Tag: weaving

Fiber Study: Banana

On By CarynIn Craft

I assembled my banana fiber study page with yarn made from the stems of banana plants and purchased as combed top from Hearthside fibers.

Photo description: counterclockwise from top left: card from Hearthside fibers that reads “Banana top, Developed in New Guinea, about 8,000 BC, made from stem waste”, unspun fiber, knit swatch, woven swatch, crocheted swatch, sprang swatch, two ply yarn, and single ply yarn

Bananas are believed to have been first cultivated in New Guinea around 8,000 years ago and used for both fruit and fiber. The staple length of the combed top is long, about 8 inches, and the fiber is strong.

Photo description: banana combed top next to a ruler showing around an eight inch length

The fiber was pleasant to spin. I did challenge myself to spin thicker than my default spin, which resulted in more thickness variation, and also subsequently less length. I used up all my two ply yarn in my swatches, and had to piece together bits for my bobbin on the page because I forgot to set aside some at the beginning.

Photo description: same fiber page with the swatches flipped up to show the hand written descriptions

I made unadorned swatches to show the texture in the yarn that was also a result of the variations in thickness. My sprang swatch blocked well and has a lovely horizontal stretch.

Photo description: sprang swatch held expanded with my fingers to show the interlinking between the strands

I would absolutely spin banana fiber again, but I think next time, I would spin thin.

Fiber Study: Camel roving

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: fiber study page for camel roving from Oklahoma Mini Mill, (counterclockwise) with a card from the mill, a sample of roving, knit swatch, woven swatch with embroidery, crocheted round swatch, nålbound swatch, sprang swatch, two ply on a paper bobbin, and single ply on a paper bobbin

I assembled my camel roving fiber page! I quite like camel fiber; it is nice to spin, and soft. I would definitely work with the fiber again. In fact, I have two and a half balls of 2-ply yarn with which to plan a project. Exciting. I have also decided to add a synopsis of my blog posts about the fiber to the pages, so I can remember how I felt about the fiber. Now to figure out how to attach the printed pages. I tried some washi tape, which surprisingly doesn’t like card stock much. Hm.

Photo description: same page with the swatches lifted to reveal the hand written descriptions

The roving sample isn’t as perfect as it came from the mill; I liked spinning so much I forgot to leave a bit unspun. The fiber in the box was spun, and then I brushed it back open. Oops.

Weaving: camel

On By CarynIn Craft

I used my Clover mini loom to weave a swatch of my two ply hand spun camel yarn. I like to double the warp and I chose a plain weave this time. I start and end my weaving with a twined row to help keep the ends in place.

Photo description: 2 ply camel yarn warped onto a Clover mini loom

To finish, I used an embroidery needle to run the looped warp ends back through the weft on the back. I rather like the ribbed edge created by doing so. I added an embroidered daisy with a stem and leaf because the front looked rather plain. The daisy and leaf are done with a lazy daisy stitch, and the stem is a stem stitch, which amuses me.

Photo description: back of the small woven swatch showing the woven in loops and the back of the embroidery
Photo description: front of the small weaving swatch done in hand spun camel yarn with five petal daisy, stem, and leaf, Missy the dog looking on in the background

It is interesting that the color of the yarn looks different in each picture. In real life, the color is a soft brown quite like milk chocolate. I did try to color adjust the final picture. I suspect the radical difference in backgrounds is the primary suspect for the color shift.

Basket experiment: Iris and Daylily

On By CarynIn Craft

I gathered dead leaves from the base of several iris and daylily plants at my folk’s house, along with some daylily stems. To make them flexible I wet a large towel and wrapped the leaves and stems with it, leaving them in the towel for a few hours.

Photo description: gathered materials laid out in an old terry cloth towel

I chose ten daylily stems for my base stakes and did a plain weave 5×5. I then twined iris leaves around the stakes, creating a square basket. To add a new leaf, I folded the old leaf end into the new leaf end, twisting them together to lock it in.

Photo description: basket in progress showing very long stakes and several twined rows

I still need to study how to do borders for the top. I ended up clipping the stakes short and tucking in the twined ends for this basket.

Photo description: twined basket with cut stakes
Photo description: side of twined basket
Photo description: bottom of twined basket

I left the basket at my folks’ place to dry. The leaves had spots of mold, so it shouldn’t be used for foodstuffs, but after a solid coat of sealer, it could be a desk basket.

Fiber page: Pineapple fiber

On By CarynIn Craft

My fiber study page for my pineapple fiber sample is done!

Photo description: clockwise from top left: card from Hearthside fibers that says “Pineapple Top, Developed in the Philippines, Made from the leaf of the pineapple plant”, paper bobbins with single spun and 2-ply hand spun yarn, sprang swatch, crochet swatch, woven swatch, knit swatch, unspun fiber

The crochet round gave me fits with this fiber. I spun it so fine I was having trouble getting the right gauge for my regular coaster pattern. I think I ripped it apart three times. I ended up winging it, filling the space with stitches and numbers that fit.

Photo description: same page with the swatches flipped up to show hand written descriptions: “Sprang interlaced horizontal ribs chain finished”, “crochet”, “plain weave with sections of 2×2 twill”, “knit stockinette with garter stitch edges size 2 needles, Prym”