The Art of the Companion Ply
Study #1
Have you ever gotten an absolutely breathtaking 4oz braid of hand dyed fiber, and thought "Wow. How can I possibly use this?"
4oz of fiber by itself will only make between 150-200 yards of yarn depending on how it's spun up. When I plan a color way, I usually aim for between 8 and 9oz of fiber to start with to make sure that I have enough yarn to make a full project.
So when I get that 4oz of beautiful hand dyed fiber, the inevitable question ends up being, "What can I pair this gorgeous fiber with to elevate these colors?" Add too many new colors or accent the wrong colors, and your yarn can look muddy. Ignore the accent colors or add too few new colors, and your yarn can look like its missing something. It's a fine line between finding the right companion fibers and colors to showcase the beauty of a Hand Dyed piece of fiber without overshadowing it.
I recently purchased this gorgeous piece of Finn wool Hand Dyed by Nest Fiber Studio (follow this link to see their selection of Hand Dyed Fibers.) This is their color way titled OOAK #14.
I love the play of the pinks and blues and purples at work here. The way they pull the eye's focus against the more earthy tones really inspired me.
Of course being a One of a Kind, there is only one 4oz braid available in this color; so as I begin to plan out the yarn this fiber will become, I must find another 4 ounces of fiber to accent and elevate the colors already in this braid.
This is one of my absolute favorite parts of spinning yarn. I love looking through my stash and finding the perfect complimenting colors and fibers. There's no science to it, a healthy trial and error approach seems to work best. Place any would-be companion fibers next to your braid and trust your eye. You'll know when you find the right ones :)
To start I like to choose roughly 2 or 3 prominent colors to highlight from the existing braid, and find a wool to match from my stash. Here I've chosen the Green and Purple Merino/Mulberry Silk blends.
Next I like to choose 1 to 2 accent colors. These would either be colors that don't exist in the braid but would add something important to the color palate, or colors that do exist in the braid but faintly and need to be brought forward and intensified. Here I've chosen the Bright Pink Argentinian Wool.
Thirdly, I find that adding a silky shiny textural accent fiber really elevates the overall feel and look of a blend. So at this stage, I always choose 1 to 2 shiny silk, or plant fibers in either prominent or accent colors to add to the blend. Here I've chosen the Olive Bamboo Fiber to match one of the prominent existing colors, and the Gold Bamboo as an accent color.
Finally, when you're putting together more than 4 different colors, it can be a good idea to add a neutral fiber to soften the transitions between your colors, and add a baseline for contrast. Here I've chosen the Undyed Cormo Wool.
Once you've chosen your companion fibers, then it's time to decide how to put them together!
For this blend I want my colors to mix a little, but I still want to be able to distinguish the individual colors, so I don't want to blend them completely. Creating Rolags on a blending board is one of the best and most inexpensive ways to achieve this. I use the Howard Brush DIY Kit that I stapled myself onto a simple Bamboo Cutting Board.
Then it's time to make Rolags!
To watch my process in action, check out my video detailing 'How To Make Rolags on a Blending Board':
Here they are together, the beautiful Hand Dyed Finn Wool, and the finished companion Rolags I made myself to compliment it.
I'm so happy with how everything turned out. I think once both are spun up together there will be a very interesting play of colors. I anticipate a self striping yarn with very heathered and complex depth of color!
Check out the finished yarn here, in my Etsy shop!
Thank you so much for reading, and I sincerely hope I've inspired you to be adventurous in your own Fiber Experiments!
Happy Crafting!
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