Could you make thread or yarn out of drier lint?

Question

I was wondering if you could make usable yarn or thread out of drier lint, or if the strands are too short to give the resulting product any real strength or whatever. If the threads are too short, could you hypothetically use drier lint to soften or otherwise make wearable thread or yarn made from some harsh and/or itchy fiber, and if so, what would the result be like?

Answer 1

You can't use dryer lint for spinning for the very reason you mention - fibers are too short. You CAN make high quality yarn from fibers that aren't very long, say 3/4" or more, but dryer lint fibers are just too short.



For your second scenario, it would totally depend on what your dryer lint fibers were made of. If the lint was primarily soft fibers, such as cotton or rayon, mixing it with cheap wool might soften the resulting thread a little, but not much, and the quality of the yarn would be questionable, because the short fibers would ultimately work themselves loose from the finished yarn during knitting and wearing, and just be a cheap mess.



Short fibers from dryer lint would be good if used in a felting process, which involves shrinking the fibers together through high heat, steam and pressing. You can make high quality fabric by felting, especially if you know what fibers you are mixing.

Answer 2

Apparently, you can spin yarn out of dryer lint. Not sure why you would want to, and it most likely would work best when blended with another fiber, but you can definitely do it.

http://www.patternworks.com/community/dryerlintyarn.aspx

http://www.wikihow.com/Reuse-Dryer-Lint

http://youcanknitwithalighsaber.blogspot.com/2011/07/back-to-making-stuff-d.html

You can also spin newspaper into a fiber. and pet hair. just sayin'

Answer 3

Dryer lint is too short but did you know that they make yarn out of bamboo? Also , you can make homemade fix a flat with dryer lint?

Answer 4

Look into composite materials. The fiber could be useful if embedded in a plastic. Have a look at the Composites Innovation Center.

http://www.compositesinnovation.ca/

Applications depend on the fiber quality.

Answer 5

I tried to find home yarn...but came across only this...u may be able to email them where to get the yarn they spindle.... http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gUXw8qX18Ac



you have a great idea there...yoi had me thinking what else it could be used for...maybe stuffing for pillows

Answer 6

Yes this is possible but why you want to do this. You can just buy this in the nearest store in your place or buy this online.