As spinners we have control over every aspect of the yarns we make. We chose the fibers we want for our projects and what fibers to include in our blends and the proportion of fibers in blends, we chose our colors and colorways, we chose the size of yarn we wish to create, and we chose the texture of our yarns. It’s a matter personal preference and control over our spinning.

Control simply means that we can predetermine the exact look and characteristics of the yarn we wish to make and then apply a few basic principles, spend some quality time with our wheels and we have the yarn we envisioned for our project. Thin, perfectly smooth lace yarns and large, bulky novelty yarns are all within our reach.*

When it comes to the actual spinning, there are only two factors which the spinner must control to produce the type of yarn she desires: Size (diameter, grist) and texture.

Controlling the size of the yarn to be spun is easy as it depends on only one thing and that is the amount of fibers that are allowed to twist together to form the yarn. The amount of fibers feeding into the twist is controlled in the drafting zone or triangle which is between the back hand and either the front hand or the point of twist. The more fibers allowed into the drafting triangle, the thicker the yarn will be; the smaller the amount of fibers allowed into this zone and the finer the yarn will be.

Since we don’t want to spend time counting each individual fiber without good reason, such as entering a competition, there is an easy way to tell if you’re spinning at the same grist each time you sit down at your wheel and that is to count the wraps per inch of the yarn using a ruler or inch gauge.

To use a ruler or inch gauge, simply wrap the yarn around the measuring device, counting the number of wraps until one inch (2.5 cm) is filled. When wrapping, each strand of yarn should be touching the strand next to it but it should not be so packed that the strands overlap. To avoid altering the twist of the yarn, roll the measuring tool towards the orifice of your wheel as you wrap rather than pulling the yarn back through the orifice and then wrapping it.

Measuring wraps over two inches or more will give a slightly more accurate measurement but be sure to divide the number of wraps by the number of inches wrapped to get a per inch figure. Doing wraps takes minimal time at the wheel and goes a long ways toward insuring that all of the yarn for your project is spun to the same grist.

*Chenille yarns have a woven structure so to make handspun chenille yarns would require weaving the structure after spinning the yarns.