Skein #17 Flax Medium Yarn, Dry Spun

Image 1: Fiber Sample Image 2: Yarn Skein Image 3: Yarn Detail

Fiber

Flax

Type

Tow top

Reason for choice of this sample

This is a commonly available commercial flax tow. Tow is not expected to be the best quality fiber, but it still needed to be reworked to be able to spin an even yarn.

Source

Louet Superfine Flax Top from Carolina Homespun — San Francisco, California

Preparation for spinning

Brushed fiber pulled from the top to create a pile of better arranged short fiber.

Equipment used

Dog brush, flyer spinning wheel

Type of spinning

Short forward draft

Direction of Twist

Z

Number of plies

1

Finishing

Washed and blocked

Suggested uses

Weft for utility fabrics such as sacking. A firmly woven fabric will be very durable. As a single for crochet or a two ply for knitting, it can be used for dishcloths. The fiber will soften with use, but right now it is quite harsh.

Notes

Maximum 54 points

Examiner 1: 40

Examiner 2: 39

Pretty much the same as before: nice spinning, not finished. This was the only one I did of commercial tow, because the directions said to use both tow and line. All the others are from line flax even if the actual yarn was spun from tow. It's horrible stuff, one person said it looked like mulch. And, yes, re-combing tow flax with a dog brush is as annoying as it sounds.