Weight: bulky
Yardage: 193 yds
Construction: 2-ply worsted
Fiber: Falkland
Colorway: Mignardises
Dyer: Hello Yarn
Chain plying, also known as navajo plying, is the process of plying a single strand onto itself. You make loops with the single which all ply together and end up making a yarn that looks and behaves likes a 3ply. It takes a lot of coordination to get right – your hands are moving back and forth while making new loops and controlling the twist. Whenever I feel like I could use a refresher on my technique I refer to this video from Sarah Anderson and Interweave.
So why would you bother with chain plying when there are plenty of easier ways to ply? Because it’s a way to make a plied yarn from a single strand, allowing you to conserve the color runs in the fiber. This colorway has long beautiful runs of distinct colors and I knew I wanted to preserve them as they were dyed, rather than mixing them up. So, chain plying it was!
I feel like this is begging to be a kids knit. Maybe matching mittens and a hat? Or leg warmers? For now it is joining my stash, waiting for inspiration of the perfect pattern to strike!
