---
title: spinning plants
image:
  src: 2026/plant-handspun.jpg
  alt: "6 small skeins of handspun yarn, each made from a different plant fiber. from top, we have flax (medium brown, rough); what is probably lotus (golden, shiny and soft); banana (white and semi shiny); hemp (light brown, rough); tencel (white and very shiny); ramie (a particularly small skein, white and semi shiny)"
tags:
  - reference
  - yarn
---

> work in progress! To be updated as I continue spinning.

in picture, from top:

1. flax
1. (probably) lotus
1. banana
1. hemp
1. tencel
1. rose
1. ramie

notes on handspinning various plant fibers. Fibers were purchased as a [sample pack from Hearthside Fibers](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1141552359/plant-based-fiber-top-sampler-pack-vegan){target="_blank" rel="external"}. Unfortunately, I spun the first sample - flax - in 2023, so don't have thoughts on that left in my head. I also received a mystery sample along with the 12 named samples that *may* have been lotus - it's the smallest skein in the image. The lotus was also spun in 2023.

- overall, these are broadly more slippery than wool
- most if not all of these benefitted from pre-drafting moreso than I usually do for wool

## ease of spinning

- **easy:** flax, hemp
- **middling:** banana, tencel
- **hard:** rose
- **worst:** ramie

## texture (of final yarn)

- **softest:** rose
- **pleasant:** banana, tencel
- **meh:** ramie
- **itchy:** hemp, flax

## density/thickness

I am estimating this via yards per gram of fiber. Other than the flax and lotus (can't promise anything there), I aimed for my average spin with all of these and spun them on the same tool (Wheeliam, an Ashford Kiwi 3). Per-fiber notes mention whether they spun thick or thin if notable.

| fiber | yards | grams | yds/g |
|---|---|---|---|
| banana | 33 | 22 | 1.50 |
| flax | 33 | 27 | 1.22 |
| hemp | 41 | 26 | 1.58 |
| lotus | 16 | 12 | 1.33 |
| rose | 60 | 29 | 2.07 |
| tencel | 31 | 29 | 1.07 |
| ramie | 7.5 | 5 | 1.5 |

## per-fiber breakdown

written up in order of spinning.

### banana

- felt a bit wear-y on the hands - that may have been the silk I spun earlier that day though
- a bit hard to draft, quite liked to stick to itself and clump, but once moving was *quite* slippery

### hemp

- awful feeling. awful awful awful. hate.
- easy to spin
- quite grippy
- easy joins
- difficult to tell apart from stray plant matter

### rose

- incredibly soft; shiny and very pretty
- quite difficult to spin
- wanted to spin thin
- joins were tough, it's quite slippery
- needed slow and careful drafting because of the above - I brought my wheel down to a lower ratio which is rare

### tencel

- also felt a bit wear-y like banana
- spun a bit thick and liked to clump
- not as bad as rose on the slippery front
- very shiny, almost glittery in spots
- dense and spun up fast

### ramie

- hated this
- slippery af
- **constantly** splitting all over the place so I couldn't keep the fibers aligned in the slightest
- stopped after 5g because it sucked and I didn't care to finish it