Spinning silk, pure silk, is a treat and you should definitely treat yourself to it. In the big, beautiful world of handspinning, there is nothing quite like it. After all, silk is the gold standard for smooth isn’t it? We often describe other things as “silky smooth” and “smooth as silk”. You know what is as soft and smooth as silk? Actual silk!
And its not as difficult to spin as you might think. Silk has a bit of reputation for being a challenge and I’m here to tell you that is not true. Silk is easy to spin. You just have to let it become the yarn that it naturally wants to be.
It wants to be spun fine and thin.
It wants a lot of twist.
It wants a fast whorl or, if you are working on a spindle, a fast and light weight spindle.
You can do all that. Really, the only barrier to spinning silk is your courage. Why is silk so intimidating? Because its not cheap! If you have some silk in your stash and you haven’t spun it yet, its probably because you’re afraid of messing it up.
Well, I can help with that.
A note: I did one thing before I turned on the camera: I put on hand lotion. Silk is so smooth and the fibers are so fine that you’ll need soft hands to spin it. So before you treat yourself to some silk, treat yourself to your favorite hand lotion.
How to spin silk into yarn
Another note: In this video I’m working with a pencil roving so I’m spinning worsted style with a short forward draw. When I have tussah silk, which can be coarse and/or have short fibers, I’ll spin over the fold. (If you’re not sure what those terms mean, check out this post on spinning vocabulary.) If you are spinning yarn from a silk hankie then a) I have much envy for you! and b) you’ll need to do all the drafting prior to spinning.
I hope that was helpful and I hope it gives you the courage to get out some silk and set to spinning it! But if do you need another nudge, here are some more guides for spinning silk:
- Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Spinning Silk from craftsy.com
- Spinning Silk Hankies from knitty.com
- A Guide to Spinning Silk Fibers from spinningdaily.com
"There is no failure. Only feedback." - Robert Allen
6 Comments on "How to Spin Silk in to Yarn"
You do make it look easy. Thanks. That was very restful.
So I’ve been told. People like to watch spinning. 🙂
Great timing. I have some hankies and silk caps from a recent guild auction. We’ve been eyeing each other from across the room, but so far have been too timid to introduce ourselves. I thought I would have to add some wool to break ice, but apparently not. I just may have to wander over nonchalantly and say hi to that silk!
Go for it! Silk in a cap or square is just about the easiest to spin. Pull off a layer, draft it out and it will practically spin itself!
Also… sometimes people do that pre-drafting and then skip right to the knitting/crocheting. Silk is so strong and those fibers in the cap are continuous that you can work with it unspun. Just a thought!
What a masterpiece! That is destined to be a family heirloom for certain. Brava
And I’m happy to help with the ideas! I know all about buying ahead, changing your mind, and then changing it 15 more times. 🙂