Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Brace yourselves, I have an actual fiber project to show today!

Qiviut!

This is one ounce of a qiviut and silk blend that I spun for a friend.  I'm not sure of the ratio of silk to qiviut, but it's just right to let the best features of both fibers shine through - the softness and subtle halo of the qiviut and the shine and strength of silk.  She bought this on a trip to Alaska and I must say it was about the softest thing I've ever felt.

It was gorgeous to spin.

Qiviut!

It came as a batt and I spun very, very, very fine singles using long draw.  This was a conscious choice, because even though Delanne didn't want a laceweight yarn, this fiber really wanted and needed to be spun fine.  Thick singles of a short, fine fiber like qiviut won't hold up as well in the finished yarn as multiple fine singles.

My solution was to spin ridiculously fine singles, 3-ply that into a very fine laceweight, then ply the laceweight onto itself to make a 6-ply cabled yarn. The finished yarn is 1 ounce (28 grams), and 75 yards; approximately sport weight.  Very, very soft.  So soft.

Start to finish, this was a wonderful experience. The fiber happily and effortlessly spun into singles, the singles plied together snugly, then they graciously relaxed into a round cabled yarn. 

1 comment:

PJ said...

Right!? I'm the same way..my projects lie dormant right now, but one day they will erupt! Nice fiber!