Aunt Lydia's sparkle yarn

[Rabmax]

Hello all does anyone know what Aunt Lydia's sparkle yarn is made from. I wouldn't mind buying a couple of balls of something similar instead of them poxy little cards you get from fly tying places.Having a google i have read that its 100% Acrylic but also read that its 100% Polyester.I have found that it's very good for wings once ginked it floats as well as snowshoe.Cheers

[Traditionalist]

It's Antron.  Some info here;

http://www.eflytyer.com/patterns/antron.html

If you want to use this stuff for wings etc, then use Polypropylene yarn. This can be difficult to obtain.

No Gink required, it is intrinsically hydrophobic, so does not get wet. It is also lighter than water s.g. ~ 0.7   ( Specific gravity).   You can also tease out polypropylene cord.  It is not dyeable, so you have to get the original colours you want. ( Although you can colour some stuff with alcohol based markers).

You could buy it here;

http://jacquard-textile.com/?page_id=30

But I have not bought any for a long time. I originally bought a lifetime's supply for a few quid.


TL
MC

[Rabmax]

What would you ask to look at in a wool shop Mike is Antron Acrylic yarn.As Wapsi say its (A sparkling three strand buggy acrylic yarn)
http://www.sportfish.co.uk/product/aunt-lydia-sparkle-yarn
Cheers

[Traditionalist]

I think this might be the same stuff, but am not absolutely certain.  Best to order a single bundle and try it;

http://www.shillcraft.co.uk/results.cfm?SubCategory=33

Some general info on Antron ;

http://www2.dupont.com/Heritage/en_US/related_topics/antron.html

TL
MC

[Traditionalist]

What would you ask to look at in a wool shop Mike is Antron Acrylic yarn.As Wapsi say its (A sparkling three strand buggy acrylic yarn)
http://www.sportfish.co.uk/product/aunt-lydia-sparkle-yarn
Cheers

I have never found any in wool shops, I got plenty of antron carpet cut-offs for free from a friend of mine.  There are also other very similar nylon fibres.

Some craft shops have it as "Acrylic rug yarn". It's just another of DuPont's nylon brands.

I prefer to use polypropylene for wings etc.

TL
MC

[Rabmax]

Cheers Mike the Shillcraft stuff looks a good option nice colours too.I have tried all different brands of polypropylene & never found any that float very well for me without gink or even with gink.I am looking at different options as Snowshoe has been dropped by Hareline & might get scarce over here in the UK.Col i have had an emerger with this sparkle yarn wing floating for 3 days now with my silicone oil. Cheers all 

[Traditionalist]

Cheers Mike the Shillcraft stuff looks a good option nice colours too.I have tried all different brands of polypropylene & never found any that float very well for me without gink or even with gink.I am looking at different options as Snowshoe has been dropped by Hareline & might get scarce over here in the UK.Col i have had an emerger with this sparkle yarn wing floating for 3 days now with my silicone oil. Cheers all 

If you can get them, an English hare's foot from a Winter animal has similar properties, but not as much hair.

Mountain hares also have "snowshoes", but I don't know whether you could obtain them in the UK?  They are native to various parts of the UK. The skins and feet I have came from a Swedish trapper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mountain_hare_in_winter_camouflage_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1755954.jpg

TL
MC

[Rabmax]

I snared hares when i was a wee lad but stopped as i don't like eating them too strong a flavour for me.Do you know how the hair length on a wild hare compares to a snowshoe one.I guess if i treat it with silicone oil it's going to float no matter what type of hare it's from. Cheers

[Traditionalist]

I snared hares when i was a wee lad but stopped as i don't like eating them too strong a flavour for me.Do you know how the hair length on a wild hare compares to a snowshoe one.I guess if i treat it with silicone oil it's going to float no matter what type of hare it's from. Cheers

I use hare a lot on various flies, and even the hair from the back of a normal wild hare  ( Brown hare, Lepus europaeus ) floats extremely well.  This is because the guard hair is waterproof and mildly hydrophobic.

The length of the hair varies somewhat depending on the size and condition of the animal. 

I posted a few articles on here about it quite some time ago;

http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4437.0

http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4469.0

there are a few more from around that time as well.

TL
MC

[Rabmax]

Cheers Mike i will need to look my snares out.