Hemp page

On September 4, 2023September 1, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I finished another fiber page (really I did three together, but I’m going to spread it out in this blog). This page is about hemp. The hemp top, combed hemp fibers, came in a collection of plant fibers as a gift from my sister. I spun the singles on a drop spindle, then made a two-ply yarn using a different drop spindle. The fiber was nice to spin, but the resulting yarn was stiff and scratchy, even after setting the twist by boiling. Hemp is usually used to make rope and strong fabrics, certainly not anything you would want next to your skin. I made a knitted swatch with size 4 needles, a crocheted round with size C hook, and a woven sample with four salvages using a Clover mini-loom and doubling the warp threads. Even though I wouldn’t make clothing with this yarn, I think it is the neatest page I’ve done so far.

Photo description: Clockwise from top left, card from Hearthside fibers, three bobbins with single, 2-ply, and set 2-ply yarn, crocheted lace round, woven not-quite rectangle (still working on my weaving tension), knitted rectangle, and a card stock drawer with hemp fiber.

Adventures with a mini loom

On August 12, 2023August 9, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I recently used points to get a Clover mini loom. I have been using scraps of cardboard to weave samples of my spun fibers to go in my fiber journal, so this was an upgrade!

First finished linen swatch, forgot to take progress photos, warped for fringe on the bottom only, came out a weft-faced weave

I started by following directions, amazingly, but the spacing of the tines were very wide and gave me a weft-faced weave, where the warp threads are completely covered by the weft yarn. This is the technique used for tapestry weaving, but not what I was looking for.

Linen warp doubled up and wrapped completely around the loom, starting with a twined row to space the threads

The next attempt I doubled the yarn in each slot by wrapping the warp yarn completely around the loom. This gave me fringe on top and bottom when it was finished, but the weave came out with both the warp and weft showing.

I moved on to my hemp yarn, and of course I forgot to take progress photos, but I doubled up the warp thread by making loops around the tines, resulting in a fringeless swatch. I found I didn’t need the twined first row to space the threads. It came out a bit wonky, but I am seeing process improvement.

Plying hemp

On May 31, 2023May 28, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

After finishing spinning the single, I made a two ply yarn from my hemp sample. I transferred the yarn to my niddy noddy, then tied it in four spots and removed the skein.

Hemp yarn off the spindle onto the PVC niddy noddy

Skein of 2-ply hemp yarn, before finishing

The next step is to boil the yarn, which still gives me trepidation. It will happen, but I need to sneak up on it.

Spinning hemp

On May 13, 2023May 10, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I am delving into the fiber samples my sister gave me, starting with hemp. I tried spinning the hemp as I would wool, with a drop spindle and dry. The fly aways were epic. Since I had luck spinning flax roving using a bit of moisture from a sponge, I tried that method with the hemp. It meant I had to transfer what I had spun to a long shaft drop spindle (wrapping the yarn along the shaft at a low angle reduces the stress on the fibers).

Moving the spinning operation from a single spindle to a spindle and distaff setup

Rather than spinning directly from the roving, I separated bits of roving and laid them on a rectangle of fabric (all those old masks came in handy), taking care to lay them in the same orientation. I then rolled the fabric around the distaff and tied it loosely with some cord.