Combo Spinning — FLORA & FIBER

A combo spin combines several different fiber braids to create enough spun yardage for a larger project, say for a sweater. The braids are divided into chunks, spun in random color order, and then those singles are plied together.

The fiber braids (starting from the top left and moving clockwise):

Paradise Fibers July 2018 Fiber Club Box. Blend of superfine Merino wool (black, turquoise, fluorescent pink, orange, and chartreuse) with gold and silver Stellina (glitter).
Paradise Fibers April 2018 Fiber Club Box. Blend of 50% superfine Merino wool (spearmint, rust, and aqua), 25% Mulberry silk (Damson and Mediterranean), 15% cashmere (white), and 10% faux cashmere (white)
Paradise Fibers May 2018 Fiber Club Box. Merino wool (hot pink, light pink, magenta, orchid, orange, deep blue, light blue, fluorescent pink).
Edgewood Garden Studio. Falkland wool roving in blues and greens.

All of my braids have some amount of blue, and three contain pink. When choosing braids for a combo spin, keeping one color in common may produce a more cohesive final yarn. However, I have seen some beautiful yarns created, not necessarily combining colors that you would think would meld in such a pleasing way.

Pink is not my favorite color, especially hot pink! I suspected (correctly) that the other braids would tone down that particular braid.

I selected four braids, each approximately 4 ounces. While spinning each braid as a stand-alone would have produced a lovely skein of yarn, it would be enough to create a small project like a hat or mitts. Combining the braids now gives me a pound of fiber and a more substantial quantity of finished yarn.

Each braid is divided in half horizontally. Each half is further divided vertically into 8 pieces for 16 bundles per braid. So, I ended up with a total of 64 bundles.

I placed the little nests of fiber into a bag and randomly pulled out a nest to spin.

I spun a single containing 16 nests per bobbin, making four bobbins of singles.

Then I plied two of those singles bobbins together. In the ply, the colors layer, wrapping around each other.

The finished yarn is a 2-ply DK weight of approximately 1100 yards. A reasonable amount for a project. So, I set out to find a knitting pattern that would showcase my new combo spun yarn. I had several contenders but decided on the Harlequin Swagger coat by Jane Slicer-Smith. Several reasons went into my decision:

I really like the overall design of the coat.
It’s written for DK weight yarn.
I have been wanting to try a knitting project with miters.
I think my variegated yarn will provide an interesting appeal in this design.
Although my yarn is spun fairly consistently, handspun yarn typically has thinner and thicker variations in its grist. While I find this to be one of the charms of handspun yarn, it can affect the finished look of the project. In this pattern, the handspun is in garter stitch, which will hide those inconsistencies by the very nature of its textural look.
This pattern is found in the book Swing, Swagger, Drape, which I own (and highly recommend).

There are two versions of the Harlequin Swagger coat, 2-color and 3-color. There is also a longer version called the Harlequin Swing coat. For the 2-color Swagger coat, I need 1250 yards of Color A and 1050 yards of Color B. My combo spun yarn will be perfect for Color B. But what for Color A? Spin more yarn? I don’t really want to delay this project to spin more yarn. Handspun already in my stash? Nothing works there and not enough of any one color anyway. Commercial yarn in my stash? Yes! Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in wisteria complements the colors in my handspun perfectly!