Sunday Morning Feature:

 In-Depth Study: A Comparative Study of Soy Silk and Bombyx Silk Spun for Use in Tudor and Stuart Embroidery, in Fulfillment of the OHS Master Spinner Certificate ​

with Lisa Wallbank

The gauntlet for a glove, detail

The sweet bag, detail

The sampler, detail

As a long-time embroiderer, I am familiar with the type of English embroidery known as Jacobean. This style is from the later Stuart era, and was done in naturally dyed wool. The motifs were large, and Jacobean embroidery was typically used in wall hangings as well as for bed curtains

In December of 2009, a story was featured in our local newspaper telling about Plimoth Plantation, an American museum near Boston Massachusetts, that  recreated the Layton jacket found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.  Over 250 embroiderers from all over the world volunteered to work on this project - 3700 hours in total! This jacket dates from the first years of the Stuart monarchy, and was done in the style of embroidery initially made popular during the Elizabethan era. It was the first time that I had ever seen this type of embroidery, and I was completely captivated. This embroidery is composed of small flower and insect motifs, framed by tendrils of plants, replete with sparkling hand-made sequins, and was used primarily for clothing. It is detailed, delicate, intricate, and the embroidery was done in naturally dyed silk threads that were commercially available at the time. Textiles coming through Italy from trade with the Far East, heavily influenced this style of learning. Herbal books, popular at the time, had a heavy influence in this style of embroidery. As a historian, I was inspired to learn more about the history of this style of embroidery. As a spinner, I was compelled to investigate how to recreate the beautiful threads that were used.

Silk fibre for hand spinners is obtained from the remains of cocoons left over from the reeling process.  As the caterpillars are first stifled, the use of silk can be problematic for the spinner. Soy fibre for hand spinners is made from the byproduct of tofu manufacturing. Bombyx silk and soy fibre are both natural protein fibres, even though silk is an animal protein, and soy is a vegetable protein. Both require a high degree of twist in hand spinning, and both have a natural luster. As both fibres share similar properties, it seems reasonable to be able to substitute soy fibre for Bombyx silk in spinning thread for Tudor and Stuart embroidery.

The aim of this study is to spin threads from each fibre using the same techniques, comparing how each fibre stands up to the abrasion of embroidery, while being able to maintain stitch definition. There are twenty-four spun and embroidered samples using undyed fibres. Identical samples were spun from each fibre to enable comparison of resistance to abrasion and stitch definition in embroidery. Two spinning techniques were used: short backwards draw and point of contact spinning. The fibres were spun both  from the fold, and directly from the top or strips from a brick of silk.  Softly twisted and firmly  twisted samples were spun for a comparison of abrasion. Twist direction was explored, to see if it played a role in stitch definition. Two alternate types of plying were tried, balanced ply and over ply, to see if ply was a factor in the durability of the finished thread. A comparison of how these fibres react to natural dyes will also be undertaken. As both fibres are protein, they should absorb dye in a similar way, with a similar depth of shade and light fastness. There are spun, dyed and embroidered samples for each of the three final projects. Natural dyes were used, with alum mordant and cream of tartar. Absorption and light fastness of the fibres and dyes were compared as well. There are three final projects, a sampler stitched with both bombyx and soy silk, a sweet bag stitched with soy silk, and a set of gauntlets for gloves stitched with bombyx silk.

Through this in-depth study, these fibres can be compared to determine the suitability of using soy fibre in place of Bombyx silk for Tudor and Stuart embroidery.

​Bombyx Silk Samples:
Note: Click on the images to see an enlarged image and use the arrow keys on the sides of the images to go to the next image

Sample 1: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from stripped brick using point of contact long draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 32 wpi, 11 tpi, 3850 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 2: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from fold using point of contact long draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 24 wpi, 13 tpi, 32900 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 3: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from stripped brick using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 38 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 26 wpi, 14 tpi, 3925 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 4: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 37wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 13 tpi, 3275 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 5: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Reverse Twist | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘S’ at 31 wpi, plied ‘Z’ at 26 wpi, 13 tpi, 3400 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 6: Bombyx Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Overplied | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 35 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 28 wpi, 17 tpi, 4700 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 7: Bombyx Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from stripped brick using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 26wpi, 13 tpi, 2600 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 8: Bombyx Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from fold using point of contact long draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 33 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 24 wpi, 15 tpi, 2700 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 9: Bombyx Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from stripped brick using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 34 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 24 wpi, 16 tpi, 3600 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 10: Bombyx Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 40 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 28 wpi, 15 tpi, 2825 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 11: Bombyx Silk, Reversed Twist, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from the fold using point of contact long draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘S’ at 32 wpi, plied ‘Z’ at 28 wpi, 16 tpi, 3500 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 12: Bombyx Silk, Firmly Spun Singles, Overplied | Spun from the fold using point of contact long draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 40 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 19 tpi, 4000 yds/lb, twist angle of 25˚.

Soy Silk Samples:

Sample 1: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | from top using point of contact long draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 28 wpi, 15 tpi, 3600 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 2: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from fold using point of contact long draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 43 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 13 tpi, 3900 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 3: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from top using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 41 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 15 tpi, 4500 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 4: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Balanced Ply | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 48 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 32wpi, 19 tpi, 4900 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 5: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Reverse Twist | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘S’ at 40 wpi, plied ‘Z at 28 wpi, 12 tpi, 3950 yds/lb, twist angle of 15˚.

Sample 6: Soy Silk, Softly Spun Singles, Overplied | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, using 12:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 26 wpi, 16 tpi, 4400 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 7: Soy Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles| Spun from top using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 36 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 19 tpi, 3725 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 8: Soy Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from fold using point of contact long draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 41 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 15 tpi, 4050 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 9: Soy Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from top using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 44 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 16 tpi, 4050 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 10: Soy Silk, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from the fold using short backwards draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 40 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 15 tpi, 3200 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 11: Soy Silk, Reversed Twist, Balanced Ply, Firmly Spun Singles | Spun from the fold using point of contact long draw, with a 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘S’ at 46 wpi, plied ‘Z’ at 30 wpi, 16 tpi, 3700 yds/lb, twist angle of 20˚.

Sample 12: Soy Silk, Firmly Spun Singles, Overplied | Spun from the fold using point of contact long draw, using 15:1 ratio. Spun ‘Z’ at 40 wpi, plied ‘S’ at 30 wpi, 17 tpi, 3500 yds/lb, twist angle of 25˚.

Samples for the three final projects:
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The previous samples showed that, for both fibres, spinning from the fold using the point of contact long draw was the preferred method of spinning. It is the staple length of these fibres that lend them to being spun over the fold: 15cm for the bombyx silk; 10cm for the soy silk. Tightly spun 2-ply threads with a twist angle of 20˚, seem to resist the abrasion of embroidery better than the softly spun 2-ply threads with a twist angle of 15˚. Stitch definition is retained to a greater degree than with softly spun threads. Overplying threads is not necessary, as a firmly spun single with a balanced ply is adequate. Twist direction seems to have no impact on the functionality of the embroidery threads. In sample 11, spun in an ‘S’ then plied in ‘Z’ there is in fact adequate fabric coverage and stitch definition. However, I am accustomed to spinning ‘Z’ and plying ‘S’, so I did not choose this sample for the finished projects.
 
As a result of working through these samples, the fibre preparation and spinning method chosen to complete the three final projects was firmly spun singles, balanced ply, spun from the fold for both fibres, as shown in sample #8. Enough thread was spun at one time to complete the three projects, and to proceed to the dying portion of this study.
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Natural dyed yarns for three final projects:

Freeze-dried indigo, no mordant used.

Weld with alum mordant, overdyed with freeze-dried indigo.

Weld with alum mordant.

Walnut with Alum mordant.

Madder with alum mordant dyed using the Nest Rubio method: soy silk and bombyx silk. As both bombyx silk and soy silk are protein fibres, my expectation was that they would behave similarly in the dye pot. I had expected bombyx silk to dye to a greater depth of shade than the soy silk, as bombyx silk is known for it’s dye take-up. However, as these comparisons show, soy silk in fact absorbs dye to a greater depth of shade than bombyx silk. To ensure that these comparisons were accurate, one skein of soy silk was immersed in the dye bat at the same time, and for the same length of time, as one bombyx skein. Successive skeins were added to the dye baths the following days, in order to obtain the lighter shades.

Bombyx silk for three-week light fastness test.

Soy silk samples for three-week light fastness test. Both soy silk and bombyx silk were placed in a north-facing window for one, two and three weeks. Most of the dyes show light fastness. The only colour that showed fading was the indigo. Perhaps this is due to the type of indigo used: freeze-dried.

Final Project #1: The Gauntlet for a Glove

Bombyx silk only. Embroidered samples for gauntlet cuffs final project.

The gauntlet for a glove, stitched with only Bombyx silk. Lots of lustre. My own design.

Final Project #2: The Sweet Bag

Soy silk only. Embroidered sample for sweet bag final project.

The sweet bag, stitched with only soy silk. Not as much lustre as with Bombyx silk. Pattern from: Clarke, D. (1997). Exploring Elizabethan embroidery. Auckland: Georgeson Publishing Limited.

Final Project #3: The Sampler

Bombyx silk and soy silk. Embroidered samples for sampler final project.

The sampler. On the left, everything was stitched with soy silk. On the right, Bombay’s silk. Not much difference, however, the soy silk does absorb the dye to a greater depth of shade. Pattern from: Clarke, D. (1997). Exploring Elizabethan embroidery. Auckland: Georgeson Publishing Limited.