I have a skein of silk thread that I want to use as warp. I have a swift but not any way to put the thread on a cone or spool. Can I just pull the thread from the swift directly on to the warping board? First time working with silk and don't want to make a mess. Also, I will be using only part of the skein.

related question- I have silk skeins, a swift, bobbin winder, spools, and bobbins! I believe I have every thing I need. My question: is there a trick to finding the end of the silk skein???

I have a similar question. I’ve gotten skeins of silk from Jane in different kits but when I went to put them on a spool winder from the switft they didn’t come off smoothly and the threads have become tangled. Is there any way to avoid this in the future. I notice that Jane will put purchased skeins of silk onto spools for a small price. This may be the solution. Thanks, Diane

Hi Cheryl. The problem wasn't getting the silk onto the ball winder. It started untangling once it was on the ball. I will definitely have the silk pre-wound next time if possible. Not sure thats possible when it comes with a kit in smaller amounts.

Great idea. I have some large spools I use for my spinning. I know I won’t ever try to go from the swift to the ball winder again with silk. Thanks Sandra. Diane

I'm half way through my first project using Jane's silk yarn, weaving to scarves with silk warp and weft. I put the silk skeins on my swift and wound onto my ball winder with very little issue. Then just pulled from the middle of the balls to make my warp and fill my bobbins. I've finished my first scarf and am about to start the second one. The balls are now partially gone and are of course getting a bit floppy. Should I be worried about tangles going forward? It hasn't been any problem at all so far. I didn't realize that I needed to (should have) wound onto a large spool instead of a ball?

Sounds like you’ve been lucky so far - the trouble with centre pull balls is that they collapse in the middle - and, at that point silk loves to tangle. Check my reply, further up in this thread, where I explained how I wind my silk from skeins. Using this method, or getting it wound for you in the Studio, will make your life a lot easier.

Going forward with this skein - take the time now, to wind what’s left in your ball carefully onto bobbins. That way, when you get back to the loom and ready to weave off your scarves (photos please ;-) - you’ll be able to relax and enjoy weaving.

I also found that winding onto spools using my double ended electric winder went too fast and I would get tangles on the swift. I switched to my old manual bobbin winder (thank goodness I still have it) and just wind the spools slowly and carefully.