Hello
I have a bunch of milk weed fiber and I would love to make yarn.
i have done some reading about it, and tried to imagine how these small fibers could possibly come together but so far have come to find that I need to make a lead yarn, then use a whirl to spin the rest into a yarn.
how do I make a lead yarn? how do these fibers come together to be so strong?
Any directions?
Milkweed is a bast fiber. Folks who have spun milkweed are not talking about the fluff from the pod, but the fiber from the stalk. It doesn’t have to be retted. When the stalks are a tannish-grey in color, you know they’re ready to be collected… about mid-summer, early fall. Break them off right close to the ground, then bend the stalks and the silky fiber releases easily.
Have you ever made a lead yarn out of bast fiiber? How does one make a lead yarn?
Are you talking about a leader that you attach your roving to? I use any old yarn I have about. I started with acrylic when I first started spinning, but I’ve since replaced most of it with hand spun yarn.
Are you wanting to attache it to a spindle or bobbin for a wheel? For a bobbin, I cut a piece of yarn twice as long as I want my leader, tie them together with a square knot at the ends, then use a Lark’s Head knot (aka Girth, Strap, Cow, Lanyard Hitch) to attach to the bobbin.
found this link an interesting read in this vein.
Enjoy.
http://www.knittersreview.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=45704