I saw coconuts for sale at the grocery store, with the husk and fibers still attached and had to buy some to experiment. I pulled off and processed the husk, separating the coir fiber from the peat, the began to twine. This is unpleasant fiber to work with. It is rough and short, but it is strong.
I see why the coconut coir fiber is used for thick mats to scrape off shoes, and heavy duty brushes. There are actually many interesting uses for coconut husk, the rest of mine will be used as mulch.
I connected with a local alpaca farmer and picked up two fleeces that were not spin quality. One was second cuts (not prime fiber) and full of vegetable matter, the other she had washed vigorously and it felted.
I wanted them to run an experiment with mulching around my pumpkins, so I placed the “waste” fiber around the plants, not up against the stems, and watered them down.
Now the waiting and watching. My hope is that the fiber will felt into pads and block weed growth and provide protection from the dirt for any pumpkins that form.
I have obtained my most expensive fiber to date. Camaj Fiber Arts had a sale on Guanaco fiber, which is harvested from wild animals in South America. Because they are not domesticated animals, the fiber is harder to obtain, hence the cost.
I will not be blending this fiber, but spinning it pure and making swatches for my fiber books.
And yes, vicuña is on my wish list, along with qiviut.
This is lotus flower fiber, from the long stalks of the water plant.
I should have hackled this fiber to separate the strands and remove the shortest sections, but I picked it as a travel project, and figured out I should have run it over my steel combs about 30 minutes down the road. I’ll be finding tiny bits of lotus fiber in the car for the foreseeable future (along with bits of flax and yarn ends).
The fiber is enjoyable to twine. There are some very long fibers in the bundle, around 5-6 feet long. Twining goes better with a little sponge and a spray bottle of water so I can keep my finger tips moist as I twist.
Twining has become my favorite travel project because I can watch the scenery and not have to keep my eyes on my hands.
My coconut husks ended up soaking for three days until I could get back to the project. I took the bucket outside and used my hands to tear open the clumps to free the husk particles from the fibers.
After pouring the soak water over garden plants, I put the shredded fiber back in the bucket and rinsed it several times. There is still some particulate matter, but the majority rinsed away. I spread the fiber out on a drying rack hanging inside.
I have to note that the coconut fiber and husk has no discernible smell to me, even after soaking for three days.
Critters and Craft 