel, wow!

My current dilemma is that I can't find my camera.

I am not sure if you are still looking for advice, but I would definitely recommend to teach spinning with wool first. Whilst hemp has got quite a long staple, it doesn't stick together that well. To compare, wool pretty much wants to stay together and would definitely be an easier choice to learn with.

Wool from a local farm would also be pretty eco friendly, if you ask me.

Definitely an interesting idea and tempting to get me back into the sewing mode - but at the moment I really don't think I can commit the time to create something stunning enough.
Will keep an eye on the outcomes though!