Silk carrier rods are a by-product of reeling silk from the cocoon. The filament is unreeled and carried over a rod and when the build-up of filament becomes too thick, is then cut off and what is left on the rod is a tube of slit silk still in it's sericin gum. This is how I receive the rods which I then clean and wash before hand dyeing.

I use them for machine embroidery by spliting into layers and pulling on the rod to make them soft and manageable. They can also be used in silk papermaking and also for adding texture to your embroidery.