Tag: cellulose

Mint top fiber page

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: scrap book page with card from Hearthside Fiber in the upper left, single spun and chain plied yarn in the upper right, unspun fiber middle left, twined swatch middle, tatted swatch middle right, knitted swatch bottom left, and crocheted swatch bottom right

I think this was my bottle neck for assembling my fiber pages. I had several sets ready for assembly but this one wasn’t ready because the tatted swatch took a long time. I think next time I tat for the book it will be a ribbon rather than a rectangle. Or a small doily. Choices.

My favorite piece on this page is the crochet, because I used an orange peel stitch that alternates between single and double crochet and gives a beautiful texture.

The fiber is cellulose infused with peppermint, according to the description. It is supposed to feel cooler. I do not feel it. It was easy to spin thin, gives a nice drape in the knitting and crochet, is possible to tat with (but has more halo than pearlized cotton), but is not noticeably “cool”, any more than cotton can feel cool.

I might purchase this fiber if I had a light summer shirt I wanted to make, but I would be more inclined to purchase cotton or linen.

Remembering

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

My photo album is my memory, especially for crafts. I’m usually several projects ahead of what I’m posting about, and remembering back to what hook or needle I used is problematic. So I take a picture.

Photo description: knitted swatch of hand spun mint infused fiber with a needle gauge and a needle inserted into the 2.25mm hole. Calico cat sleeping in the background.

If I can get an animal in the background of the picture, all the better.

Mint top

On By CarynIn Craft

I finished the first spin of the mint top fiber from my plant fiber sample pack my sister gave me almost two years ago. I am down to three packs from the original set. I’ve spun the rest and made up fiber pages for all of them. I may need another book to hold all the pages!

The mint top is “cellulose fiber infused with mint”, which is supposed to make the fabric feel cooler. I didn’t notice any cool feeling when I was spinning it, and it doesn’t smell like mint. It is a pleasure to spin though, and spins fine easily.

Photo description: fine single spun mint top fiber on a wood drop spindle

My plan is to three ply the single to give it some weight. I’m contemplating whether to chain ply or divide the fiber onto three bobbins. If I chain ply I don’t have to remove it from the spindle, or can transfer it to a single bobbin if I’m worried about the spindle jumping around. If I divide, I’ll have some single left over and I’ll have to transfer it to three bobbins. The risk of breaking lies in transferring to different bobbins and potentially losing some twist and weakening the single, or applying too much stress when making loops for chain plying. I think I’ll think on it some more.

Toothy

On By CarynIn Craft

When picking a new fiber to spin as I walk, I wanted something easier to spin than Tencel. I had a “Mint Top” sample in my stash, gifted to me by my sister that looked like it had some nice texture. I started spinning it on a drop spindle and it is dreamy, and the descriptive word “toothy” keeps coming into my head. The fibers grab each other with the help of the twist, but don’t clump up, and it drafts nicely.

Paradise Fibers gives it this description:

“A very new Biodegradable cellulose fiber which is infused with Mint powder extracted from Peppermint Leaves. Contains natural cooling and antibacterial properties. This is a very soft and lustrous fiber that is a natural off-white/golden color. The fiber gives a natural smooth and cooling feeling with excellent moisture absorption.”

Photo description: mint infused cellulose fiber sticking to my hand, spinning into fine single spun on a wood drop spindle, calico cat in the background waiting for pets

It doesn’t smell minty to me. It will be interesting to see if the products made with the yarn feel cool.