I have come full circle...

I am trying to figure out a new packaging for my oblique pen holders. I still make my own packaging so I need something that is easier to make, uses less material, but still provides considerable protection and aesthetically pleasing. I am currently using a traditional box with sliding cover but it takes too much time to make. I tried a pillow box before, but it is too soft in the middle so I reverted back to the rectangular box. I thought I would try a triangular shape this time, like a Tobleron box, but it must have a self-locking mechanism like a pillow box so it can hold it´s shape without using glue or tape. The design should be simple that I will not need to cut complicated shape or slots. Something that can work with a rectangular sheet of cardboard and incorporate a series of folds like an origami.

This brings back memories of college days. This is the kind of exercises we actually did. I guess I have come full circle. I love making things, studying the process, the materials. Maybe I should stick to this permanently? It may not be as grandiose as my dreams before, working in a big design firm, designing high-tech consumer products. Who knows, maybe if I stick to this long enough, I can eventually make a big difference.

From Fiber to Socks...

I finally finished my lace toe-up-socks project.  It took quite some time.  I am a slow knitter, but with this one, I also carded the raw cotton fiber and spun all the yarn using the drop spindle and charkha which I also constructed.  Though, I could really use some help with my bind-off.  Anyways, I did not have enough yarn when I started the project, so I carded, spun, and knitted as the project progresses.  Thus, you might notice the three tones.  The change in color tone indicates where I ran out of yarn.  I dyed the yarn before spinning. I used avocado skin to make the natural dye.  I really like the color.  I did not use any mordant to really bind the dye to the fiber.  But I think I read somewhere that I do not need to use a mordant since I am using a natural dye on a plant fiber.  I just boiled the skin from one avocado and when the water was quite dark, I soaked my yarn for about two hours and hung it to dry overnight.  

My cotton spinning has become finer, particularly when I used the charkha.  Learning to spin at consistent thickness will probably take quite some time to master.   I initially built a spinning wheel with a treadle, but it was not working smoothly, and I really needed more yarn, so I decided to make a charkha, and work my technology from the ground up.  The charkha was really easy to construct and use.  I can actually make a long draw with only one hand, which I can not do with my spinning wheel.  Probably because I can not properly adjust the feed of the spool.  Since I will be working mostly with cotton fiber, I will stick with the charkha for a while.  The high speed charkha is ideal with spinning fine cotton thread or yarn.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men.

New flyer and bobbin, tiny carders, natural cotton fiber...

I am working on new flyer and bobbin assembly for my spinning wheel.  This time, I will be using a  6mm steel rod for the axle instead of wood. I made a new bobbin to fit the new axle.  Initially, I tried to use old CDs for the bobbin ends but abandoned the idea because I thought it will take more time to make.  So, I ended up turning the ends on my lathe again.  For now, I stayed with the PVC for the bobbin core, but in the future, I will probably make bobbins entirely of wood as I can now turn faster with my new gouging chisels and the tool rest I hacked.

For the orifice, I am suppose to use a PVC pipe but ended up using a steel rod instead, only because I wanted to practice on my metal turning.  It took me more than half a day to bore a hole through the rod.  I will definitely use wood in the future.  I am trying a new flyer configuration where the whorl is mounted near the orifice.  And since I also want to use double treadle with two arms to spin the wheel, I guess I will have to rework the spinning wheel entirely.

Meanwhile, I am back to using a drop spindle.  I made a new one. This time a top whorl spindle.  I turned a two inch diameter disc for the whorl and used a cheap 6mm bamboo knitting needle for the spindle.  I decided to use the entire length of the needle, about 14 inches.  That way, I can still use the needle for knitting if I need it again.  The extra length gives me plenty of room to hold and it seems to reduce wobbling when I spin.

As for the cotton, I am now using natural cotton fiber.  A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to attend a free seminar on cotton production sponsored by H.A.B.I. The guest speaker was Dr. Edison C. Rinen,  Regional Director of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority.  At the seminar, I met someone from the the textile industry who was willing to sell me some cotton fiber.  Two days after, I was at their factory to pick up the cotton I ordered.  Shipping the cotton via LBC cost several times more than the cost of the cotton.  The staff at Nooks was very kind to offer me a tour of their facility.  I naturally accepted!  

I also found some tiny cotton carders at a local mall and bought a pair to try them out. Exactly what Phreadde Davis suggested in his blog Spindlicity.  They are not actually carders but combs for cats, but they are made of the same material.  So this finally solved my cotton preparation problem.  With the carder and natural cotton fiber, I can now make better punis.  In fact, the more time I spend preparing the cotton, the easier it is to draft.  I can now spin faster and the yarn thickness is more consistent now with less lump.

To summarize, if you are in the Phillipines and want to take up yarn spinning to complement your crochet and knitting, or even weaving, it is very much possible.  Like knitting, you do not need expensive tools or equipments.  With Php 500 or less, you can probably spin enough yarn to knit a cardigan.  We can buy carders at the mall or petshops.  For drop spindles, you can use an old knitting needle and CD discs.  For natural cotton fibers, though a bit short on supply, we can still buy some locally and not import anything.   H.A.B.I. and the Philippine Fiber Industry Davelopment Authority are doing their best to revive the cotton industry by encouraging farmers to plant cotton again.  If more people decides to spin yarn, demand for cotton will definitely increase and this will definitely help encourage our farmers to plant more cotton.

My First Skein...

I finished plying my single yarn and wound it around the niddy-noddy I made out of a pvc pipe I scavenged around the house.  I bought some cap ends and t-connector at a local hardware to assemble the niddy-noddy and make it look nicer.

The two-ply yarn made about 50 loops around the niddy-noddy and the loop was about 30 inches when stretched.  I spun about 3000 inches or 250 feet of 2-ply yarn (or 500 feet of single-ply yarn).

It weighs about 37 grams. I took some yarn and knitted a small swatch.  The yarn thickness is irregular and has lots of lumps, but after knitting several rows, I got the hang of it. So, it is possible to spin a roll of medical cotton into a yarn and knit it into something.

Next I boiled the yarn for few minutes in a soapy water and rinsed it afterwards. This is to permanently set the twist on the yarn.

After hanging the yarn to dry, I have my first skein of yarn!

What's next?  Well, I have found a source of natural cotton fiber.  I bought 2 kilos, which will probably last for a while.  I can not wait to spin them but i have to rework my spinning wheel, or probably even make a new one similar to our traditional wheel.

My First Spinning Wheel...

Still feverish with the spinning bug that bit me, I have been spending the couple of days building my first spinning wheel, complete with flyer and bobbin assembly.  I based my wheel on the dodec design which can be found plenty on the internet.  I decided not to build the dodec wheel out of wood but instead, use a bicycle wheel to save time.  Except for the wheel, the screws and the nuts and bolts, most are recycled materials.  It took me some time to get it working.  I had to re-make the flyer whorl several times because the drive band keeps on slipping and the flyer will not turn.  I found out that for whorls, you use V-groove to get more traction while for bobbins, you use U-groove and should be very smooth to allow for the scotch tension to slip.  It seems to work now.  I can make minute adjustments on the scotch tension to control the rate the bobbin pulls and winds the yarn.  But the spinning wheel still needs a lot of work and tweaking.  I have to redo the treadle.  With the light and simple spindle assembly, the treadle works fine, but with the flyer and bobbin, the treadle will not work at all.  I have to crank the wheel with my hand. So far, all the problems I have encountered, can also be found on a good commercially produced spinning wheel, so I guess mine is ok for now.

But, even if I managed to perfect my wheel, still there is one factor I have not addressed.  Fiber preparation, particularly cotton.  I am still using medical cotton to test my wheel and it is very difficult to draft.  In the west, spinners use a special tool called carders to prepare fibers, or they can buy fibers in different forms like sliver, rover, roll logs, punis... these are ready for spinning.  However, we do not have these in our country.  We do have spinning traditions here in our country.  I believe, if I am not mistaken, it was in Ilocos where the masts of the great galleons of the west were weaved.  But, tabacco industry later became more profitable, and we lost the cotton industry.  I still have not found any reference as to how we traditionally prepare our cotton for weaving.  I am pretty sure we did not use carders.  But our traditional hand cranked spinning wheels were very much like the ones used in other asian countries, like in Laos.  In Laos, they use a simple tool similar to a bow, and they use the string part to beat a pile of cotton inside a basket until it is all fluffy.  Then with a long thin stick, they rolled the fluffy cotton tightly into a punis form similar to India.  Carders, I can not make, but a bow with a string, and a basket, that I can make.  Our ancestors probably use the same technique.  There are still a few weavers in Ilocos which still use the old method, maybe I should take a visit.

Flyer and bobbin assembly...

 B

Spindle attachment...

Sample one ply yarn...

Whorl groove.. and scotch tension...