How to Make a Silk Cocoon Into a Hankie
A "hankie" is a single silkworm cocoon spread out into a large square. It is called a mawata in Japanese. Hankies are usually made from cocoons that aren't suitable for making silk thread on special machines that unravel the cocoons. Mawatas are used for spinning silk yarn as well as padding inside Japanese garments. Silk yarn is sturdy and can be knit like any other yarn. It has a sheen that you won't find in any other natural fiber.
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Things You'll Need
- Four 8-inch long pieces of 1-by-1 wood or
- One 8-inch to 10-inch wood picture frame
- Small metal corner braces and nails
- Four 1- to 1-1/2-inch nails
- Silk cocoons
- 1 capful of laundry soap
- 1/4 cup washing soda
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- Towels
- Disposable gloves
Instructions
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1
Make a square frame with four 8-inch long, 1-by-1-inch pieces of wood and four corner brackets. Nail a 1- or 1-1/2-inch nail in the front of each corner. Or, put one nail in the front of each corner of a small wooden picture frame. You will use the nails to hold the corners of the silk hankies as you make them.
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2
Soak the cocoons in a gallon of simmering soapy water with 1/4 cup washing soda. This dissolves the silk gum that holds the cocoons together. Take them out when they can be easily squeezed out of shape but before they loose all their structure. The silk should be beginning to unravel.
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3
Wiggle open the end, without breaking the fibers, and take out the caterpillar. Discard the caterpillar, or rinse and feed to your chickens if you have some.
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4
Stretch a cocoon into a rectangle about 8 inches square, using your fingers to spread the fibers apart and working slowly. Hook the hankie on the nails on the corner of your frame and keep stretching it until you have a lacy square. The edges will be a little thicker than the center. After you finish the first square, make more hankies and stack them on top of one another.
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5
Very carefully pour 2 quarts of water with 1/4-cup of vinegar through the stack of hankies to remove the soap and washing soda. Place the hankie stack on a towel and lay another towel on top. Roll the towels and squeeze them to dry the stack of hankies. Unroll the towels and let the stack of hankies rest on a stack of paper towels to completely dry.
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6
Peel off one very thin silk hankie at a time. Break the center of the hankie and start stretching it into a circle of yarn. Work your way around the circle, stretching carefully until the yarn is as thin as you want it to be for spinning or knitting. Break the loop to make a long string.
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Tips & Warnings
Silk caps are a very similar preparation, but instead of being spread on a square, they are stretched over a round frame.
Smooth any rough skin on your hands, or wear disposable gloves, otherwise the silk will snag.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit schwarze maulbeeren image by romy mitterlechner from Fotolia.com
