Silk Hankies

I discovered some silk hankies at The Fiber Event this year and decided that it was time to learn to play with this amazing form of silk.

The hankies are roughly the size of a hankerchief--10"x10" and consist of many layers of silk cocoons that have been stretched on a frame.

Each gossamer layer of silk can be separated from the rest of the hankies, stretched and used as an unspun yarn or be spun.










To start, I peel off one layer of silk hanky, poke a hole in the center and then start to stretch the hole to make it larger.















Soon, I have a large circle of silk. These fiber can be pulled pretty fine. I pulled mine a little more than what I show in the photo.















After attenuating the fibers to the desired thickness, I break the circle open and wind the fibers into little nests that are ready to use for knitting or spinning.


I love the way the colors blend as the hankies are stretched!