The Fibre Garden : natural fibres
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natural fibres
Bamboo Bast (Top)
100% Bamboo bast fibre.
Clean and tidy combed top. This type of Bamboo comes from the stem fibres, produced in a way similar to flax or hemp. It's different from the more common viscose or rayon type of Bamboo. To our hands it feels finer than hemp or flax, more akin to Ramie. The natural colour is ivory-cream, with a medium lustre. Staple length is around 4 to 5 inches.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Cultivated Silk Cocoons, Degummed
Silk cocoons come as natural (usually with a dead worm inside), which are sort of firm and egg-shaped, or degummed, which have had the seracin (i.e. silk worm spit/glue) removed. Most common are Bombyx (Cultivated, Mulberry) cocoons, but sometimes other kinds of silk are available as well, though we have yet to locate a source.
Cocoons are adored by makers of Novelty/Art yarn, by felters, and sometimes by spinners.
Degummed Bombyx or Mulberry/Cultivated silk cocoons. These can be used for spinning directly, as a textural component in needle or Nuno felting, in paper making or added for texture to novelty yarns. They dye up just like regular silk top or roving, using either acid or fibre reactive dyes.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Hemp – Bleached (Top)
100% Hemp.
This is beautiful stuff, the finest hemp we have ever seen and a local lady with a lot of experience spinning hemp tried it and agrees! If you want to dye your hemp fibre, this bleached version will give you nice, clear and bright colours.
Very clean combed top, bleached to an off-white. Staple length is 6 to 7 inches. Hemp is a bast (stem) fibre from a very tall plant, essentially a strain of marijuana developed for fibre instead of other uses. Spun in a manner much like flax, the two also share the attribute of being harsh at first and just getting better and better over time with wear and laundering. It can be spun all by itself or blended with wool and other fibres. This has a light characteristic hemp scent but it's not overwhelming and should not be offensive to the nose during spinning.
Since this is a plant or cellulose fibre dyers must use fibre reactive dyes. Natural dyers must resort to techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. Hemp also works well in an indigo vat.
PRODUCT of CHINA
Hemp – Natural Brown (Top)
100% Hemp.
This is beautiful stuff, the finest hemp we have ever seen and a local lady with a lot of experience spinning hemp tried it and agrees!
Very clean combed top, in a natural tan colour. Staple length is 6 to 7 inches. Hemp is a bast (stem) fibre from a very tall plant, essentially a strain of marijuana developed for fibre instead of other uses. Spun in a manner much like flax, the two also share the attribute of being harsh at first and just getting better and better over time with wear and laundering. It can be spun all by itself or blended with wool and other fibres. This has a light characteristic hemp scent but it's not overwhelming and should not be offensive to the nose during spinning.
Since this is a plant or cellulose fibre dyers must use fibre reactive dyes. Natural dyers must resort to techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. Hemp also works well in an indigo vat.
PRODUCT of CHINA
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, 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
Tencel (Top)
100% Lyocell.
Very clean combed top, in "natural" white. Staple length is about 4 inches. Technically this manmade fibre is called lyocell. It's in the rayon family and made from wood pulp. Tencel® has been embraced by spinners and knitters alike, because it is fantastically soft with a terrific sheen and wonderful drape. Excellent for lighter summerwear as it absorbs moisture well.
Tencel® can be spun alone or blended with other fibres. An intriguing choice for those that can't wear wool. <
Since this is a plant or cellulose fibre dyers must use fibre reactive dyes. Natural dyers can resort to techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. We don't know how Tencel® responds in an indigo vat.
That being said, when blended with protein fibres, acid dyes will leave the Tencel® alone during dyeing, which makes for some wonderful streaky or heathered effects, depending on how well the fibres are blended.
Viscose – Bright (Top)
100% Viscose Rayon.
Extremely clean combed top. Lustrous white, with a staple length of 5 to 6 inches. Viscose is a type of rayon, and considered to be the very first successful manmade fibre after numerous attempts to create artificial silk. It is manufactured from wood pulp. Take advantage of the lovely sheen and soft handle to use this in blends for summer garments.
Since this is a plant or cellulose fibre dyers must use fibre reactive dyes. Natural dyers can resort to techniques used on cotton, such as alum-tannin premordanting, or Aluminum acetate. We don't know how viscose responds in an indigo vat.
That being said, when blended with protein fibres, acid dyes will leave the viscose alone during dyeing, which makes for some wonderful streaky or heathered effects, depending on how well the fibres are blended.