Transcript for
Episode 112:
An Easy Fiber Blending Project: My Chemo Hat Recipe
Nervous about blending fibers? Here's an easy exercise to get started.
Hello there darling Sheepspotter! Welcome to episode 112 of The Sheepspot Podcast. I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love. In this episode, I'm going to share my recipe for a special yarn for a special purpose.
Since shortly after I began spinning, I've been knitting special chemo caps for friends with cancer. As you know, I live in Canada, where hats are not optional for much of the year, and I love making very simple but very luxurious toques in the hopes that they'll keep my beloved's head warm and comfy while reminding them that I love them and I'm rooting for them.
Warmth and softness are my priorities in creating the yarn for these hats, so I generally make a woolen-spun yarn from a drum carded batt into which I put bits of all the warmest and softest naturally-colored fibers in my collection. If you don't have a drum carder you could absolutely use hand-cards.
What You'll Need: The Recipe
I like to make batts that weigh around 150 grams in total for this project. You use any combination of (very) fine wools, alpaca and other fine camelid fiber like camel down; silk; and undercoat fibers like qiviut, bison, yak, cashmere, and angora. And really, you can just wing the proportions. But in case you need a recipe, here's something to get you started; I've created a downloadable PDF with the recipe and instructions, which will be linked in the show notes.
50 grams of the finest wool I have. Consider ultrafine Merino or Cormo.
30 grams of very fine alpaca. Alpaca fibers are hollow, so it's great at trapping air and thus insulating.
30 grams of silk. Silk adds more warmth and lustre; I usually use combed tussah or one of the wild silks like eri, muga, or peduncle because they add some color, but you could also add some silk noil or hankies for texture.
20 grams of undercoat fibers. Consider well-dehaired angora, camel, yak, qiviut, cashmere, or bison.
Designing and creating your mix
My drum carder works well with around 50 grams of fiber, so I would divide each fiber into thirds before blending. If using hand cards, you'd obviously need to use less. Don't overload your prep tools! It's not going to make the prep go any faster, and you won't get as good a result, so take your time. And take breaks to protect your hands.
As I've said, I like to do these batts with a range of naturally-colored fibers. I think they go beautifully together. That's why, when I'm collecting fibers, I try to get a range of colors. It's particularly nice if you can incorporate some white and some black as the value shifts will make your finished cloth more interesting visually.
Spinning your blend
If you are using a drum carder, you might want to listen to episode 60, on the various ways to spin batts. If you want the warmest possible yarn, you'll want to use a long draw. Long draw is a great choice for spinning rolags as well. If you don't love long draw, episode 100, on the woolen drafts, will give you some other options to try.
If you'd like to take on the project of blending and spinning for a chemo hat, don't forget to download the freebie for this episode. There will be a link to it in the show notes, which you'll find right inside your podcast app. Even if you don't know anyone currently undergoing chemotherapy, chances are you will at some point; grab the recipe now so you'll have it when you need to send some handmade love to a friend or family member going through a hard time.
And if you do try this, please, please, please share pictures in The Flock or on Instagram with the hashtags #sheepspotpodcast and #chemohatrecipe!
As always, you can discuss and comment on this episode in a dedicated thread in The Flock. You'll find a link to that as well in the show notes.
That does it for me this time, dearest Sheepspotter. Thank you so much for listening! I hope this has been useful. I'll be back next week with some tips on blending wool and silk on a drum carder. Silk can misbehave a bit in the batt-making process, so tune in next time and I'll tell you some of the strategies I use to get nice smooth blends. Until then, beloved, take the time to spin something. I'm willing to bet that it will do you good.