Yarn Suppliers
Fingerweaving
Any smooth yarn can be used for finger weaving. Beginners are encouraged to start with small projects, using bits of yarn they have around the house, or else cheap yarn, just to get the idea of the method. It will take a while for your hands to settle in and come to create a nice even-tensioned cloth. A good tight twist is desirable, so that the yarn will withstand the weaving and unweaving process. For a long life, choose a yarn that does not pill. I mostly use 100% wool, and favor a type that wears well, does not pill or get fuzzy with use. A yarn called Quebecoise from LeMieux Spinning has been my favorite. Also quite worthy is 'Heritage' from Briggs and Little Spinning. These yarns can be ordered from a yarn store in Thunder Bay called Olives and Bananas. For more authentic replica sashes, I like to use a 2/8 wool called Möbelatta by Bockens. Carol's favorite supplier for the Möbelatta yarn is the Lone Star Loom Room.
Sprang
Any smooth yarn can be used. Avoid the bumpy yarns, or ones that have those fuzzy bits, eyelash yarns. A good tight twist is desirable. A slippery surface is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
I have used wool, linen, cotton, silk, tencel, and acrylic.
Slippery materials such as reeled silk cord is lovely to work with, as it is so very easy to push the shed from one side to the other. Carol's favorite silk yarn is a reeled silk from Treenway Silk called Neva Silk.
Cotton handspun is also lovely to work with. A commercial cotton that is tightly spun is called Lizbeth. The number 3 is what I use for my students. You can order the #3 Lizbeth on line from Lacis. In the wool department, Carol uses Cascade's Eco Cloud in her classes. This is a yarn that is chained rather than spun. A thick yarn, students can easily see the stitches, but at the same time this yarn has a very soft feel, and stands up to student use. For replicas of Coptic bonnets, Carol has been using yarn made by Bockens called Möbelatta from the Lone Star Loom Room. Bockens also makes a finer yarn called Mora. Carol orders Mora from the Eugene Textile Center. On the other hand, Carol has worked with some fuzzy alpaca. It is also useful to spread the warp horizontally, to create space between the threads, allowing you to push the cross to the mirror-image side. Warp sizing is helpful when using fuzzy yarns, you can get recipes from the Internet. I've also used spray starch (intended use for ironing) and hairspray. I have heard the traditional method is to rinse the warp ahead of time in rice water. Another way to deal with fuzzy yarns is to work the piece in short sections, working from a distance of a foot or two apart to a center line where you make a chain, and then move on to the next 2-foot section.
Any smooth yarn can be used for finger weaving. Beginners are encouraged to start with small projects, using bits of yarn they have around the house, or else cheap yarn, just to get the idea of the method. It will take a while for your hands to settle in and come to create a nice even-tensioned cloth. A good tight twist is desirable, so that the yarn will withstand the weaving and unweaving process. For a long life, choose a yarn that does not pill. I mostly use 100% wool, and favor a type that wears well, does not pill or get fuzzy with use. A yarn called Quebecoise from LeMieux Spinning has been my favorite. Also quite worthy is 'Heritage' from Briggs and Little Spinning. These yarns can be ordered from a yarn store in Thunder Bay called Olives and Bananas. For more authentic replica sashes, I like to use a 2/8 wool called Möbelatta by Bockens. Carol's favorite supplier for the Möbelatta yarn is the Lone Star Loom Room.
Sprang
Any smooth yarn can be used. Avoid the bumpy yarns, or ones that have those fuzzy bits, eyelash yarns. A good tight twist is desirable. A slippery surface is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
I have used wool, linen, cotton, silk, tencel, and acrylic.
Slippery materials such as reeled silk cord is lovely to work with, as it is so very easy to push the shed from one side to the other. Carol's favorite silk yarn is a reeled silk from Treenway Silk called Neva Silk.
Cotton handspun is also lovely to work with. A commercial cotton that is tightly spun is called Lizbeth. The number 3 is what I use for my students. You can order the #3 Lizbeth on line from Lacis. In the wool department, Carol uses Cascade's Eco Cloud in her classes. This is a yarn that is chained rather than spun. A thick yarn, students can easily see the stitches, but at the same time this yarn has a very soft feel, and stands up to student use. For replicas of Coptic bonnets, Carol has been using yarn made by Bockens called Möbelatta from the Lone Star Loom Room. Bockens also makes a finer yarn called Mora. Carol orders Mora from the Eugene Textile Center. On the other hand, Carol has worked with some fuzzy alpaca. It is also useful to spread the warp horizontally, to create space between the threads, allowing you to push the cross to the mirror-image side. Warp sizing is helpful when using fuzzy yarns, you can get recipes from the Internet. I've also used spray starch (intended use for ironing) and hairspray. I have heard the traditional method is to rinse the warp ahead of time in rice water. Another way to deal with fuzzy yarns is to work the piece in short sections, working from a distance of a foot or two apart to a center line where you make a chain, and then move on to the next 2-foot section.