Spinning Sock Yarn

One of my goals in spinning and knitting is to spin my own yarn for socks. At SAFF (the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair) in October, I bought some ready-to-spin superwash fiber. Superwash fiber has been specially treated so that it can be washed in a washing machine without felting. I've been working on spinning it for socks.

Sock yarn needs to be firm, so it holds up well. I also want it to be fairly fine, as in not bulky yarn. All that meant it took FOREVER to spin the four ounces of fiber I bought.

I finally finished spinning the singles. Then I was faced with the decision of how to ply it-- 2-ply? 4x4 cable? Chain/Navajo ply? As usual, I had not managed to fill two bobbins evenly, and since I didn't want to waste any of the fiber, a 2-ply was out. A 4x4 cable had pretty much the same issue, even if I plied from center pull balls. Also, I like the idea of preserving the color runs (chain plying does this beautifully!), so chain plying was the winner.

Here's the result--a picture of the singles still on the bobbin, and the chain-plied yarn on the wheel: