Subscriber Exclusive
Yarn Lab: A Luscious Blend from Sanjo Silk
Liz Moncrief sampled with Sanjo Silk's Silk Linen, a yarn she was already a fan of. Her sampling solidified her love for this beautiful blend.
In the January/February 2022 issue of Handwoven, Liz Moncrief sampled using Sanjo Silk's Silk Linen Yarn. She liked the yarn so much she wove a beautiful scarf using it for her final sample. You can find a link to that pattern towards the end of this post. - Susan
One of my new favorite yarns is Sanjo Silk’s Silk Linen, a Swiss-made blend of silk and linen that I buy at the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada, where the yarn is dyed in-house. During the COVID-19 border closings, I have missed occasional trips to the Vancouver area from northern Washington State, but thankfully, a few clicks on the Sanjo Silk website keeps my looms humming.
Photos below by Matt Graves unless otherwise noted
THE YARN
Silk Linen from Sanjo Silk (7,440 yd/lb; 65% silk/35% linen), 24 colorways.
The dyers at the Silk Weaving Studio use an acid dye for the Silk Linen. This particular dye strikes the silk with a consistent hue but gives the linen just a hint of the color, resulting in a heathered look overall.
Though I think of this as a “shaggy-chic” member of yarn royalty, Silk Linen has all the elegant glossiness of silk and the interesting crispness of linen once it’s washed and ironed. That’s not all—it also has occasional slubs of linen and an overall slightly uneven spin to give the yarn character. These characteristics can also sometimes cause a sticky shed, but I found that high tension helped my sheds open up cleanly. Using light hair spray on an open shed also works well (and washes out during wet-finishing).
I used Silk Linen for both warp and weft in all of the samples. I handwashed the swatches and laid them flat to dry, except for the waffle sample, which went into the dryer on medium heat for 20 minutes with no appreciable change in the fabric. I believe this yarn would also work well as weft on a 20/2 pearl cotton warp.
Huck Lace
In the January/February 2022 issue of Handwoven, Liz Moncrief sampled using Sanjo Silk's Silk Linen Yarn. She liked the yarn so much she wove a beautiful scarf using it for her final sample. You can find a link to that pattern towards the end of this post. - Susan
One of my new favorite yarns is Sanjo Silk’s Silk Linen, a Swiss-made blend of silk and linen that I buy at the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada, where the yarn is dyed in-house. During the COVID-19 border closings, I have missed occasional trips to the Vancouver area from northern Washington State, but thankfully, a few clicks on the Sanjo Silk website keeps my looms humming.
Photos below by Matt Graves unless otherwise noted
THE YARN
Silk Linen from Sanjo Silk (7,440 yd/lb; 65% silk/35% linen), 24 colorways.
The dyers at the Silk Weaving Studio use an acid dye for the Silk Linen. This particular dye strikes the silk with a consistent hue but gives the linen just a hint of the color, resulting in a heathered look overall.
Though I think of this as a “shaggy-chic” member of yarn royalty, Silk Linen has all the elegant glossiness of silk and the interesting crispness of linen once it’s washed and ironed. That’s not all—it also has occasional slubs of linen and an overall slightly uneven spin to give the yarn character. These characteristics can also sometimes cause a sticky shed, but I found that high tension helped my sheds open up cleanly. Using light hair spray on an open shed also works well (and washes out during wet-finishing).
I used Silk Linen for both warp and weft in all of the samples. I handwashed the swatches and laid them flat to dry, except for the waffle sample, which went into the dryer on medium heat for 20 minutes with no appreciable change in the fabric. I believe this yarn would also work well as weft on a 20/2 pearl cotton warp.
Huck Lace
[PAYWALL]
Huck Lace
Warp: #25 Cornflower.
Weft: #23 Seaweed.
Setts: 30 ends per inch (epi); 30 picks per inch (ppi).
Shrinkage in length: 6%.
Shrinkage in width: 6%.
For my first sample, I opted to use the recommended sett of 30 epi for plain weave because much of this cloth is plain weave. Developing an even beat took some time, but once I had the feel of the placement, 30 epi turned into a balanced weave that also worked well with the effect of the lace. After wet-finishing, the floats lay flat and hung close to the cloth, and the shine of the silk made the pattern stand out.
Waffle Weave
Waffle Weave
Warp: #22 Turquoise, #25 Cornflower, #23 Seaweed, #20 Purple (wound in this order).
Weft: #65 Deep Blue.
Setts: 36 epi; 38 ppi.
Shrinkage in length: 12%.
Shrinkage in width: 12%.
The higher “shrinkage” for this waffle draft didn’t surprise me a bit. Waffle weave can sometimes draw the finished cloth in as much as 50 percent; therefore, the shrinkage could be appropriately called draw-in for this sample. I assume the actual yarn shrinkage here, as opposed to the draw-in that creates the waffle cells, would be the same as for the other samples. Even without ironing the sample, the waffles were fairly flat. If it’s a defined pocket you’re after, Silk Linen probably isn’t a good choice; however, if you’re looking for a cushy hand and pockets in the cloth for insulation, I believe that waffle weave with Silk Linen would make a fabulous scarf or a wrap.
M’s and O’s
M’s and O’s
Warp: #22 Turquoise, #20 Purple, #25 Cornflower, #23 Seaweed, #65 Deep Blue.
Weft: #65 Deep Blue.
Setts: 30 epi; 30 ppi.
Shrinkage in length: 6%.
Shrinkage in width: 9%.
As in the sample for the waffle draft, this M’s and O’s fabric had pronounced take-up, though it exhibited the 6% shrinkage in the length noted for the other samples. I thought about setting it tighter at 32 to 34 epi to further deflect and draw in the bars of colored warp floats, but that would have compromised the weft in the plain-weave blocks. At 30 epi, the weft floats tucked within warp float bars, which in turn lay down well once washed and lightly pressed. I was happy with the floats and believe that this draft is a good choice for any wearable item.
Advancing Twill
Advancing Twill
Warp: #22 Turquoise, #20 Purple.
Weft: #62 Cayenne, #23 Seaweed.
Setts: 36 epi; 38 ppi.
Shrinkage in length: 6%.
Shrinkage in width: 6%.
For this sample, I chose a draft that would lie flat and show more surface gloss. Using an advancing twill gave me shine from both the weft and the warp with a very compressed surface. I used turquoise and purple in the warp and kept them in strict order so that the deeper purple color shows like a shadow against the brighter turquoise. As in all the samples, the slubs of linen offer plenty of visual texture that breaks up the pattern. When viewed at an angle, the cloth has some iridescence. Because of the nature of advancing twills, they are one of my go-to drafts for wearables. As I expected, this swatch is soft and flowing.
Twill and Plain Weave with Skipped Dents
Twill and Plain Weave with Skipped Dents
Warp: #65 Deep Blue, #23 Seaweed, #25 Cornflower, #22 Turquoise, #62 Cayenne.
Weft: #20 Purple as base with assorted stripes.
Setts: 24 epi for plain weave; 36 epi for twill; 22 ppi.
Shrinkage in length: 9%.
Shrinkage in width: 9%.
For my final sample, I wanted to play with something fun. I combined a loosely sett plain weave with a twill that could be woven at a lower ppi while still maintaining a visible pattern on the surface. The shine of the silk exhibits just enough gloss to bring out the diamonds in the twill pattern at 22 ppi. Using skipped dents created an exceptionally soft and open collapse-type weave, something that works well for scarves and shawls. Additionally, I knew that the yarn had enough texture to be able to hold the woven columns, with just a little drift in the warp. Once the piece was dry and ironed, the open network lays flat so there is little chance of catching so long as the wearer is careful. Editor’s note: Liz sent us a beautiful scarf for this final sample. A free PDF download of the pattern can be found at handwovenmagazine.com/sanjo-silk-scarf-jf22/.
Final Thoughts
I love weaving with fine yarns and had been searching for a silk to mimic the look of so many of the indigenous weavings that I appreciate. Silk Linen yarn is my choice for color availability, visual texture, and character that encompasses both the charm of silk with the coolness of the linen. If you are looking for a fine yarn with interest and some texture, this may be your next favorite, too. I cannot wait to explore more.
