Post by teriann on Apr 1, 2012 20:19:45 GMT
The fibers inside the seed pods of butterfly and common milkweed have such a nice sheen I had to try adding them into some felt.
Removing the seeds from the dry fibers was a bit of trouble.
The fibers are very light and lift off and fly away even without a breeze.
I removed the fibers and seeds from the pods and shook them in a ziplock bag until the seeds fell to the bottom
Next time I will separate them before they are dry.
The dry fibers were too fragile to card. They look like silk but they are very brittle.
I wanted to card them into some cormo wool but the fibers break down into fuzz that resembles tussah silk noiles.
I wanted to keep the fiber length and sheen.
I ended up laying down a thin layer of cormo then laying the milkweed fiber on top.
I squeezed on my usual soap and hot water mixture.
Where the liquid hit the fibers it turned bright yellow.
I opened my squeeze bottle and looked inside thinking there must have been something yellow in my bottle. But that wasn't the case.
It seems that the fiber is PH sensitive. It turns yellow from the soap/detergent.
Completely rinsing or adding a little vinegar changes it back to white.
The sample is 7"x7". The blend of cormo and milkweed is about as soft and as strong as cormo alone but with a lot more texture and some silk like sheen
It's hard to photograph. But here's a pict
Removing the seeds from the dry fibers was a bit of trouble.
The fibers are very light and lift off and fly away even without a breeze.
I removed the fibers and seeds from the pods and shook them in a ziplock bag until the seeds fell to the bottom
Next time I will separate them before they are dry.
The dry fibers were too fragile to card. They look like silk but they are very brittle.
I wanted to card them into some cormo wool but the fibers break down into fuzz that resembles tussah silk noiles.
I wanted to keep the fiber length and sheen.
I ended up laying down a thin layer of cormo then laying the milkweed fiber on top.
I squeezed on my usual soap and hot water mixture.
Where the liquid hit the fibers it turned bright yellow.
I opened my squeeze bottle and looked inside thinking there must have been something yellow in my bottle. But that wasn't the case.
It seems that the fiber is PH sensitive. It turns yellow from the soap/detergent.
Completely rinsing or adding a little vinegar changes it back to white.
The sample is 7"x7". The blend of cormo and milkweed is about as soft and as strong as cormo alone but with a lot more texture and some silk like sheen
It's hard to photograph. But here's a pict
