I found these fabulous Eri (peace) Silk Cocoon Cakes, from an Etsy shop, and just had to see how they work. I mentioned I am really excited about spinning silk now that I’ve discovered Eri silk, and in this minimally processed form is a real breakthrough for me. They’re even fun to pull apart and fluff up, and so easy to spin too, and I think about how interesting they would be “dyed in the cake” before the cocoon is pulled apart– the color variegations could be beautiful. Watching 6 o’clock whorl’d news now is getting to be a favorite time of my day.
That is amazing. So how much silk yarn do you get from 1 cake?
The silk from the cocoon spins so differently, I’m guessing because there is no processing of the actual fiber, only washing the sticky gummy substance off so that the fibers can free themselves, its kind of like a big cotton ball. As for the amount, I’m surprised! One cake = about 30 minutes of whorl’d news I guess, I’ve only spun up two little cakes and it seems to me it took a long time and the fibers are very tough and spin very fine, I LOVE the cocoon cakes! I will love trying to dye them too! I would use roving to blend with other fibers, for the actual fibers are shorter staples from being processed into silk roving, but the cocoon is an entirely different experience. You’ll have to come over to tiny house and see ~ xx