paper yarn
raw material
drop spindle and antique factory bobbin
paper spun to drop spindle
yarn unwound from drop spindle
finished product on old bobbin
In May I made some hand spun yarn. I had seen the post about paper yarn here, http://greenupgrader.com/2138/handspun-recycled-newspaper-yarn/, when it first came out. Ever after that I wanted to make some. In April I was a part of an exhibit of items made from recycled books, magazines and newspaper for Earth month at the Big Rock Library in Big Rock, Illinois. I made the paper “yarn” for myself, but the motivation to get to do it was the exhibit. And indeed it was on display at the library.
I followed the instruction on the website. I made paper strips and decided to use all strips from the comic section so it would be more colorful. I watched several videos of women spinning paper with a drop spindle. My drop spindle is unfinished wood so I first covered the spindle with blue painters tape to keep the ink off the spindle. Then I began to spin. DISASTER. The paper yarn was spun tight and ripped by spindle and the twist did not go up the paper like it did in the videos. I also could not get two strips to join just by folding them together.
Here’s what I ended up doing. I twisted the yarn by hand gently with my fingers. When I had most of a strip done, I wound it around the drop spindle. Then I glued the next strip to the old one, and repeated this for the entire pile of strips over several days. The drop spindle could have just been any dowel. After I finished with the quantity of paper yard I wanted, I unwrapped it from the drop spindle onto the floor then wound it nicely around an antique bobbin from a textile factory that I was in the garage.
I love the way it looks, but it is absolutely useless. If I couldn’t spin it without breaking it, there is no way I could ever actually use it as yarn. That’s OK. I always thought I wanted some. I now have some– for looks.
In non-knitting news, my DS has graduated from high school. He is searching for a job and gearing up for college next month. I am busy making crochet valances for a friend’s house. I also endured three weeks of poison ivy rash. We are enjoying the summer weather and long days immensely.
Linda G. Knits 