Blending is Fun
I love blending. It is my favourite course. It is great seeing students’ faces as we play with colour and fibres, and introduce them to new equipment and techniques. Here are a few tips I share with them.
- Think why you are blending
Is it for colour, or texture, to change the properties of a fibre or to add bling to a special project
2. Ask yourself “how will the blend will look in my spun yarn “
Riotous colour mixes can sometimes spin up like mud. If you like smooth yarns, adding locks will not give a sleek yarn. However if you love texture, art batts can be great especially if core spun. Spinning fancy yarns is another fun course.
Rainbow dizzed from a hackle 
Rainbow fauxlags from a drum carder 
Gradient rolags from hand carders 
Alpaca and merino 50/50 blend,
Nest from a batt off a drum carder
3. Weigh your fibre to create a repeatable blend
It is frustrating if you have the perfect colour or blend and want another the same but have no idea how you created it.
4. Sample, sample, sample
If you want just the right yarn its worth a little time sampling so you are not disappointed A blended yarn will have more character than one of a single colour
5. Enjoy it,
It is OK to blend just for the fun of it and think about spinning it later
Click here to see when my next blending course is running
Merino, silk top and noil for blending 
Blended fibre dizzed from drum carder 
Spiral ply slub yarn from the blend
Beechwood Crafts 