Bozeman Weavers Guild

Confused and overwhelmed by all the different forms of silk available for hand spinning? Or perhaps you have a stash of gorgeous silk that you’re not sure what to do with. This workshop looks at the most common and some of the less well-known forms of this luxurious fiber and the spinning techniques that will allow you to handle it with confidence. We’ll try out different drafting techniques for the various forms, discuss and experiment with different yarn design considerations, and cover finishing silk yarns to display the fiber and your spinning to best advantage. As we go, we’ll touch on interesting facts about sericulture and some of the terminology specific to silk.

Intermediate – student must be able to spin a continuous yarn on the spinning equipment brought to class.

• Spinning wheel in good working order. Spindle spinners are also welcome to bring fine and medium weight spindles as their primary spinning tool or in addition to a wheel.
• At least 3 bobbins. We will be spinning mostly singles in this class but you may wish to arrange your singles on different bobbins in order to ply them during the class or later.
• Fine or medium hand cards, if available. There are usually plenty in the class for sharing if you don’t have these yet.
• Notebook, pen or pencil, scissors, small or sample-sized niddy-noddy, and yarn gauge or ruler are all useful but not essential.
• Any silk fibers from your personal stash that you have questions about or that you might like to try spinning in class (optional).