Recycled Sari Silk
A project that once was secret can now be revealed!
A Hat for Ella
Material: Handspun Recycled Sari Silk
Pattern: Improvised top down baby hat
A friend had a baby recently, and I wanted to make something special for her. I had recently purchased some spinning fiber from Paradise Fibers, including some recycled sari silk spinning fiber. This fiber is generally the left overs cut from looms used to weave saris (silk garments worn by women in India). The sale of this fiber helps women in India and Nepal.
I have seen yarn for sale that is made of sari silk, but generally that is pink or red. I was so excited to get a grab bag of colours so I could pick and choose and blend colours as I chose.
Before spinning from this material you need to separate the clumps and knots. I used scissors to cut the twine and knots that were holding the silk together. I spun half a bobbin’s worth because my project was small.
I cast on several stitches and knit in the round increasing quickly at first to keep the crown of the hat flat. I knit the body of the hat in ribbing to give it the stretch it needed.
The hat was completely improvised. I was sort of in zen mode when I was doing this entire project, so I didn’t stop to take notes. This project seemed almost to make itself–don’t you love it when that happens? I think it must have been the lovely colours of the silk.
I packed up the hat, mailed it off to my friend, and heard very recently that it arrived, and that it is a big success! It turns out that my friend also has a similar adult-sized hat made from recycled sari silk. I can’t wait to see matchy pictures of mother and baby.
I had never used this kind of silk before. I had such fun experimenting with colour combinations, and creating the pattern. It is important sometimes to dive right in to the creative process and let it take over. Sometimes the results will astound you!
