From Worm Spit to Gossamer Silk Yarn
Our first meeting was lots of fun. After much discussion, we decided to begin our COE spinning adventure with silk, choosing from many fiber preparations and spinning one of the following:
-Extra fine smooth yarn (50 or more wraps per inch)
-Fine smooth yarn (32-45 wraps per inch
-Medium smooth yarn -- may be multiple ply (15-30 wraps per inch)
-Extra fine textured yarn (50 or more wraps per inch)
-Fine textured yarn (32-45 wraps per inch
At the August meeting, we'll display our skeins and share our joys and frustrations in trying to meet the COE standard.
-Extra fine smooth yarn (50 or more wraps per inch)
-Fine smooth yarn (32-45 wraps per inch
-Medium smooth yarn -- may be multiple ply (15-30 wraps per inch)
-Extra fine textured yarn (50 or more wraps per inch)
-Fine textured yarn (32-45 wraps per inch
At the August meeting, we'll display our skeins and share our joys and frustrations in trying to meet the COE standard.
posted by Kati Meek at 10:00 PM
2 Comments:
Whoa there. I impressed myself. I've only used silk caps in the past and they are nasty to draft from. This time I tried some combed tussah and got about 48 wraps per inch. Probably not smooth enough for COE, but plenty impressive to me. The skein weighs 0.9 ounces and is 200 yards. That works out to more than 3500 yards per pound, which is undoubtedly the finest singles I've ever spun.
Now, as for what it might be good for, that's a different question. It's pretty, but I don't like knitting with singles. I suppose crocheted lace would be effective, though I'm more inclined to ply it and see what it's like then. On the other hand, if I can find or figure out a pattern for a lace mantilla like women used to wear to church years ago, this would look pretty nice made up that way...
Gary, congratulations.
I experimented by predrafting the cap to less than pencil size then spinning it on my charkha. If the roving isn't very thin, this does not work well at all as you must repeatedly pause and draft with both hands. On the other hand, if it is thin enough, the spinning goes very well, and all the bits of waste pop right of the silk thread -- hard to call it yarn. I'm going to spin more tonight, then will wind it off and see what I have. See you all tomorrow.
Post a Comment
<< Home