The Practical Spinner's Guide - Silk

by Sara Lamb

Explore silk--an alluring and exotic fiber for spinners!The Practical Spinner's Silk teaches spinners how to create smooth lustrous yarns from a gorgeous but tricky and sometimes intimidating fiber in this second installment in a series of fiber specific books. Author Sara Lamb discusses the various forms in which silk is available--combed top, bricks, noils, hankies, and bells--and how best to card, prep, and spin them, specifically touching on trouble spots such as drafting and adding twist. She also covers finishing yarns--cleaning and degumming, setting twist, and plying--and even touches on what dye processes are best for adding color, as well as how to blend silk into other spinning fibers.Sara includes brief discussions on spinning for both knitting and weaving, the properties of woven and knitted fabric, and what the spinner needs to take into account while creating yarn for a subsequent project.

Genres: Crafts

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2014

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for learning the process of spinning silk and the history of silk. Quick reference read if you have the opportunity to obtain silkworm cocoons.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Sara managed to take you through her entire journey with silk experiments, incorporate history and current textile techniques all without losing your interest. I liked hearing about her failures as much as her successes (not to mention how she turned some failed experiments into beautiful pieces). She doesn't limit herself to one form of textiles (I'm a knitter, I'm a Crocheter, I only Weave) and has managed to master all of them. This is a great book if you are interested in spinning silk, or if you have spun silk and want to know why it doesn't look the way you want it to. Even if you are just reading this to obtain an appreciation for the work that goes into making silk items, or understanding how different fibers work this is worth your time.