Spin Off Summer 2024

Handxpun for Handknits

For this cheerful Summer issue of Spin Off, we chose “Handspun Handknits” to explore knitting and beyond. This issue connects you to spinners past and present working in a wide variety of fibers to create useful and beautiful cloth. Following their work helps you to explore new fibers and techniques or deepen your understanding of the familiar!

• Travel to Peru with Dr. Carrie Brezine to learn about cotton stockings left behind by sixteenth-century knitters, and spin your own pair with Devin Helmen.
• Follow Swedish spinner Josefin Waltin’s flaxen journey as she began knitting with handspun linen and made a puzzling discovery. In a surprising twist, she fixed her bias! 
• Learn about Norwegian sweaters from Annemor Sundbø, and then re-create a woven pick-up band from Vesterheim National Norwegian-American Museum.

No matter your textile interests—spinning for knitting, weaving, crochet, embroidery, and more—this issue is brimming with inspiration!

Articles

• Lamb Mowers: Babydoll Southdowns in the City by Laureen Branting 
• A Stocking Study: Spinning Cotton for Knitting by Devin Helmen
• Knitting with Linen by Josefin Waltin
• Treasures from a Ragpile: Norway’s Knitted Heritage by Annemor Sundbo
• Soft Stripes: A Spinner’s Recipe for Self-Striping Yarn by Kate Larson
• The Finish Line: Wool Wet-Finishing from Soaking to Thwacking by Kim McKenna
• Fly Away: Spinning for Your On-the-Go Knitting Projects by Andrea Deck
• Ooh La La Ombré: Blend, Spin & Knit Your Fade by Sylvia Smith

Projects

• Magdalena de Cao Viejo Stockings by Carrie Brezine, adapted by Devin Helmen
• On the Edge: A Pick-Up Band to Weave by Angela K. Schneider and Kate Larson
• Roundabout Shawl by Jennifer Miller Comstock
• Bari Tee by Sarah Solomon
• Au Lait Scarf by Sylvia Smith
• Woolgrowers Hat & Cowl by Sarah Pope