A while ago , like almost a year ago , I ordered some sample fibers to see what I wanted to spin. What you see below is the regular bamboo spun on the fast flyer of my Sonata. I have to disagree with people that say that bamboo behaves like silk. I did not find that to be the case when I spun my bamboo. It is a bit slippery and it blooms like silk in a way. I did try to wet my fingers to grab the fiber, which it helps in the spinning , but is not the best thing to do. I spun it from the fold, that seemed to be the easiest way to spin it, but I also had a long thin piece of roving and was doing a worsted spinning with this fiber. I think I would love to spin a wool-bamboo blend, or maybe a bamboo-silk blend, but bamboo by itself is not something that I care to spin from the get go. Perhaps a chance to fall in love with bamboo is in the future, if it is the only fiber I spin, I know I can master it. Nevertheless, Bamboo by itself as yarn is not very attractive to me, in blends I go gaga over it, well not lady Ga Ga, but you get my point. Bamboo is something that I would definitely spin on a drop spindle, rather than a wheel, it is almost like the camel down which I rather spin on a spindle as well. I will have to see how this project ends when I research how to set the twist on bamboo. It is a good candidate for Navajo plying or perhaps to be the third ply in a 3 ply yarn. Maybe I can make a tweed looking yarn with the other bamboo that I am showing you below.
Here this black looking single is a carbonized bamboo single. I have seen yarns with this material and not all of them are black , I saw a brownish type, which I am sure can be overdyed and give you some heathery colors. The black fiber below, behaved a bit more like wool. It was grabby and drafted very nice. I enjoyed spinning the carbonized bamboo a lot, and will continue to do so. I may just finish the project and then ply these two guys together and see what comes out of it. I hope this posting helps you in getting to know bamboo fiber-roving. There is a milk roving that will be my next in line, and that I know I can dye like wool. Thanks for stopping by!
