Fibre Information

I wanted to create a reference for some of the more common fibres I use in my weaving to compare and contrast their similarities and differences, and to hopefully help you decide which might work best for your project. This list is not all-inclusive, and I have not tried every fibre from every manufacturing mill, but feel free to ask if you have any questions about something not mentioned here.

Similar fibres can be milled using different techniques and equipment, leading to differences in the finished yarn. I try to be consistent in my sourcing and use yarns that I am familiar with — both in how they will feel after finishing and how they will hold up over time using the recommended washing instructions I provide.

Cottons

Cotton — I source my cotton from Maurice Brassard mainly in Quebec, Canada. It is excellent quality, very soft, and comes in a huge range of colors. I love that this cotton can be machine washed and dried, and is affordable and easy care. In hand it feels quite dry and grippy, with a bit of stiffness that breaks in over time.

Slub Cotton — Slub cotton is basically the regular cotton but with thick and thin parts to how it’s spun. This cotton feels much like 8/2 but is slightly fluffier and thicker in hand.

Ring spun cotton (GYC) — This cotton is slightly fluffier than the Brassard cotton, but it’s not my favourite because it’s SO linty.

16/4 Supima cotton (GYC) — Supima cotton has a longer staple length and is softer than standard cotton. From this particular mill the yarn size is equivalent to 8/2, but feels much smoother in hand than standard ring spun cotton.

Mercerized Cotton — Mercerized cotton is treated and is more shiny than un-mercerized cotton. Also known as perle or pearl cotton, it takes dye well, and the Brassard version is more loosely spun than their un-mercerized cotton.

Cotton/Hemp — This blend is 60% organic cotton and 40% hemp, which is very strong and doesn’t have a lot of stretch — perfect for a baby prison, but does require some breaking in.

Cotton/Linen — This blend is 60% organic cotton and 40% linen, very similar to cotton/hemp, but comes in many pre-dyed solid colors. Excellent grip but does take a bit of breaking in to get it softened up.

Silks

Silk can have a bit of a scent, especially when wet, so that’s good to keep in mind if you’re sensitive to animal smells. The specific scent level can vary by type of silk and the mill it comes from, but is totally normal and expected.

Swiss Mulberry Silk — This 100% mulberry silk yarn comes in a thinner version and a thicker version. Both are a bit fluffy, super shiny, and dye easily.

Tussah Silk — 100% tussah silk is a dry yarn with minimal shine, but with some breaking in becomes drapey and lovely. This yarn comes in thin or thick and can change slightly between mill suppliers.

Bourette Silk — This silk is made from the short fibres left over after reeling and combing silk. It has a dry, matte finish and often a fluffier spin. Bourette silk is much less shiny than mulberry silk and has a cottony rather than a drapey silky feel. This silk is also known as noil silk, and is slightly different when sourced from different mills.

Reeled Silk — This is silk reeled directly from the cocoon in long continuous filaments rather than spun from shorter fibres, which produces an extremely smooth, lustrous, and strong yarn. Significant difference in quality and feel depending on which mill it comes from. This is the smoothest silk I have felt — it feels almost liquid to the point it can be difficult to work with!

MTB Silk — This blend is 80% mulberry silk, 10% tussah silk, and 10% bourette silk — adding a bit of grip and fluff over a 100% mulberry silk yarn, while maintaining most of the drape and shine.

Marine Silk — 51% mulberry silk, 29% merino wool, 20% seacell. This yarn combines the cush of wool with the drape and shine of the silk and seacell for a stellar combination. It dyes well and has beautiful drape with a little fluff and grip. Marine silk comes in thick or thin, and there are different versions available from different mills containing superwash or non-superwash wool.

Seasilk — 70% silk, 30% seacell. This yarn combines the softness of silk with the weight and drape of seacell.

Silk/Linen — 70% silk, 30% linen (this blend % is a baseline, the percentages vary slightly depending on supplier). Mostly silk, this yarn maintains most of the drape and shine of the silk, with some added grip from the linen that will soften with time and use.

Silk/Hemp — 80% silk, 20% hemp (this blend % is a baseline, the percentages vary slightly depending on supplier). Mostly silk, this yarn maintains most of the drape and shine of the silk, with some added grip from the hemp that will soften with time and use.

Wools

Wool and related animal fibres can feel itchy to some people, and most have a distinct scent when wet — just good to keep in mind.

Merino Wool — Merino wool is one of the most popular wools in the world for next-to-skin softness. Wool offers unmatched smoosh factor and dyes beautifully, and has a matte smooth texture, but can feel prickly to some people, especially when mixed with heat. Wool also is known to have a strong smell when wet, so don’t let it surprise you the first time you wash a wool garment. Wool has great temperature regulation qualities which can keep heat in or out.

Superwash Wool — This process treats wool to stop it from felting and makes the fibre smoother. The smoosh of the wool is maintained but these wools are easier to care for than non-superwash wool. The superwash process can be a bit controversial depending on the way it’s treated, but it’s a great option for some people.

Alpaca — This fibre is super soft, lightweight, warmer than wool, and comes from alpacas! Different types of alpacas have different hair types, so yarns can vary quite a bit within this category. Alpaca is frequently blended with other fibres because it doesn’t have memory like wool does, so it can stretch out when wet if not blended with something more solid. Some people still find alpaca a bit prickly, but it can be highly variable depending on the type and the blend.

Baby Camel — Much like alpaca, baby camel fibre is naturally shed from camels and is warm, soft, and lightweight. Its natural color is a beautiful gold, and baby camel is often blended with silk for a lovely drapey soft yarn. Some people are sensitive to baby camel like other animal fibres.

Cashmere — This fibre comes from goats and can vary in quality. Like wool, cashmere is great at temperature regulation and smoosh factor, and has a beautiful halo fuzzy effect.

Other

Tencel — Tencel is a branded lyocell fibre made from wood pulp. Very smooth, drapey, heavy in hand, and shiny, with excellent moisture wicking — feeling cool to the touch. Plant-based and vegan-friendly, dyes well. Machine washable and dryable, which is unusual for such a drapey fibre, making it very popular for wraps. Tencel quality can vary greatly between mills.

SeaCell — Much like Tencel, Seacell is created using a similar lyocell process from seaweed and shares similar qualities. It is shiny and drapey, heavy in hand, and takes dye well.

Bamboo — Like Tencel in drape and sheen, plant-based, very soft and smooth. Bamboo is a rayon/viscose processed yarn and requires more delicate care when compared directly to Tencel. Rayon/viscose cannot be machine dried and is fragile when wet. Bamboo is a lovely choice for scarves or shawls but can be saggy in babywearing applications.

Many other plant fibre yarns such as pineapple, rose, banana, coffee, lavender, lemon, peppermint, etc. are processed and created in a similar manner to bamboo, and must be cared for similarly.

Linen — Plant-based, very strong, dry and grippy hand that softens significantly with washing and use. Low stretch, excellent durability. Sometimes blended with cotton to add softness and loftiness; alone it can take some work to get floppy, as the linen itself is quite stiff and rope-like initially.

Hemp — Similar to linen, very strong and low stretch, slightly coarser initially but softens over time. More sustainable than conventional cotton. Sometimes blended with cotton to add softness and loftiness; alone it can take some work to get floppy, as the hemp itself is quite stiff and rope-like initially.

Kapok — A natural plant fibre from the kapok tree seed pod. Extremely lightweight and fluffy, naturally water resistant, very soft, usually blended with cotton.

Stellina — Often blended into yarns in very small quantities to make it sparkle. This polyester fibre is very soft and not as tactile as some other sparkle filaments used for the same purpose. Stellina can be a fun way to add sparkle to your project without it being scratchy.

If you have questions about anything not covered here, please feel free to reach out to me and I’m happy to help discuss or research!