This is my first attempt at spinning a three ply yarn.
I had always wanted to knit an Aran sweater, and this one from Country Knits by Debbie Bliss and Fiona McTague caught my eye. After spinning a number of smaller projects, I thought that I would try spinning the yarn for it. To make the texture of the stitches pop out in this sweater, I decided a three ply yarn was called for. Again, this was something that was new to me.
The wool for this yarn is a natural gray coopworth fleece purchased from Triple R Farm at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The singles were spun and plied on a Louet S10. Since I couldn’t wait to start knitting with the yarn, I did a swatch and was able to get the gauge stated in the pattern comfortably. Unfortunately, my lack of experience at this point coupled with long period in between spinning the yarn for this project meant that not all of the yarn that I spun could be used for the sweater since it produced a different density of fabric. I have learned since this project how to match a yarn that has already been produced.
Below are close up views of the sweater and its stitches.
