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agn54

yarn flies

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After watching McFly's video on making Laser Dub with combed out acrylic yarn I decided to try my hand at it. I found a rather colorful skein at Joanne's.

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Although the two flea comb method McFly uses, I found I preferred the zip tie method I saw on another video. I just found it easier to comb out all the knots. Plus, I could comb out the fibers much longer. I was surprised to see that the combed out yarn was essentially identical to polar fiber, which was a pleasant surprise as it is one of my favorite fibers to tie with. The only drawback with it is you are limited by its fairly short length. I saved the fibers that got brushed out and filled a pill dispenser turned dubbing container as well.

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Flats, it doesn't really foul at all because though it is really soft stuff, it isn't flimsy. If you've ever pushed a polar fiber minnow you would see what I mean. It can tangle a bit after a fish inhales it, especially ones wth teeth like trout, blues, etc, but it easily combs out and tangles much less than EP fibers/Congo Hair.

 

Rocco, basically you cut the yarn to the length you want and do this for several strands (25-30 or even more if you want a bigger clump, but too many and it takes more effort and time to comb it out). Take the strands in a clump and cinch them in the center with a zip tie. Make sure they are tightly bound so they don't come out when combing. Then take a metal toothed dog comb and comb the yarn out vigorously against your desk. you may want to put something down so the teeth of the brush don't scratch your desktop. I use a plastic craft storage box I turned into a fly box.

 

This is where got the idea:

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Ag, a question: assuming you used a single-colored yarn, is there a limit on how long you can brush out the fiber? Like the concept, but would want to make a few flies longer than your example ....

 

thanks for sharing this!

 

AP

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The skein I used is single strand so you are limited to the length here. The strands of each color were not uniform in length but varied from about 4 inches to around 14 inches. If you used single colored yarn, I don't see why you couldn't cut the strands as long as you want and tie monster flies with it.

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It takes ink pretty well. In my experience, all markers fade a bit after some use which is why I usually prefer to bar with darker colors. When barring with this stuff, remember to pull the tail end pretty tight, it makes it much easier since the fiber is soft.

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