I had a lovely customer of mine named Jane ask about spinning bamboo fibre and I thought I'd experiment and do a blog post for others who may be interested as well.
Bamboo fibre compared to wool is much silkier, softer and lighter. I would consider this to be a more intermediate to advanced fibre to spin on it's own due to its slippery, silky nature. The staple length is approximately 10cm long.
I'm spinning on my Super Jumbo e-spinner as always. I'd suggest spinning on a low speed (or treadling slower) to avoid the yarn being pulled out of your hand (again due to the slipperiness of the fibre).
Once spun, the yarn the yarn has a firm, dense feel to it. I decided to spin a thick and thin single (mainly because the fibre is so slippery that thick and thin came quite naturally) and ply it with brushed mohair yarn for strength. The yarn itself is gorgeous and has a great shine to it. I've created what would be considered a super bulky- jumbo yarn at 4 WPI.WPI is Wraps Per Inch which means how many times a yarn can be wrapped around a 1 inch space on a ruler.
While I mentioned that spinning pure bamboo fibre is more suited to intermediate to advanced spinners, bamboo fibre works a treat when blended with other fibres. Here is a yarn I spun from a blend of bamboo, wool, cotton, Angelina and nepps.
