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How to Knit from a Silk Cocoon

(see about felting silk cocoons below)

First, a note to those of you concerned about animal welfare...

The cocoons that are made into hankies (mawattas) and caps are cocoons from which the moth has been allowed to emerge. So no living animal was hurt to produce this type of silk that you will be using in the Challenge. The cocoons that the moths have been allowed to emerge from is considered lower quality silk because in order to emerge from the cocoon, the moth must bust a hole in an end, thereby breaking the long strand. Since now the cocoon is lots of smaller (tho' still very long filaments) it is not considered the "best" quality silk by the textile industry and is left for knitters and spinners and felters to use. This is what you are using for the Challenge.

Now...

This VIDEO will walk you thru how to process the silk cocoon and knit directly from the coccon hankies. Although in the video I had to use a stifled cocoon for the purpose of the demonstration because that's what I had on hand, if you purchase a hankie or cap to use for the Fiber Challenge, your silk did not come from a cocoon that was stifled.

If your computer or internet connection does not allow viewing of the video, you can read below to get some instruction on how to handle them.

A silk "hankie" or "cap" is actually 35-40 silk cocoons that have been stretched over a form: in the case of hankies (called mawattas in Japanese), they have been stretched over a square form and in the case of a cap, they have been stretched over a conical form creating a 3-D form rather like a "hat".

You can knit directly from these, or you can spin them, make them into silk paper, weave with them or felt them into wool. So there are many ways they can be used in the Fiber Challenge.

Because the silk is so long, you don't have to spin it & you can actually knit directly from silk hankies. The simple motion of wrapping the silk around the needle introduces enough twist to this very long fiber that it holds together in the knitted fabric without it being spun first!

If you have dry hands as I do, you will find that the silk fibers stick to your cuticles and rough spots on your hands. You can dust your hands with baby powder to help reduce this problem if you choose.

If you are working from a hankie or mawatta (the square form of silk cocoons)

1) peel off 1-2 coccons (just because the whole group is too much to handle at one time).

To peel 1 or 2 cocoons off, go to the edge, pull at a "ridge" and work this "ridge" away from the mass by gently peeling it away as you work your way around the perimeter of the square.

2) Now that you have 1-2 cocoons peeled off, grasp opposite corners and tug.

You have to tug rather hard, since silk is a strong fiber and a long one. Keep tugging, keeping your hands about 12-16" apart and working your way down the length of the silk, until it is all even and the thickness that you want to work with. To get an idea of how thick or thin you want to pull the cocoon, you can gently twist it in your hands and this will show you the "gauge" of yarn you are creating.

3) wrap each of the lengths of silk cocoon around a paper towel cone, separating the layers with tissue paper

this just helps keep the fiber organized until you've got the whole hankie stretched out and are ready to knit it

4) treat each stretched hankie just as you would a ball of yarn.

If you are working from a "cap":

1) just as for the hankie/mawatta, you go to the edge, grasp a ridge or two and peel them away from the mass

2) instead of tugging opposite corners (since it's a 3-d form you don't really have corners), poke a hole in what is the "crown" of the cap. This gives you a ring. Put both fists inside the ring and begin tugging the ring open.

3) Once it has thinned out some, grasp one side of the ring and holding your hands 12-16" apart, tug the fiber to split it apart completely. Now follow as from step 3 above.

 

Felting with silk Mawattas, caps or hankies

silk in felt silk in felt bagsilk in vessel felt

Felting with these silk hankies, mawattas or caps is simple. Just peel off a cocoon or two at a time as described above or in the video and lay it on top of the wool. For felting 3-D pieces like the vessel pictured right or fot hats, I like to use the caps rather than the hankies since they are 3-D and perfect for such items. If I'm felting a flat piece of felt, as in the bag fabric above 2 photos on left, I prefer to use the mawattas or hankies. Depending on the effect you want, you can peel them off very thin and create a gossamer of color that looks rather like fine veins of marble as in the vessel. Or, you can pull off more cocoons at a time and create some pretty dramatic lines as in the flat felt pictured left. I have never needed to layer wisps of wool on top, but I suppose if you pulled off REALLY thick layers of silk, you'd need to.

 

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Join the community of knitters who will be participating. We'll share some works in progress and send you tips and techniques along the way as well as share updates with you thru this forum.