Wrapping Up 5 Ways to Prep and Spin a Braid

As we wrap up 5 Ways to Prep and Spin a Braid with Kate Larson, we’re looking at swatches—how exactly does all that spinning play out in your knitting, weaving or crochet? In this final video (watch it here), Kate walks us through her knitted samples, plus gives us her tag-free tip for keeping track of samples. If you’ve wondered why her ends aren’t woven in on her samples, watch the wrapup to learn why.

One of the best things about this course has been seeing what everyone else has come up with! Here are nine more colorways to show just how much we can learn from this course. And, read to the end to find out who our lucky winners are!

Bright Blends

Susan C. is a new spinner, and already making gorgeous work right out of the gate! She chose a brightly-colored braid with lots of contrast to learn as much as she could.

I especially loved seeing how the final sample with blended fibers calmed down the colors. Yes, they are muted, but if I were knitting a sweater, this is the only one of the five methods I’d use.

—Susan C.

Susan C. spun a braid of Greenwood Fiberworks Polwarth in Arcade. Photo by Susan C.

All-in-One

Sharon H. made a scarf with the samples from each course, marking the transitions between each section with moss stitch.

[I loved] the clarity of the instructions and being broken into short bites. The spacing between the sessions gave me time to spin. I learned a lot!

—Sharon H.

Sharon H. chose a braid of Frabjous Fibers Bluefaced Leicester in Cactus. Photo by Sharon H.

Natural Colors

Ann M. started with Cheviot roving and dyed it with homegrown weld and indigo.

I followed the online course, step by step, and had so much fun. Great instructor and videos! I finally understand what a fractal spin is!! I also feel like I now have so many spin options with multicolored fiber, depending on my desired outcome. Thank you!

—Ann M.

Ann M. dyed Cheviot roving with homegrown weld and indigo. Even though there are fewer overall colors in these samples, the swatches show significant differences in color placement, depending on the technique used. Photos by Ann M.

Something Old, Something New

Michelle T. spun on an antique 1800s Saxony wheel passed down to her by her mother, also an avid spinner.

I loved playing with color and learning new techniques. Kate's directions were crystal clear and easy to follow. I was always hesitant to break up a braid before this series, as I was afraid that the colors would become muddy. This has given my confidence to move my craft forward.

—Michelle T.

Michelle T. chose a braid of Friends in Fibers Corriedale in Winter Sky. Photo by Michelle T.

New Discoveries

Karen noted that the silk fiber content in her braid made the spin a little more challenging, but still got amazing results!

It was fun to see so much difference within one braid dependent on how the braid was prepped.

—Karen

Karen chose a braid of Greenwood Fiberworks 80/20 Polwarth/Silk in colorway 1972. Photo by Karen

Crocheted Samples

Rachel L. made a delightful set of crocheted swatches that look like a glowing landscape!

I really enjoyed this series! Kate's explanations were clear and very understandable, and made this series a wonderful and enjoyable experience. I worked through the videos and samples in order, so It was both fun and interesting to see the progression and difference between each one. This gave me great insight into working with color and preparing a braid for the exact project I want to make. My favorites to prep and spin were the shuffled palette and blended plies, however, I'm looking forward to experimenting again with all of the techniques in the very near future.

—Rachel L.

Rachel L. chose Living Dreams Yarn’s Falkland Wool Double Dip in the color Mesa. Photo by Rachel L.

New Techniques, New Finished Object

Marina M. turned her sample yarns into a cowl using Susan Ashcroft’s Yarn Optimiser pattern.

My favorite technique was the end-to-end chain-ply with the colors intact as it really highlighted the fun colors. I found the Blended Plies and Marls came out quite similarly muted once knit. The Fractal had some more reliable striping. The Shuffled Palette technique was new to me and resembled variegated commercial yarn. A three-ply yarn structure seems to mute down the colors in all the samples (except the end-to-end)—I would be curious to see how removing the three-ply factor would alter and possibly highlight the contrasts between techniques.

—Marina M.

Marina M. chose a braid of Three Waters Farm Targhee in the colorway Pineapple at Sea. Photos by Marina M.

A Treasured Process

Mary M. spun a braid of Bluefaced Leicester from Frabjous Fibers.

I loved the fact that the lessons came out once a month. It was so easy to accomplish the lesson in that time frame. That made it totally enjoyable - I could actually treasure the process instead of feeling rushed.

—Mary M.

Mary M. spun a braid of Frabjous Fibers Bluefaced Leicester in Cathedral. Photo by Mary M.

A Timely Answer

Debra C. found this course at exactly the right time, as she was searching for ideas on how to spin for weaving.

I love how interesting it was to follow along with the videos. I was never bored. The videos were very clear and easy to follow. And they also allowed for thinking about additional things to try. Now I have these samples as tools to help me decide how to approach any braid.

—Debra C.

Debra C. chose a braid of Bluefaced Leicester and Tussah Silk from Alk&Me. Photos by Debra C.

Drumroll, Please!

Finally, we’re thrilled to announce our winners. Debra C. has won the grand prize of a one-year All Access subscription to Spin Off, and Michelle T. and Susan C. are our runners-up, each winning a one-year print subscription to the Long Thread Media publication of their choice. Congratulations our winners, and many thanks to all who entered!

If you haven't already started 5 Ways to Prep and Spin a Braid, we hope these gorgeous samples will inspire you to try! You can get started here.