1. Ashford warping mill

2. Dyeing the sections (51” each) in mason jars

3. The 16-yard-long, 550 gram OMG Double Rainbow Nom self-stripe skein on the warping mill, about to be separated into balls

4. Spare yardage, ready to be knit

Last year I built a contraption (ok, I designed a contraption and my husband built it for me) to wind long-repeat self-striping yarns, and it was a disaster. It worked for about a week and then all the parts started falling off, stretching out, and generally causing knots, tangles, and tears of frustration. My new mill was worth every penny, and so far it’s been hassle free. It’s fairly large, but it spins easily. You just wrap the yarn around the post at the bottom, spin the mill while gradually moving the yarn up, wrap it around the post at the top, and go back down again. The more wraps, the longer the skein, and therefore the longer the stripe repeat. This colorway took about 10 wraps.

As pictured above in my test-sock, you’ll get approximately 1.75 rounds per color. (Test sock: adult size small, knit on US #1’s.) There are 14 repeats (pink-to-pink) in each 105 gram ball. It was a lot of work, but I’m very happy with the results. I predict I will continue making self-striping skeins of Nom in the months to come, especially now that the Nom of the Month clubs will force me to invent a minimum of 12 new colorways per year.