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for a positive experience with natural fibers
Organic Cotton Yarn
Over two thousand
years ago, the Mochica culture developed an extraordinary palette of natural
cotton fiber colors, ranging from white, beige, brown, and reddish brown to
chocolate and mauve. The colored cotton was forbidden, much as it is regulated
here in the US, but small villages kept the colored strains alive and growing
through the past several hundred years. Today Indian descendants of ancient
Peruvian cultures still harvest, gin and spin by hand the natural colored
cottons of Peru.
The yarn I sell is organically grown
cotton. The cotton
was originally cultured in this country by Sally Fox. You can visit her web site
at: Vreseis Ltd. She has more historical
information and products available.
The cotton I have is not from Vreseis
unless it is "Fox Fibre", but it is organically grown in Texas and the mill was in South
Carolina. It is all certified organic
and not treated in any way. The color looks fairly pale on the cones. The
Conshohocken Fox Fiber is not from Verseis; it is from another source and one of
the original fox fibers, thus much paler. And we
have found that "finishing" the yarn in hot water brings out the natural colors.
We have also found that the water used to wash the cotton changes the color of
the yarn! My hard-rusty water give the greens a greyer color, where other
water brings out the greens better.
All cotton has natural wax to protect
it and these natural waxes are still in these yarns. They may be removed with
use and regular washing. You may choose to use
hot water and washing soda with soap or detergent to expedite the process. Once the waxes are removed,
the fabric will be absorbent like any other cotton. Sometimes it takes a few
washings to get all the natural wax out of the fiber. This yarn can be
machine washed and dried on a hot cycle. I recently put the sportweight
sized yarn into skeins, tied securely and simmered them for about 20 minutes.
This removes all the waxes and causes any shrinkage to happen...so my sweater
gauge will be correct. Boiling can make the yarn harsher to the touch.
Marianne has some information to
add from her experiments. Later we decided the boiling was not really that good
for the yarn and made if feel harsher instead of the softness we usually get
with this yarn.
"Today I boiled my latest 5 towels (left one out so I could see
the color changes) for 40 minutes then I added them to a white load on HOT in
my washer, adding also 1/2 cup of washing soda with the detergent . . .After
they went through the entire cycle and then two more hot rinses, my towels
came out much more full of color than the ones I brought last month to the
Guild meeting. I promptly ran upstairs to my studio and grabbed up my first
batch and tossed them into the washer for the same treatment. WHAT a change
. . . I am thrilled, just can't believe how vibrant they are now. Really I
do think the final soda wash and hot rinses kept the "raw cotton wax" in
suspension and it is now so completely gone that the colors are finally what I
hoped for. ...my towels ....are now SO much deeper (in color). You can
tell I am still having fun with this whole thing.
Later,
Marianne
Organic Cotton Chenille
To finishing chenille
I use the washing machine on gentle wash/spin, then use the dryer until it is
completely dry. If it needs pressing, use a damp cloth and steam iron and
press. I restore the drape and soft feel by putting it into the dryer with
a damp cloth on AIR dry for a few minutes..
Chenille is best finished on the ends by either hemming or twisting the fringe.
If you don't finish the ends the chenille will slide off the core yarn leaving
thin wisps of for fringe. Twisting fringe is easy. A good rule is 6 twists
per one inch of fringe. A fringe of 6" will have 30 twists. Knot the ends
and there you go! If it doesn't look quite right, untie the knot and
re-twist.
Hemp Fibers
Hemp is a cellulose
bast fiber and organically grown, and machine wash and dryable.
It is a strong and
durable fiber that holds it shape, and does not need blocking after washing. It
is very easy to care for, with a cool water wash and can be laid flat to
dry. The fiber gets softer and softer the more it is used.
They are more absorbent than cotton, resistant to mildew and dyes well. Hemp is
figured for size as linen is 300 yards per pound. So, the hemp I have for
sale is 5 X 300 divided by 2 or 750 ypp.
Silk
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Silk
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Silk
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Silk
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Yarn Count for Silk
I have a terrible time figuring the count of silk as it
is different than the measure for cotton. So...I counted the threads per
skein and figured the yardage that way. I'm also looking on other websites to
get their suggested setts and yards per pound.
The count used for spun silk is the metric count system, used for cotton,
linen and wool. In determining spun silk, 1 gram (g) (1/28 of an oz) is the
stable figure. One metre (m) (39 inches) of yarn weighing 1g is 1m count or a #1
yarn. A #10 silk is 10m/g and has 10,000 m/kg. This translates to 4,970 yd/lb.
A pair of numbers identifies the size of plied yarns. A 20/2 spun silk is
comprised of two strands (bottom number) of a #20 (top number) yarn. The 20
indicates that each strand is 20 times finer than a #1 silk, which has 497
yd/lb. To calculate the yardage of any spun silk yarn, multiply the yarn size by
497 and divide by the ply number. A 20/2 silk has 4970 yd/lb. The higher the
number e.g. 20, 30, 60 the thinner the yarn and greater the yardage.
The silk I carry is from
India. They
are of excellent quality and from reputable companies and cooperatives.
Calculating how much you
need:
Once you have decided on a project and what yarn you want to use, look at the
sett chart to get an idea of the sett.
The arithmetic for figuring a project is simple: WIDTH x EPI x LENGTH
Example:
Once you have decided on a project and what yarn you want to use, look at the sett chart to get an idea of the sett.
The arithmetic for figuring a project is simple: WIDTH x EPI x LENGTH
Example:
2 scarves — 8" wide x 72" long, or one shawl 16" X72", using 20/2 silk in twill weave.
8" x 28 EPI = 224 warp end
Scarf length:
72"+ 72" = 144" = 4yd + 1/2yd loom waste.
Each of the 224 warp ends must be 4.5yd long
224 x 4.5yd = 1008yd
This is what is required for the warp only. The weft requires only slightly
less yarn. Two skeins of 20/2 will weave two scarves.
DK silk plain weave
8 x 12 = 96
96 x 4.5 = 432
It will require 2 skeins for 1 scarves. ( 6 skeins for a larger shawl.)
Lace knitting 1 skein for 1 scarf.
The approximate ypp of some common NM sizes:
20/2 = ~5,000 (20 times 500 divided by 2)
30/2 = ~7,500
40/2 = ~10,000
50/2 = ~12,500
60/2 = ~15,000
100/2 = ~20,000
120/2 = ~30,000
Common Yarns Sett Chart
Provided by Schacht Spindle Company
