Saturday, February 5, 2011

Taming Wild Camels..and cashmere and alpaca and mohair...

Most common spinning fibers, even Merino, are not too messy to deal with. You get a few fibers on yourself, easily handled with a lint brush or a ball of masking tape. But, whenever I spin the camelids or the cashmeres, or even adult mohair, I am covered head to toe with fiber...A LOT OF FIBER. At the last WILD WOOL MARKET of the season, I was spinning cashmere. Now cashmere costs more than most fibers, even when it is a deal. I got up to service a customer or put on the coffee for the exhibitors or something... I think there may have been more cashmere on me than on the bobbin! Most of the fiber on my leg was reclaimed, but not in the lovely aligned manner in which it had begun! So, I began to think about what was needed to tame these wildly luxurious fibers.

AN APRON! But not just any apron. It had to be long enough to cover a reasonable amount of your lap. OK, that kept the fibers on your lap, getting tangled and sticking, waiting to be brushed off. HMMM.

Eureka! a pocket!

DANG! The fibers stuck to the cotton pocket.

DOUBLE EUREKA! A satin lined pouch to hold the fiber! Less fiber sticks to satin, less waste, and it is contained in one small area.
I'm starting to make them and soon they will be in my Esty shop.


No comments:

Post a Comment