Cassie Dickson on Textiles & Tea.
I discovered a weaver and aficionado of old-time crafts in Cassie Dickson. You could even say I have a big craft crush on her, doing a lot of the things I'd like to be doing. ;-) There is so much in the episode above that I took 4 pages of notes!
Besides weaving coverlet reproductions, she also grows and processes flax for spinning and weaving linen. I'm not that serious about fiber, nor do I have the land to grow a crop like that. She has also grown silk worms for the last 30 years for the fiber. I've decided this is something I definitely want to try next spring. We have so many mulberry trees in the neighborhood that I think it will be do-able. And really only a 2-month commitment while the worms are growing and spinning in early summer.
She cited Flourishing Filaments as the source of her silkworm eggs. You can get a vial of 200 eggs for about $15, along with a quick start guide to raising them. That seems reasonable to me!
If the critters don't grow, Flourishing Filaments also sell silk cocoons and fiber if you want to work that part of the process, too. Cassie said that she saves toilet paper tubes, and cuts them down to make chambers for the silk worms to make their cocoons. So I guess I should start saving TP tubes in preparation!
I think it would be fun to do it at least one time. At the very least, I would develop an appreciation for the production of silk, and then just buy it ready made for weaving. I have purchased ERI Peace silk, that does not require killing the moths to make it. ;-)
With that thought, I leave you with Liziqi's sericulture / silk worm episode:
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