I finally got a hold of some seine twine to use as brake band and boy-oh-boy is it different than carpet warp. Just like the carpet warp was tighter twisted and a little more grabby than the chalk line, seine twine is even more sturdy. Seine twine is 6 plies and I didn’t even have to touch it to know how tightly plied it is, the high twist is visible in the spool. Cotton seine twine is used for rug and tapestry warp and a nylon version of seine twine is used to make fishing nets, it’s strong stuff.
Beth was absolutely right about seine twine being grabby on the wheel. Even with my varnished Lendrum bobbins I didn’t have to use much tension for the seine twine to grip. If I sat at my wheel and just looked at the loose tension setting on the brake band with seine twine I never would have believed that it have much uptake, but it does and with vigor. It took me a few tries to get the brake band set right. My yarn kept breaking and whipping out of my hand and I kept turning the tension down and down. I like a stronger pull on the wheel, but this was intense.
This isn’t a brake band material to use if you are spinning fine or like a very light pull or uptake.
What have you been experimenting with this week?
I love Seine twine and bless Beth for sharing this wonder of wonders with spinners! However, I find that on my Matchless it is wonderful, I can turn the tension down to nothing, have adequate take up, with no pulling the fiber from my hands at all. And, I especially love it for plying, I can turn the tension up and have it really pack the yarn on the bobbin!
As a weaver, I keep a lot of this around – I’ve mostly stuck with my trusty hemp band on my saxony though and my maja has its standard band. I’m debating about using seine twine for double drive though. Any thoughts?