My experiments with Nambu - an indigenous sheep wool variety from Ladakh, began when I applied for a handloom, cluster development project with Looms of Ladakh. The idea was to explore fine hand-spun yarns and weaves with the wool fiber supplied by the cooperative society.
The lambswool fibre was handspun into fine count, single ply yarn on a portable, box charkha. For this, only the thinnest possible sliver was taken from the wool top.
Another experiment for spinning involved bleaching of the lambswool fibre with Oxylife Creme Bleach normally used for bleaching facial skin. The product contained Hydrogen Peroxide, which was less damaging for wool. The bleach cream was allowed to stay on the wool fibres for 30-40 minutes before gently washing in cold water.
Very little hand was used during washing in order to prevent the fibres from losing their parallel alignment. The bleached fibres were then spun into fine, single ply yarns.
(Above) Inspiration and exploration of warp and weft layouts.
The handspun lambswool yarns were then warped on a simple, rectangular frame. Because of their fineness and irregular twist, the yarns were fragile and were shedding fibers while weaving.
Dense weaving was not possible as planned, hence, a loose plain weave was attempted in the weft.
The woven sample was further layered with strands of lambswool in a lattice pattern and hand-felted. This was an attempt at stabilizing the loose weave.
After an hour of hand-felting with Ezee detergent and hot water, the sample was calendered to flatten any wool fibres sticking out.
The lattice pattern of the sample was further outlined by embroidery, using a whipped running stitch. Madder dyed pashmina yarn was used for the same.
