March 17, 2025 • 11 mins
In this episode Sasha explores cabled yarns, which require multiple plying steps but which have a distinct look and texture and are fantastically durable. While they don't significantly change the look of stockinette or garter stitch, cabled yarns really shine in more intricate patterns like seed stitch.
You can find the script for this episode HERE.
You can comment on and discuss this episode here in The Flock, Sheepspot’s free online community for inquisitive spinners.
Here's the link to the Podcast search page and playlists.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:58):
Have you ever made a cabled yarn? If you have, you know that it entails a lot of plying time.
In this week's episode, I ask whether all that plying is worth the effort.
Hello there, darling Sheepspotter. Welcome to episode 145 of the Sheepspot Podcast.
(01:20):
I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love.
We are talking about the plying and yarn structure pillar of Skillful Spinning this month.
So today I'm going to talk about what I think of as complex or advanced yarn structures.
These are structures that are a little trickier to make than your standard two
(01:45):
or three plies, or at least they require more steps than your standard two or three plies.
Most of us usually spin our yarns
with our wheels turning clockwise or in
the z direction so clockwise think z
or zed and we
(02:05):
ply most of us with our wheels turning counterclockwise or in the s direction
and if you're not sure why we call them s and z I'm going to put a little diagram
in the show notes to explain it.
It's way easier to do it with a picture than with words, so check the show notes for that.
(02:30):
So usually we spin Z or Z and we ply S, but there are lots of ways of creating
different yarn structures by mixing things up.
For example, you can create what's called an opposing ply yarn by spinning one
ply S and one Z, and then plying them together S.
(02:54):
This gives the S-ply extra twist, which causes it to shorten and kink up on
itself, while the Z-spun ply sort of wraps around it.
The result is a somewhat odd-looking but extremely elastic yarn.
A crepe yarn, on the other hand, is a three-ply yarn that starts with two of
(03:16):
the single spun S and one spun Z.
Then, in step two, the S-twist yarns are plied together, Z, with twice the usual twist.
In the third step, the two-ply that you made in step two is plied together with
(03:36):
the Z-spun single in the S-direction.
The result is a yarn with a beautiful and interesting texture,
and infinite versions of this yarn can be made by varying the diameter and or
the color of the individual plies.
Cabled yarns, our topic for today, take the logic of the crepe yarn and extend it to four plies.
(04:03):
So you start by spinning four singles S, so the opposite of the way that you
would usually spin them.
And then you make two two-ply yarns by plying the singles in the Z direction
with twice as much twist as you would use in spinning a regular old yarn,
(04:26):
or in plying a regular old yarn.
Finally, you ply the two over-plied two-ply yarns together, S.
So, cabled yarns, you can tell from this description, they're time-consuming to make.
First, if you usually spin your singles Z, you may find spinning them S requires
(04:48):
a bit more attention than usual, and this may slow you down a bit.
But the real-time investment comes in the second step,
over-plying those singles into two Z-plyed two-ply yarns, because remember that
you need to give them twice as much ply twist as you usually would.
There are a couple of ways to approach doing this. You can either figure out
(05:13):
what your treadle count would be for a normal yarn and just double it.
So let's say your treadle count for plying singles with a similar amount of
twist would be five treadles.
You would use 10 treadles instead.
Or the other approach is to ply as you usually would and then ply again.
(05:35):
Run your resulting yarn through your wheel adding the extra twist.
In that case, you'd ply the yarn once with five treadles and then again with five treadles.
Either way, that's a lot of ply twist to be added, and it takes a while.
And you still aren't finished.
You still have to do step three, in which you ply the two over-plied two plies together.
(06:00):
All this spinning and over-plying and plying, though, produce a yarn that looks like nothing else.
Everything about the way this yarn looks rests on the over-plying in step two.
If you don't add enough ply twist at that point, your cabled yarn will look
like two two-plies that are just sort of plied together, which isn't what you want.
(06:23):
You want your two-plies to kind of snap together in the final plying step into
a yarn that looks almost braided and has, if you looked at it in cross-section, it would be square and,
And there are great pictures of the difference between a slightly underplied
(06:45):
cable yarn and one that is kind of just right.
There are really good pictures of them in Sarah Anderson's The Spinner's Book of Yarn Design,
which I highly recommend, by the way, for anyone who's interested in experimenting
with yarn structures and different plying techniques.
And it's a beautifully illustrated book, as they always do.
(07:09):
And it's just very, very useful for making all of these different kinds of yarn.
And she really walks you through each of them step by step. So first you'd spin
your singles in this way and then you ply in this way and you overply and,
you know, you get the picture.
(07:30):
So in a certain frame of mind, when I'm feeling really patient,
I love making a cabled yarn because I love the way they look.
And I've made a few. But in prepping for this episode, I realized that I never
actually knitted with any of them. So in the interest of science,
(07:50):
I needed to do some testing.
The question I wanted to answer was this.
Do cabled yarns look as distinctive in fabric as they do as yarn?
In other words, is all this spinning and overplying and plying again really
worth the amount of time that it takes.
(08:11):
So I dug a skein out of my stash and I got to swatching.
I knit a 44-stitch wide swatch. All my swatches are always 44 stitches wide.
And I started with four rows of garter stitch and then a couple of inches of stockinette stitch.
Neither stitch pattern looked very different to me from a swatch knit in a three-ply yarn.
(08:34):
But then I switched to seed stitch, and there I could really see a difference.
The stitch definition was just amazing.
So the answer to my question was a qualified yes, if I'm using a stitch pattern
that's really going to benefit from the distinct structure of this yarn.
(08:54):
I'll be saving my cabled yarns for those kinds of situations.
The other reason to make a cabled yarn is that they're extremely durable.
In the Spinner's Book of Yarn Design, Sarah Anderson wear-tested a variety of
yarn structures in hand-knit socks, all spun from the same fiber.
(09:15):
So she tested three-ply yarns, chain-plied yarns, four-ply yarns, and cabled yarns.
And she found that the cabled yarn significantly outperformed the others,
including the four-ply.
If I were going to be knitting something that was going to get an average amount
of wear, or I was knitting it in stockinette, I probably wouldn't bother making a cabled yarn for it.
(09:43):
Unless I just had a hankering to make a cabled yarn.
And as I've said, those do sometimes come over me.
There's something so satisfying about that final plying step when the two two-ply
yarns come together and snap into this amazing shape and texture.
In that sense, cabled yarns are kind of their own reward if you,
(10:04):
as I do, are really enamored of that moment.
But now I really want to hear from you. Have you ever tried creating a cabled yarn?
Do you think all the steps involved were worth the time and effort?
I would love to know what you think about this time-consuming but hard-wearing and unmistakable yarn.
(10:25):
So would you do me a favor? would you hop on over to the dedicated discussion
thread in the flock and tell me?
The link is in the show notes for this episode, which you'll find right inside your podcast app.
Just open up the description for this episode and click the link to be taken right to the thread.
(10:46):
Darling Sheepspotter, that is it for me this week. Thank you so much for listening.
I will be back next week to explain why I never end up with leftover singles when plying.
I'll be talking about the three methods I use to ensure that my bobbins come out even.
And if you hate winding up with leftovers when you're finished plying,
(11:08):
you really don't want to miss it.
Until then, spin something. I promise it will do you good.
Have you ever made a cabled yarn? If you have, you know that it entails a lot of plying time.
In this week's episode, I ask whether all that plying is worth the effort.
Hello there, darling Sheepspotter. Welcome to episode 145 of the Sheepspot Podcast.
(01:20):
I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love.
We are talking about the plying and yarn structure pillar of Skillful Spinning this month.
So today I'm going to talk about what I think of as complex or advanced yarn structures.
These are structures that are a little trickier to make than your standard two
(01:45):
or three plies, or at least they require more steps than your standard two or three plies.
Most of us usually spin our yarns
with our wheels turning clockwise or in
the z direction so clockwise think z
or zed and we
(02:05):
ply most of us with our wheels turning counterclockwise or in the s direction
and if you're not sure why we call them s and z I'm going to put a little diagram
in the show notes to explain it.
It's way easier to do it with a picture than with words, so check the show notes for that.
(02:30):
So usually we spin Z or Z and we ply S, but there are lots of ways of creating
different yarn structures by mixing things up.
For example, you can create what's called an opposing ply yarn by spinning one
ply S and one Z, and then plying them together S.
(02:54):
This gives the S-ply extra twist, which causes it to shorten and kink up on
itself, while the Z-spun ply sort of wraps around it.
The result is a somewhat odd-looking but extremely elastic yarn.
A crepe yarn, on the other hand, is a three-ply yarn that starts with two of
(03:16):
the single spun S and one spun Z.
Then, in step two, the S-twist yarns are plied together, Z, with twice the usual twist.
In the third step, the two-ply that you made in step two is plied together with
(03:36):
the Z-spun single in the S-direction.
The result is a yarn with a beautiful and interesting texture,
and infinite versions of this yarn can be made by varying the diameter and or
the color of the individual plies.
Cabled yarns, our topic for today, take the logic of the crepe yarn and extend it to four plies.
(04:03):
So you start by spinning four singles S, so the opposite of the way that you
would usually spin them.
And then you make two two-ply yarns by plying the singles in the Z direction
with twice as much twist as you would use in spinning a regular old yarn,
(04:26):
or in plying a regular old yarn.
Finally, you ply the two over-plied two-ply yarns together, S.
So, cabled yarns, you can tell from this description, they're time-consuming to make.
First, if you usually spin your singles Z, you may find spinning them S requires
(04:48):
a bit more attention than usual, and this may slow you down a bit.
But the real-time investment comes in the second step,
over-plying those singles into two Z-plyed two-ply yarns, because remember that
you need to give them twice as much ply twist as you usually would.
There are a couple of ways to approach doing this. You can either figure out
(05:13):
what your treadle count would be for a normal yarn and just double it.
So let's say your treadle count for plying singles with a similar amount of
twist would be five treadles.
You would use 10 treadles instead.
Or the other approach is to ply as you usually would and then ply again.
(05:35):
Run your resulting yarn through your wheel adding the extra twist.
In that case, you'd ply the yarn once with five treadles and then again with five treadles.
Either way, that's a lot of ply twist to be added, and it takes a while.
And you still aren't finished.
You still have to do step three, in which you ply the two over-plied two plies together.
(06:00):
All this spinning and over-plying and plying, though, produce a yarn that looks like nothing else.
Everything about the way this yarn looks rests on the over-plying in step two.
If you don't add enough ply twist at that point, your cabled yarn will look
like two two-plies that are just sort of plied together, which isn't what you want.
(06:23):
You want your two-plies to kind of snap together in the final plying step into
a yarn that looks almost braided and has, if you looked at it in cross-section, it would be square and,
And there are great pictures of the difference between a slightly underplied
(06:45):
cable yarn and one that is kind of just right.
There are really good pictures of them in Sarah Anderson's The Spinner's Book of Yarn Design,
which I highly recommend, by the way, for anyone who's interested in experimenting
with yarn structures and different plying techniques.
And it's a beautifully illustrated book, as they always do.
(07:09):
And it's just very, very useful for making all of these different kinds of yarn.
And she really walks you through each of them step by step. So first you'd spin
your singles in this way and then you ply in this way and you overply and,
you know, you get the picture.
(07:30):
So in a certain frame of mind, when I'm feeling really patient,
I love making a cabled yarn because I love the way they look.
And I've made a few. But in prepping for this episode, I realized that I never
actually knitted with any of them. So in the interest of science,
(07:50):
I needed to do some testing.
The question I wanted to answer was this.
Do cabled yarns look as distinctive in fabric as they do as yarn?
In other words, is all this spinning and overplying and plying again really
worth the amount of time that it takes.
(08:11):
So I dug a skein out of my stash and I got to swatching.
I knit a 44-stitch wide swatch. All my swatches are always 44 stitches wide.
And I started with four rows of garter stitch and then a couple of inches of stockinette stitch.
Neither stitch pattern looked very different to me from a swatch knit in a three-ply yarn.
(08:34):
But then I switched to seed stitch, and there I could really see a difference.
The stitch definition was just amazing.
So the answer to my question was a qualified yes, if I'm using a stitch pattern
that's really going to benefit from the distinct structure of this yarn.
(08:54):
I'll be saving my cabled yarns for those kinds of situations.
The other reason to make a cabled yarn is that they're extremely durable.
In the Spinner's Book of Yarn Design, Sarah Anderson wear-tested a variety of
yarn structures in hand-knit socks, all spun from the same fiber.
(09:15):
So she tested three-ply yarns, chain-plied yarns, four-ply yarns, and cabled yarns.
And she found that the cabled yarn significantly outperformed the others,
including the four-ply.
If I were going to be knitting something that was going to get an average amount
of wear, or I was knitting it in stockinette, I probably wouldn't bother making a cabled yarn for it.
(09:43):
Unless I just had a hankering to make a cabled yarn.
And as I've said, those do sometimes come over me.
There's something so satisfying about that final plying step when the two two-ply
yarns come together and snap into this amazing shape and texture.
In that sense, cabled yarns are kind of their own reward if you,
(10:04):
as I do, are really enamored of that moment.
But now I really want to hear from you. Have you ever tried creating a cabled yarn?
Do you think all the steps involved were worth the time and effort?
I would love to know what you think about this time-consuming but hard-wearing and unmistakable yarn.
(10:25):
So would you do me a favor? would you hop on over to the dedicated discussion
thread in the flock and tell me?
The link is in the show notes for this episode, which you'll find right inside your podcast app.
Just open up the description for this episode and click the link to be taken right to the thread.
(10:46):
Darling Sheepspotter, that is it for me this week. Thank you so much for listening.
I will be back next week to explain why I never end up with leftover singles when plying.
I'll be talking about the three methods I use to ensure that my bobbins come out even.
And if you hate winding up with leftovers when you're finished plying,
(11:08):
you really don't want to miss it.
Until then, spin something. I promise it will do you good.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!