I had some cocoons on hand, so for the first time in a while I brought out my zaguri silk-reeling machine and reeled some silk. The cocoons became beautiful, simple strands of raw silk. I wrote about acquiring and repairing this machine in “Zaguri Reeling Machine”.
By visiting museums and watching old footage, I gradually learned the process on my own. As explained in the Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office’s “A Closer Look at Traditional Zaguri Silk Reeling”, zaguri is a traditional method of reeling silk from cocoons and winding it onto a reel.
What comes next is the hard part—twisting this raw silk together, degumming it, and turning it into the kind of yarn I want. To be honest, I still have not made anything I am fully satisfied with. But this time, I’m determined! I have been thinking up all kinds of ideas and strategies. So, how will it turn out?! Please look forward to it.
Reeling Raw Silk from Cocoons with a Zaguri Machine
▼ These are dried cocoons from fiscal 2018 (Heisei 30)—the last full year of Japan’s Heisei era! For someone like me who is still finding my way with yarn-making, they are just right.
▼ Reeling the silk. I was moving so slowly that the hot water started to turn yellow.
▼ Even so, they became beautiful, simple strands of raw silk. I plan to twist them together into yarn suitable for hand weaving.
