Tips for Spinning Hemp
© Louis-M. Landry
Hemp is a bast fiber and has been spun since antiquity. Mainly thought of as useful for making heavy ropes and canvas, today’s hemp sliver is far from being tough. With the advent of an enzymatic removal of lignin from the fiber, de-gummed hemp is now as strong as ever but with a new soft touch. Hemp is water absorbent, resists mold and UV light, breathes well, and takes dye easily due to its porous qualities.
Sounds like a great fiber but how do you spin it? Hemp is easy to spin. If you would like to try spinning hemp on a drop spindle, a light weight top whorl or support spindle may be your best choice. Our hemp is very fine and slides easily like silk. If you would like to spin hemp on a spinning wheel, set your tension low to and increase it gradually as you get the hang of it. Whether spinning on a spindle or wheel, try spinning the singles clockwise. Do some sampling to see the wide range of possible yarns you can make with hemp. For a more woolen type yarn, try spinning from the fold or carding with silk. We like a 60/40 hemp/silk mix. You will want to use fine carders or cotton carders for blending. For a worsted yarn, you can use a forward short draw. For an even smoother yarn, try spinning wet like you would for flax. There should not be many fly away fibers but spinning wet will ensure that the yarn is perfectly smooth. Just put a small bowl of water near you and dip the fingers of your forward facing hand in the water and smooth it on as you spin.
When plying, spin the yarn in the opposite direction. There is no need to boil your finished yarns. We suggest that you set the twist by holding your skein with two hands over a steaming pot of water or tea kettle.
Spinning Tips: Camel
©Potter Park Zoo blog
Camel is one of the softest fibers out there yet one of the least spun. We absolutely adore it and recommend it to spinners who want to learn how to spin long draw for future cashmere spinning. It is a great fiber to practice this technique on. At less than 1/2 the price of cashmere, camel is nearly as soft with a micron count of 15 – 22. (Cashmere falls in the micron range of 14 – 18.5.)
The bactrian camel (with two humps) is the animal from which camel hair is harvested. There are only 800 wild camels in the world which makes them crictically endangered. The domesticated bactrian camel numbers in at approximately 1.4 million. These camels are often used to carry heavy loads weighing up to 400 pounds. It is common for a basket to be placed on the back of the last camel in a caravan, as the animals shed, the person last in line can pick up the discarded hair, putting it in the basket for sale along their route.
One camel grows about 5 pounds of hair a year. Camel hair is warm without being heavy or bulky. A finely spun yarn knit into lace can be as warm to your neck as a heavy knit wool scarf. It is a beautiful luxury fiber that is often paired with wool or with silk, which gives the garment extra luster and beauty.
Camel Down
So how do you spin it? Here are some tips for you to try.
1. Spin a yarn with multiple plies. Try spinning fine singles to create a lofty, bouncy soft 3-ply yarn instead of spinning thicker singles for a 2-ply. The yarn will be airy, soft, and stunning. A round 3-ply yarn will show off the true potential of the fiber and you also get the added benefit of spinning an extra ply of fiber meant for royalty.
2. Use a lot of twist. Camel fiber is very slippery which is why I consider it a great primer fiber before the pricey jump into cashmere. When spinning this fiber for the first time, relax! Spinners often worry about putting too much twist into their wool yarns. Here is your chance to use your smallest whorl without fear of over-twisting. How refreshing is that?
3. Use low tension. Set your spinning wheel up for as little tension as you can. You do not want the wheel to be pulling the yarn in until there is sufficient twist. Check to make sure that your single yarn will not drift apart before winding on. Once you get the hang of it, you will no longer have to check.
4. The most recommended way of spinning camel is using a long draw or supported long draw technique. This is where the fun begins! Make sure your wheel is well oiled and get started. Newbies who are trying long draw for the first time may sometimes be discouraged by a yarn that isn’t as consistent as the yarns they have spun as they mastered a short forward/backward draw. Don’t worry about it especially if you are making a 3-ply as the inconsistencies in the singles yarn won’t show up as much in a 3-ply. This is a technique that you will need to practice but, as a newbie who is already making pretty nice worsted yarns, you will conquer it in no time. Make sure to keep an eye on your drafting triangle to stay a little ahead of the twist as you draft backward.
5. Want to spin short draw? No problem. It will take more care and patience but the smooth worsted yarn you produce using this method will be something to be proud of. Try different drafting techniques when sampling to see which one you like best.
Resources:
Anderson, Enid, “The Spinner’s Encyclopedia,” 1987, David and Charles Publishers, Devon, UK, 288pp, ISBN: 0-7153-8794-4
Casey, Maggie, “Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn,” 2008, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 119pp, ISBN: 978-59668-065-4
Fournier, Jane, “Fiber Basics: Camel,” Spin-Off magazine, Vol XIX, Number 1, Spring 1995, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, pp 26-29
Kadolph, Sara J., “Textiles, 10th edition,” 2007, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 496 pp, ISBN: 0-13-118769-4
MacKenzie McCuin, Judith, “Down Fibers Handout,” Exotics Fiber Class, Boston Area Spinners & Dyers workshop