I had the happy chance to come across Ruth MacGregor at Convergence this summer. She is a believer in spinning silk on spindles! What a wonderful person, and a great teacher, too.She got me spinning with Tussah silk, and I chose to buy her lightweight spindle (pictured here and available on Ruth's website), which was amazingly simple to do. I was so thrilled with it, of course I had to get a few ounces to spin with! The silk you see on the spindle is from Ruth as well.
Spinning silk has a different feel than spinning with wool, as it doesn't want to grab onto itself nearly as much as wool likes to. And because the staple tends to be much longer, it allows you to draft with a bit longer draw.
I am told that Tussah silk is the easiest to spin, but not to be dissuaded, I purchased some Bombyx silk top from Susan's Fiber Shop, and I am saving it for a time when I'm feeling a little cocky about my spinning skills. I have also gotten a very lightweight spindle to spin it with (more about that later), as I am likely to spin it quite fine to use either for weaving or for knitted lace.
