A New Spin on Globalization

Shown: Indigo dyed American upland cotton, Ashford charkha (NZ), Turkish style spindle, plying a Navajo 3-ply directly from the charkha spindle and winding into a center pull ball. Plus a little knitted swatch.

Choose one from Column A, one from Column B...

*Indian* charkha	*Peruvian* cotton
*New Zealand* charkha	*Indian* puni
*American* charkha	*American* cotton

Spin your cotton of choice on your charkha of choice, then using a Turkish style spindle, use the Navajo 3-ply to create a center pull ball from a single spindle. Then knit something Irish? Russian? Bolivian?

The Navajo 3-ply is simply a crochet chain stitch, twisted.

I made the Turkish spindle above with a #3 bamboo knitting needle and two popsicle sticks. I carved a notch near the top of the knitting needle. The spindle is a little light, but it works.

On plying and spindle wheels:

This belongs under "FAQ"--How do you ply on a charkha?

My simple answer is, in two steps. If you have a treadle wheel, you can just stick your spindles into the sides of a shoebox and go. That's one step.

To ply on a spindle wheel, you should wind your yarns together first into a center pull ball, called doubling (or tripling, etc.) then hold the ball in your hand and ply onto the spindle.

Consider that Kate was probably called "lazy" for realizing that with the advent of the flyer and bobbin she did not need to use the traditional method of winding the yarns she wanted to ply on a nostepinne. Since she had both hands dedicated to her yarn and the uptake was automatic, she was able to control the tension "in real time".

The traditional method of winding your yarns side by side, under the same tension, into a center-pull ball is an extra step that is not necessary for a wheel with a flyer and bobbin. It is still necessary for a spindle wheel. Today you can use a ball winder or a hand-held nostepinne. Then you hold the ball, tensioning the yarn with your fingers as it exits the center. The yarns are already side by side, you just need to twist them.

Tension is important -- imagine if you tried to use a lazy kate with a charkha. Your arm motions will at first pull the yarn from the spindles, then as you wind on, the yarn coming from the spindles will go slack. They will fold back on themselves, and in all probability you will need to stop and use both hands to regain control of the situation. Hence the nostepinne--take the extra step to avoid headaches and bad tempers. Proper preparation is 90% of success.

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