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Carbonized Bamboo (Top)
$8.00 – $61.74
100% Carbonized Rayon from Bamboo.
Extremely clean combed top. Beautiful charcoal grey-black. Staple length is 4 inches.
A step beyond just bamboo, with a complicated method of manufacture that involves heating the fibres to an extreme temperature, literally turning them in to carbon strands. Fibres are extremely fine and soft with an unusual quality of a matte finish but good lustre. This is said to be amazing spun by itself but also has many blending possibilies. We have heard that it will not take dyes of any kind, but we’ve not tried it either. Also sold under the trade name Black Diamond.
PRODUCT of CHINA
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Flax Top – Natural Brown
100% Flax
Natural coloured (not bleached) flax top which we get from Italy but it probably originates somewhere in Eastern Europe. Staple length about 5 to 6 inches, and a nice fine-quality fibre. This is the same flax we offer as dyed colourways, before it's been bleached and then dyed.
PRODUCT of ITALY
Bamboogie Pewter Pearl
Price per skein, approximately 115g (4.06 oz), 431m (472 yd). 4-ply. 80% Rayon of Bamboo / 20% Superwash Merino.
Smoky silvery-grey, a shade that our customers seem to make a beeline for.
PRODUCT of CANADA
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.
Superwash Merino 50/Bamboo 50 (Top)
50% Superwash Merino / 50% Rayon from Bamboo
Lovely and clean combed top. Staple length around 5 to 6 inches, the colour creamy-white. A favourite of dyers for making fancy hand-painted braids for spinners. This is a very soft and luxurious-feeling blend, carded in a streaky manner that helps to preserve the sheen of the bamboo. Use it to spin everything from against-the-skin garments and beyond. Very pleasant in the hands!
Because only the wool will strike with acid dyes, the effect is exotic and streaky both in the top as well as the finished yarn. The Superwash component makes for absolutely no felting during dyeing, and later during laundering. A tip for dyers: when presoaking and rinsing, keep this top in a mesh lingerie bag to help hold it together.
NOT SUITABLE FOR WET FELTING.