Monday, May 22, 2006

Dyed Silk TW Yarn

Here is my little basket of throwster's waste rolags:

Rolags from the dyed silk throwster's waste.













I really hadn’t planned to get a photo with the cat in it, but darn if he didn’t just come, plop himself down, and pose charmingly as soon as I got the camera out. This is Rascal BTW. He knows better than to look at the camera because of the flash.


Here’s the yarn:

Dyed silk throwster's waste yarn.

My control yarns and the particulars:

A single and a 2-ply sample for checking my spinning.* Weight, 17 grams
* Fiber length, 1 - 3 inches
* Spinning ratio 10:1
* Spun woolen method
* Singles, 26 WPI
* 2 ply, 16 WPI
* Yardage, > 45

I used to use a counting stick to keep my spinning consistent, but later switched to a control card. I find it easy to compare the size of the singles and check the twist all in one stop. I do count treadles, but I like to let the yarn ply back on itself every now and then just to make sure I’m still happy with it.

The challenges:

* Actually none during spinning. During carding however, I found the stuff to be very fine and flyaway. I used to rub my angora bunnies down with dryer sheets to keep this under control during grooming, or hold handfuls of angora fiber in a dryer sheet for spinning. I couldn’t figure out a way to use a dryer sheet during carding however, so I just lived with it. It behaved quite nicely during spinning.

* The color - odd how color affects us, but I really had to live with it awhile before I decided I was beginning to like it. I honestly considered Mary’s suggestion, about plying it with something more neutral, but decided to be daring and ply it on itself.

Next, I think I’ll see what I can do with my three packs of silk noils.

Related Posts:
Silk Throwster's Waste - about & how to spin
Dyeing & Carding Throwster's Waste - tutorials

5 comments:

Spindlers2 said...

Now that's what I call a real designer yarn! Lovely. Plus, no photographs of fibre stuff are complete without the resident cat, there's a law.....

Carol in We(s)t Yorkshire

Jackie said...

When you said that you were experimanting with silk noil, I thought that you ment weaving not spinning! WOW! This is great stuff!

And your cat looks just like mine, excecpt that mine is a she and quite small, about 7 lbs. Your fellow looks like he is a good size.

Leigh said...

Thank you, Jackie! The weaving is yet to come ..... :)

m said...

I'm really glad that you just plied it on itself.
The colour is fantastic.
It wouldn't have had the same impact as a barber pole yarn.

Leslie Shelor said...

The color turned out marvelous! I'm enjoying reading about your silk adventures!