If you’re new to the world of spinning your own yarn you may be confused about what the term “ lazy kate” even means. Who is Kate? Why is she lazy, how will this lazy woman ever help me with my spinning? Perhaps a distant cousin of Lazy Susan? Well I’m not sure why this spinning tool is called a Lazy Kate but I do know that they are one of the most useful tools I can think of for spining. The long and short of it is that you use a Kate to hold your bobbins full of single ply yarn so that they can spin freely while you are plying your yarn. This is useful no matter if you you are doing a basic double ply or something more fancy like a chain ply. In a pinch you could just put your bobbins or balls of yarn into a shoebox to keep them from running off but this is not ideal at all because they will still be bumping around and possibly damaging fine delicate singles. If you are newer to spinning your singles may not have a firm enough twist and could start to come apart on you with all of the bumping around. This is where the Lazy Kate comes into play. The standard Lazy Kate will hold your bobbins up right on rods letting you ply easily while they free spin. Some spinning wheels have an attached lazy Kate like the pollywog, bullfrog, or bees. The Modular spinning wheels, Echo, Firefly, and Monarch are best used with the attachable standard lazy kate. This accessories can be used either attached or free standing on the floor.

There is just something special about spinning a woolen style yarn. They are rustic and airy and look like they were handspun which is kind of the whole point I think! Let’s Learn how to Spin a Woolen Style Yarn!

Worsted Style spinning -I just love a well planed out worsted style yarn. This type of spinning makes well behaved singles that are great on their own or even better plyed together. Because they are nice and compact they will create a lovely even yarn and are great for show off those fabulous colors from a dyed braid! Let’s Learn how to Spin a Worsted Style Yarn!

Find out the top 4 reasons I think that these spinolution spinning wheels are the best spinning wheel on the market today.

They have a wide range of bobbin sizes and features. The big bobbins and the open face orifice make it very accessible that way while having the fastest spinning ratios, meaning that you can spend very fine easily because you've got a really smooth and really quick spinning ratio at the same time. And then the really lightweight 3d printed bobbins,four-ounce and eight-ounce bobbins really are great for fine spinning. You end up having the wheel range options where you can really go between the really big and the really fast I definitely think this is what sets these wheels apart.

Blog on the topic of what wool is best for spinning for different projects.

This is the third installment in our Braid to Belt series from Jessica Jane Patterson from Spinning Shadows. Make sure you check out the first installment here first.

In the first segment you learned all about planning out the colors in your braid , pre-drafting, separating fiber and attaching the fiber to your spindle.

Learn to warp and weave a belt with hand spun yarn

You would want to first divide the braid long ways as she shows in the first video becase you are going to be spinning two identical single ply yarns

"This step-by-step tutorial breaks down the traditional Andean plying technique, empowering spinners with the skills to create beautifully plied yarns with ease."

keywords: "Andean plying, spindle spinning, fiber arts, yarn making, handspinning techniques, thread plying mastery, spinning wheel, fiber crafts"

Master the Art of Andean Plying: A Comprehensive Guide for Fiber Artists