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short fibers and low twist. The yarn broke several times
during the knitting process due to untwisting, but since
I felted the mittens, they are still doing their job. The
cobwebbed thumbs have been mended with love and
handspun yarn.S- vs Z-Ply for Twined Knitting
Why was the yarn for twined knitting spun S and plied
Z? To find an answer to this, I spun both Z-plied and
S-plied yarns, then created twined-knitted swatches
of both. The first thing I noticed was that the knitting
process was a lot more relaxed when I knitted with the
Z-plied yarn. Since the two yarns are constantly twisted
in one direction during knitting, the yarns will both
overtwist and untwist. The untwisting occurs in my
hand, closest to my work, and the overtwisting happens
closer to the ball. After working for a while, I need to
allow the yarns to get balanced again.However, when knitting with the S-plied yarn, I
need to allow the yarn to balance a lot sooner. The
overtwisting occurs closer to the work, and the yarn gets
very kinked up in my hand. After a short while, I can’t
get my finger between the yarns to pick up one strand
for the next stitch.
When I feel the structure of the swatches, the
Z-plied swatch is smoother and the S-plied has more
bulk. On the right side of the swatch, the S-plied
stitches are a bit tilted so that the left half of the stitch
is higher than the right half, creating surface texture.
On the wrong side, I can feel the individual ridges
of twisted stitches for the S-plied yarn, while the wrong
side of the Z-plied swatch feels smoother and I only
feel the horizontal direction of the ridges.A New Direction
A physiotherapist once told me that we have about
twice as many muscles for pulling things toward
us than for pushing away. This is an evolutionary
development, since it has been more beneficial for us
to grab things than to let them go. With more muscles
involved in a motion, there are more muscles to share
the strain of that motion.Josefi n spun a Värmland lamb fl eece for her toasty
twined mitts.Should You Ply S or Z?Many spinners are nervous about twist and a
bit intimidated when it comes to plying. A pe-
rennial question among spinners is, “How much
twist?” But which direction is best for plying? It
typically depends on what you plan to make.- Commercial yarns for knitting are usually spun
clockwise (Z) and plied counterclockwise (S). For
most people, this will create a knitted fabric that
is balanced, at least if the knitting is done from
right to left. How you hold your yarn can also im-
pact whether S- or Z-plied yarns are the best fi t
for you. (To learn more, see Resources.) - Flax is usually S-spun because the fi bers are
slightly twisted counterclockwise in their natu-
ral state. In the same way, hemp will benefi t from
Z-spinning because its natural twist direction is
clockwise. - Nålbinding is best done with a Z-plied yarn for a
right-handed person. If S-plied, it will easily untwist
and result in a weaker fabric or break altogether. - Embroidery yarn can be either Z- or S-plied, de-
pending on the kind of stitches you wish to make. - Weavers can create drape and pattern simply by
using yarns with different twist directions.