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Chamomile Connection Check out the Silks...they are gorgeous! Quality at Affordable Prices I am going to Shepherd's Harvest Festival and will be away for about a week. I will ship items ordered after the 14th. Hope to see you in Minnesota! Since everyone's monitor is different, the colors you see on your screen may differ from what they actually are. |
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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 hot water and washing soda with soap or detergent. 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. Marianne has some information to add from her experiments:
"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
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.. 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 ·-.¸.-··...(`'·.¸(`'·.¸¸.·'´)¸.·'´)...··-.¸.-··.
-.¸.-··...(`'·.¸(`'·.¸¸.·'´)¸.·'´)...··-.¸.-··.
·-.¸.-··...(`'·.¸(`'·.¸¸.·'´)¸.·'´)...··-.¸.-··. 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. I have either purchased it directly or through Canada. 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.
Using 12/2 silk in a twill weave 8 x 22 = 176 warp ends 176 x 4.5 = 792 yards It will require 3 skeins of 12/2 silk for 2 scarves or a small shawl 16" x 72"
DK silk plain weave 8 x 12 = 96 96 x 4.5 = 432 It will require 4 skeins for 2 scarves. ( 6 skeins for a larger shawl.)
art and craft |
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·-.¸.-··...(`'·.¸(`'·.¸¸.·'´)¸.·'´)...··-.¸.-··. Sock Pattern Serendipity purse Information Page weaving record sheet Updated May 7, 2008 |
USA Organic Colorgrown Cotton Yarn, Silk and Spinning Fibers. 
