Hello all,

I was wondering if any of you weave with raw fibre and if so, how?

Normal weaving I get fine, but if you only have a single strand of fibre for the 'weft' then you will need to connect to the next strand at some point. Do you just twist them together? It doesn't seem super secure but I guess the weft is generally not under a lot of tension and the weave itself might keep it secure. Another approach might be to twist up a 2 ply twine from the fibre then you can splice new fibre in to continue the weft quite easily.
As for the warp strands they need to sustain more tension, in the past I've made them 2 ply twisted from fibre, I definitely wouldn't trust just twisting one fibre strand into the next one in this case.
I work with fibre a fair bit and would like to open up some more designs that aren't just balearic or apache  :)

weft vs warp: https://buddhajeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/warp-weft-diagram-1024-1.png

I have never woven with plain fiber, or seen it done anywhere. The closest I can think of is coiled basket making with grass, and that is very thick and rigid.

I recently spun some plumbers hemp into very fine two ply thread using a drop spindle, that would be the best way to produce a woven pouch from unspun fiber.

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I have found an example of weaving with unspun fibre, they seem to be making mats/rugs out of it here:

https://youtu.be/Ust6Bh1D3GY

I dont really get the design we are talking about. Weaving with fiber to make a pouch or to make cords?
From the video david posted I can think of applying it to make egyptian style pouches with a cords-fibers combo, it might be easier on some aspects because you'll be passing shorter fibers ~60cm instead of a cord 5-10m but more difficult to keep a consistent width of the pouch.


David Morningstar wrote on Mar 12^th, 2022 at 9:01am:

have found an example of weaving with unspun fibre, they seem to be making mats/rugs out of it here: https://youtu.be/Ust6Bh1D3GY

matts like that are sold in street markets but they are made of old ripped clothes or leather scraps.

David Morningstar wrote on Mar 12^th, 2022 at 9:01am:

I have found an example of weaving with unspun fibre, they seem to be making mats/rugs out of it here: https://youtu.be/Ust6Bh1D3GY

Yes, that's basically what I'm looking for! I guess it is possible like that then. Might have to give it a try.


Sarosh wrote on Mar 12^th, 2022 at 3:42pm:

I dont really get the design we are talking about. Weaving with fiber to make a pouch or to make cords?

A pouch, and yes this is my sort of plan. I think the main concern for me is what to do with the fibre ends, do you just leave them out and expect it to not unravel?

JudoP wrote on Mar 19^th, 2022 at 9:53am:

what to do with the fibre ends, do you just leave them out and expect it to not unravel?

the fibers should start and end in the middle of the weave and the ends should overlap like a two row brickwall.
If you add tufts of fibers without turning them back in at the edges then you'd have to knot or braid the edges in flat pouch, or have a ridge in the middle of a cupped pouch. I think it's doable but may look bad.

If you try it tell us your insights.