Why is My Handspun So Heavy?

Handspun yarn is often heavier than millspun because we typically add more twist, even when spinning woolen-style. Extra twist can lend durability to our handspun yarn, but it comes at a cost—heavier sweaters that can sometimes verge on feeling like a weighted blanket! By analyzing our favorite millspun yarn, we can adjust our handspun yarn to match the qualities we love best and customize our handspun for color, texture, fiber, and more.

The Starting Point

About 10 years ago, I joined a sweater knit-along that used Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. While I initially balked at the price of a sweater quantity of this gorgeous yarn, the resulting sweater has become one of my all-time favorites. It’s cozy but light as air. It’s warm, but not too warm. And although it’s soft enough for next-to-skin wear, it’s durable enough that after almost a decade of weekly winter wear, it shows hardly any signs of pilling.