Fear Factor Fibre - Seacell
I was a bit over zealous when acquiring fibre for the Tour de Fleece this summer. My Fear Factor Fibre challenge really had too many freaky fibres that I was interested in trying to spin. I've been slowly working my way through the basket I've accumulated while allowing myself to spin other things in between.
I spun the first bump of seacell some time during the fall. There's a haze of fibre in my mind, so I'm afraid that I can't be much more exact. The singles were spun and sitting on a "spare bobbin" (read: toilet paper roll) for a while before I spinning up the other bump.
I decided pretty early on that I would ply the 2 bumps together as there's a small amount of fiber in each braid (about an ounce each). I guess that I was procrastinating the spinning of the yellow bump because I wasn't sure how nicely the resulting yarn would be. The colouring in each braid was so subtle that they're easily lost once plied together. It probably would have been good to consider the colours a little more when choosing the fibre in the first place. But it's still pretty nice yarn.
For spinning, I took the braid of seacell, split it several times lengthwise into smallish slivers. I think I pre-drafted the first bump before spinning it. The second one I spun directly from the divided pieces of top (I was much more cavalier the second time around). The pre-drafting definitely made a difference. Seacell definitely has a tendency towards the immovable velcro-ness of silk at times. Pre-drafting makes a real difference in making it more enjoyable to spin.
All in all I like this little silky skein of seacell. The natural silvery grey colour of the seacell is really unique and intriguing. I would spin it again if I came across another nicely dyed braid. Though I think I'd buy a larger quantity so I could make a usable sized skein.
2-ply using 2 bumps of Seacell:
'Clover Honey' PortFiber
100% Seacell
0.7 oz.
&
'Moonlit Walk' PortFiber
100% Seacell
1 oz.
I spun the first bump of seacell some time during the fall. There's a haze of fibre in my mind, so I'm afraid that I can't be much more exact. The singles were spun and sitting on a "spare bobbin" (read: toilet paper roll) for a while before I spinning up the other bump.
I decided pretty early on that I would ply the 2 bumps together as there's a small amount of fiber in each braid (about an ounce each). I guess that I was procrastinating the spinning of the yellow bump because I wasn't sure how nicely the resulting yarn would be. The colouring in each braid was so subtle that they're easily lost once plied together. It probably would have been good to consider the colours a little more when choosing the fibre in the first place. But it's still pretty nice yarn.
For spinning, I took the braid of seacell, split it several times lengthwise into smallish slivers. I think I pre-drafted the first bump before spinning it. The second one I spun directly from the divided pieces of top (I was much more cavalier the second time around). The pre-drafting definitely made a difference. Seacell definitely has a tendency towards the immovable velcro-ness of silk at times. Pre-drafting makes a real difference in making it more enjoyable to spin.
All in all I like this little silky skein of seacell. The natural silvery grey colour of the seacell is really unique and intriguing. I would spin it again if I came across another nicely dyed braid. Though I think I'd buy a larger quantity so I could make a usable sized skein.
2-ply using 2 bumps of Seacell:
'Clover Honey' PortFiber
100% Seacell
0.7 oz.
&
'Moonlit Walk' PortFiber
100% Seacell
1 oz.
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