Spinning Qiviut

Qiviut is a short staple and is spun in the same manner as cotton or cashmere. In fact, before I started spinning the qiviut, I actually practiced on cotton and then cashmere. I controlled the twist a little by pinching and releasing near the orifice while spinning with a long backward draw.

I used the highest ratio on my double treadle Lendrum with a looser tension than I would normally use.  I tried to keep the bobbin evenly filled with such a fine singles. By placing a small strip of cardboard on the bobbin and then evenly filling it, I was able to find a singles end in the event the thread snapped. This was extremely helpful, as I think if I hadn't done this I never would have found the end.

It was difficult to get started, but after I spent a little time working with it, it was most enjoyable.

Now I'll need to full this (cringe!) before it's useable!

Qiviut Project - De-Hairing

As a spinner, I know that mistakes are really just learning experiences. That said, I’d rather make mistakes with a more common fiber than qiviut. First though, I must wash and de-hair it. 

I researched the process of de-hairing and it seemed simple enough. Pull out the guard hairs. But when I sat to do it, I was overcome with a sense of dread. What if I didn’t pull out all the guard hair? What if I pulled out too much? Are all the hairs guard hairs? I didn’t want to waste any of this fiber.

I researched the process and spoke to as many people as I could before I even opened the bag. Here are the things I learned, the steps I followed, and some tips I picked up along the way.

Step 1: Wash

Before de-hairing, wash the fiber. I used a no rinse wool wash and cool water. Fill a sink or tub with enough water to cover the fiber two or three times over. Add wool wash. Press the fiber against the bottom of the sink several times. 

Drain the water, press out the excess, rinse if needed, repeat if needed, and let it dry on a screen (preferably in the sun, but over the tub also works). Some of the guard hair will come out in the wash. I recommend putting a strainer in the sink drain to catch most of it before it goes down the pipe.

Step 2: Supplies

I don’t recommend de-hairing the qiviut all at once, but instead a small bit at a time. It takes longer to de-hair this fiber than I thought it would. 

• An apron helps keep your cloths clean
• A soft flat pillow or foam board with a clean white pillowcase
• Really really really good over shoulder AND task lighting
• Tweezers for stubborn hairs and vegetable matter
• A small sharp pair of scissors for clipping any sticky bits or flakes
• Three small plastic sandwich zip top bags

Step 3: De-hair

As the process seemed to take longer than I expected, I decided a comfortable chair with my feet up was the best option for me, but you could work easily standing at the kitchen counter or sitting at a table. I used plastic sandwich bags, but you could use brown paper or other containers.

I found that a small draft, small child, and small to medium sized cat would stir up the fibers and mix the fluff back with the guard hairs in an undesirable manner if I did not keep the fiber (or cat) well contained. I used the bags to keep the fiber separated while I worked the guard hairs out of the main fiber mass. I liked being able to close the bags and leave the work if I needed or wanted to.

To De-hair:

• Take a deep breath. 
• Put a modest amount of the washed fiber in one sandwich bag. One very small handful is enough to deal with at one time.
• Put the pillow in your lap, making sure that the end farthest away from you is a little higher than the closer end, and the center of the pillow is slightly depressed. Alternatively, a foam board works well on a counter or table, with the far end propped up about 1 inch.
• Have your hand tools ready and the three sandwich bags very close by.
• Remove a few pinches of the raw fiber from baggie one and examine it in good light.
• If your fiber has been removed in a sheet, you will notice that there is a top and bottom, the top has mostly guard hairs, the bottom fluff. This will of course depend on the fiber you have purchased.

Top

Bottom

Side

• If the fiber has been collected from plants etc, it may not have the top and bottom, so tease it out a little until it’s a fluffy mass that gives you access to the middle and edges.
• Hold the fiber so the light shines on top of it. You can see that the guard hairs are thick and shiny, resembling thick thick human hair.
• Hold the fiber so the light shines through it. You can see that the guard hairs are thicker and darker than the surrounding fiber. Some of the hairs will be almost straight, some will loop around within the fluff
• Note the consistency of the down. It looks like crimpy cotton ball fluff.
• Have a look for any flakes and vegetable matter and note where it is.

• Gently spread the fiber on the pillow (trying not to tease it completely apart) with the top up and pick out any hairs or vegetation around the circumference
• Look in the center of the mass and pluck out the guard hairs you can see. These are likely sticking out and up. Pull them out and place in a pile on an upper side of the pillow. Put any vegetable matter or flakes on the other side.
• Use the tweezers for any hairs or vegetation you can see but can’t quite get with your fingers
• Pinch the fiber between your thumb and forefinger. The guard hairs that are long enough will stick out.
• Roll the fiber between your fingers and pull out any guard hairs or vegetation you see. Use a light touch when rolling the fiber.
• Now, hold the fluff up to the light source and look for any thicker black lines running through. Pick those out (likely using tweezers).
• Spread the fiber out on the pillow. Use the tweezers to pull out any skin flakes. Use scissors to sparingly clip out any large sticky pieces.
• Put the cleaned de-haired fiber in a new baggie, and the guard hairs in another baggie. Throw away the clippings and vegetable matter.

Repeat Step 3, refilling your un-de-haired bag as needed. Breathe often.

This process works for other fibers with guard hairs like llama, alpaca, and Maine Coon cat.

How Much Hair to De-Hair?

The short answer is - everything you see. Guard hairs left in and spun will be scratchy against the skin. I was careful to stretch the fiber out and shine good light through it to find all the hairs I could. Most of the hairs were long, but there were also some thick broken pieces that I removed as well. 

Down and Hair

There is an tntermediate fiber, a touch heavier and a darker, but definitely not guard hair. I did remove some of this intermediate fiber with the guard hairs. If you are looking at the fiber mass under good light, you can see this intermediate hair is different than the down. It seems to have less crimp at the ends and looks almost curly. You could easily remove more of the intermediate fiber as well, but be sure to save it. I decided to leave as much in as possible. By weight, I lost 30%.

The downy portion of the qiviut is very soft and wonderful for items that will be worn next to the skin. The guard hairs, though too scratchy to we worn next to the skin, have a nice luster, and through the de-hairing process , you will have some of the down and/or intermediate fiber mixed in with the hairs. I think it can be nicely blended with a wool and spun into a thicker yarn that might work well in a rug. I plan to test out this theory later!

Qiviut Project - The Fiber

Several years ago, I attended a spinning workshop where each participant was asked to bring a project to show and tell the group about. The last person to show her project held up a large glass jar about one quarter full of small fuzzy grey balls. “This is qiviut.” she told the group, and proceeded to describe how she knew a researcher, working in the arctic. He had collected the little balls of qiviut fuzz from the bushes and ground where musk ox had been foraging. The musk ox naturally molt in the spring and shed the very soft under down, leaving it on bushes they rub against, and in areas they frequent. The qiviut had been collected over several years, until there was enough to “make something with”. She described the process of teasing open the little fuzz balls, removing vegetable matter and guard hairs with tweezers, and sorting fiber before spinning. She then gingerly removed the ‘something’ from a plastic zip bag. She unfolded the knitted square to reveal a beautiful triangular lace shawl, worked in colored rows ranging from almost white to almost black. One touch of the garment and I was already plotting how I would obtain some to spin for myself.

Qiviut, qiviuq, sometimes spelled qiveut, is a much coveted fiber. Qiviut (pronounced "kiv-ee-ute") can be collected either by being plucked or combed from the coat or collected from whatever the musk ox have brushed against. It can sometimes be removed from the hide by other methods. Qiviut is stronger than sheep’s wool, and does not shrink. It’s softer than cashmere and warmer than wool. The fiber also has less oil and is thus drier than sheeps wool, but should be washed to remove actual dirt.

I was fortunate enough to find myself in possession of 2.06 ounces of raw unprocessed qiviut from the Large Animal Research Station in Alaska, combed from a musk ox lovingly named ‘Bludgeon’. The fiber is grey with brown undertones and nondescript to look at straight from the bag. Of course I stuck my whole hand right into the middle of the bag. Pure luxury. Soft, warm, beautiful.