Spun silk yarn

The weak filament of the transparent silken envelope remaining from the reeling process, and the damaged, discoloured, or imperfectly shaped cocoons become the raw material for lustrous, creamy coloured spun silk yarn. This cocoon "waste" must first have the sericin removed (degummed) with soap and water. Next, the fibre is cut into uniform lengths and carded to remove short tangled bits as well as the brown pupa inside the cocoons. Combing lays all the fibres parallel in a sliver which is spun into a shimmering yarn. Spun silk is the most familiar yarn made available to handworkers.

Tips for handling

High quality spun silk is easy to work with though it is more slippery than cotton or wool. An empty toilet paper tube placed on the arm of a ball winder will keep the silk yarns tidy if they slip off the ball while winding. The yarn should be handled as little as possible while dressing the loom to prevent fluffing and pilling.

Yarn Count

The count used for spun silk is the metric count system, used for cotton, linen and wool. In determining spun silk, 1 gram (g) (1/28 of an oz) is the stable figure. One metre (m) (39 inches) of yarn weighing 1g is 1m count or a #1 yarn. A #10 silk is 10m/g and has 10,000 m/kg. This translates to 4,970 yd/lb.

A pair of numbers identifies the size of plied yarns. A 20/2 spun silk is comprised of two strands (bottom number) of a #20 (top number) yarn. The 20 indicates that each strand is 20 times finer than a #1 silk, which has 497 yd/lb. To calculate the yardage of any spun silk yarn, multiply the yarn size by 497 and divide by the ply number. A 20/2 silk has 4970 yd/lb. The higher the number e.g. 20, 30, 60 the thinner the yarn and greater the yardage.

Created: October 14, 2008