The Fibre Garden : Fibres
Showing 379–396 of 516 results
Fibres
Shetland – Moorit Brown (Top)
Classification: DOWN-TYPE WOOL
Very clean combed top with next to no veg. Moorit is one of the official colour classes for Shetland sheep. The colour is a blend of medium-brown sprinkled with soft grey which sort of softens the overall effect. Micron count is 24 to 29 microns with a staple of around 3 inches and a medium-soft feel. This is a very old breed used in everything from traditional Shetland lace to rugged tweed fabrics and midrange to rugged outerwear knitted garments. Felting properties are moderate. From Ashland Bay.
PRODUCT of GREAT BRITAIN
Shetland – White (Top)
Classification: DOWN-TYPE WOOL
Very clean combed top with next to no veg. The colour is creamy white. This is a very old breed used in everything from traditional Shetland lace to rugged tweed fabrics and midrange to rugged outerwear knitted garments. It technically has a double coat but they are nearly always carded together.
Micron count is in the range of 25 to 26, with a staple length in the 3 to 4 inch range. Felting properties are moderate. From the Shetland Islands.
PRODUCT of GREAT BRITAIN
Silk Hankies, Natural
100% cultivated (aka Bombyx or Mulberry) silk.
Much like silk caps, hankies contain many layers of tissue-thin silk that are stretched out and stacked together into square shapes, but flat rather than dome-shaped. This makes them easier to deal with than caps when hand-painting with dye. You can use either acid or fibre reactive dyes, or even natural dyes.
Spinners take the individual layers apart, poke a hole in the centre and then draft them out as thick or as thin as they need for their particular yarn. Felters find these interesting to use for embellishment on nuno-felted, wet-felted and needle-felted projects.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Silk Noils – Hot Pink
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
Really great screaming hot pink.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils – Paint Box
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
Several of our great colours, in one pack. We will keep them as small individual "blobs" rather than mixing them into a blend.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils – Passion
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
An excellent rich true red.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils – Rust
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
The best darned rust we've ever seen. Clear and rich medium orange-brown.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils – Sun
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
Bright yellow with just a hint of green, not quite a primary yellow.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils – Violet
100% Cultivated (mulberry/bombyx) silk.
A gorgeous 1970s purple, very much the colour of violets... at least the sort that grow in lawns here in the village and flower first thing in the spring.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Noils, Cultivated
100% silk.
Bits and pieces of off-white cultivated silk, also known as Mulberry or Bombyx silk. These are waste from the textile industry, and therefore sometimes have debris (like bits of silkworm poo) and could use a good shake before spinning.
Noils are easy to dye. We find it's best to take the extra few minutes to tease them open before presoaking (with hot water and soap), to allow for maximum colour penetration.
Spinners love to use noils to provide bumpy texture to a spin, carding them in with the fibre of choice. Felters also make use of them for embellishment.
Silk Top, Cultivated
100% silk.
Combed top, pearly off-white in colour. Staple length is about 7 to 8 inches. Also called Mulberry or Bombyx silk.
Silk top is easy to dye, using either acid dyes, fibre reactive dyes, or natural dyes.
For spinning, silk top may be spun all by itself or used for blending with a myriad of other fibres. Silk does not felt but is beautiful as a felting surface embellishment on top of a wool foundation.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Silk Top, Muga
100% Muga silk.
This also goes by the name Assam silk, and it's from a worm native to India rather than further east. The colour is a glorious tan to almost caramel-golden-brown with a wonderful sheen. Apparently it is a myth that Muga silk cannot be dyed, though we have never tried to do so. Usually difficult to find, and always expensive.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk Top, Tussah (Bleached)
100% silk.
Combed top, bleached but still an ivory-cream colour. Staple length is about 6 to 7 inches. If you plan on using your silk for blending, Tussah silk is nearly always a better value fibre than Cultivated silk.
Silk top is easy to dye, using either acid dyes, fibre reactive dyes, or natural dyes.
For spinning, silk top may be spun all by itself or used for blending with a myriad of other fibres.
Silk, Red Eri (Sliver) – 50g
100% Eri Silk.
A less common silk for spinners but widely cultivated in India and also known as Endi, Errandi or Peace Silk. Because the cocoons are not harvested until after the moth emerges, this is considered to be an acceptable fibre by some vegans. Used for all kinds of fabrics for garments as well as bedding, pillows, etc.
This is in beautiful combed top, our current supply is MUCH redder than this photo, a stunning cinnamon red. Eri silk comes in several natural shades.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Silk, Throwster Bleached
100% Mulberry silk
An unusual product, this is degummed silk that's a byproduct of the reeling process. It's like curly soft blobs of silk fibre that can be drafted and spun, but most people probably use it as a textural embellishment for all types of felting. The sheen is wonderful, and it takes dye beautifully in a delightful irregular way. Our supply is AA grade, which is also carded to make Silk Laps.
PRODUCT of INDIA
Sock Blend – Superwash BFL/Nylon Top
80% Superwash Blue-faced Leicester wool / 20% Nylon
Not suitable for wet felting!!
Very clean combed top. Staple length around 5 to 6 inches. BFL is not as soft as Merino, but has excellent durability in a sock yarn. Spin Off Magazine did a whole sock issue a couple of years ago and BFL was the winner so far as the best choice for spinning your own sock yarn. We have the mill custom-blend this for us, to save you from having to do the tedious job of combining wool and nylon together in a thorough way. This dyes up beautifully, either before or after spinning. The ovory-white colour is also real nice just as it comes. Would also be a good choice for kid's clothing.
PRODUCT of CANADA, made from imported fibre.
Sock Blend – Superwash Merino/Nylon Top
80% Superwash Merino wool / 20% Nylon
Very clean combed top. Staple length is around 4 inches. Like our BFL/Nylon blend, we have the mill do this up for us because it's an ideal no-brainer blend for spinning sock yarn. Takes dye beautifully, though the natural creamy-white is also lovely. White nylon is a pain to thoroughly blend into white fibre, so we've already had it done for you.
Not suitable for wet felting.
PRODUCT of CANADA, made from imported fibre.
Soy Fibre – Bleached (Top)
100% Soy Fibre.
100% Soy Fibre.
Extremely clean combed top in "natural" ivory. Staple length of 4 to 5 inches. SoySilk® is a registered trademark, but our supply is a very similar product from another manufacturer. It turns out that what we have been selling for years is the bleached version of soy fibre.
Lustrous and soft, soy fibre is enjoying great popularity by itself or in blends with wool and other fibres. Very well-suited to summer wear since it's great at absorbing moisture. Soy fibre is manufactured from the waste pulp that remains after soybeans have been pressed for oil.
Surprisingly, though it comes from plants, soy fibre has more in common with protein fibres in the dyepot. It takes colour beautifully using acid dyes and will respond well to the usual natural dye premordants that are used on animal fibres.