Center-Pull Ball Plying

I've plied three different skeins of yarn, and three times have ended with one single being moderately to significantly longer than the other and then spending the majority of my plying time sorting out the long single so I could fold it against itself. Bah!

As I was reading The Spinner's Book of Yarn Design by Sarah Anderson, she mentioned plying with a center-pull ball, where you wind the yarn into a hollow ball and pull yarn from the inside and outside simultaneously. I figured it couldn't go any worse that what I was already doing so I gave it a try.

DIY Niddy Noddy and Ball Winder

Once I had finished the wool I was spinning, I wrapped my Niddy Noddy (made of PVC pipe and costing about $4 to make) and began winding around a bottle. I usually just pull a side off my niddy noddy and wrap my center-pull balls from there, but I thought that would leave my center too small, so I opted for something a bit bigger. I like bottles because I can screw my loose end under the cap and not lose it in the ball. Unfortunately, this bottle was not completely cylindrical and getting the ball off was a bit of a challenge, but I made it happen.

Low Whorl and center-pull ball ready to start...

Then I was ready to start. Since I do need two hands to ply with my spindle, and I like to stand, sometimes even on furniture, to maximize the amount of yarn that can be plied in one spin, I set my yarn ball on the couch and set to work. It may have been the lack of direct control over the ball, or it could have been the way I wrapped the yarn, but after a while, I found myself with a huge excess of yarn coming from inside the ball, exactly what I was trying to avoid.

I ended up with the inner single running down and around my foot before it was plied with the outer single, but I did get it to work.

Next time, I will wind better. Next time, I will wind around something with straight sides. Next time, I will find a better way to handle my ball. Next time, I will not end up plying 75 yards of yarn balanced on one foot...The crazy goals I set for myself!