Milkweed Spinning

Gosh, it is cold here in San Diego.  It was 35 degrees this morning, and I had frost on my windshield when I left for work.  Despite the chill, I decided to work on some milkweed spinning this weekend.  The variety is Asclepias eriocarpa, found in patches at many locations in the local mountains here in San Diego. The common name is Indian Milkweed and it is has been used widely by the local Native Americans for belts, rope, twine, nets, etc.  Hohenthal (2001: 178) noted that milkweed (axor) cordage was used by the Tipai as sewing thread until it was replaced by common cotton thread.  

I had stalks from a few plants that I collected from the local mountains.  The stalks were dry, but not too dry. I broke the outer stem a bit to loosen up the fibers.

I just did a little finger spinning.  I tried clockwise and counter-clockwise, and spinning to the left seemed to work out better for the singles.  Plus an ample supply of spit on my fingers helped a lot.  Notice the workbench which I moved from my mother's house. It's going to be just perfect for my projects.  In the photo above, you can see the spun (left) and unspun fibers as I work through them.

A small sample of two ply.  I did a few from several different stalks.  One stalk was still rather green.  It's a fine line between too green and too dry.  I'll try some additional stalks when it warms up a bit.  Brrr!

Hohenthal, William D.
2001  Tipai Ethnographic Notes: A Baja California Indian Community at Mid-Century.  Ballena Press Anthropological Papers No. 48, edited by Thomas C. Blackburn.