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Handwoven Rayon Scarves-Copper

It’s been eons since I’ve posted about my weaving. Ok, not really, but since I’ve been posting in between about everything from interesting photos to uninteresting thighs, it’s been way too long.

After I took all those handwoven napkins off my counterbalance loom, I set it up to weave scarves. It had been far too long since I’d made items for sale, and the show season is getting closer by the day, so I had to get cracking.

I had purchased 32 skeins of handpainted yarn from my favorite, Yarntopia Treasures. I decided to start with rayon in a great colorway that Tammy calls Copper – a mixture of several oranges and some greens.

I planned out a moderately complex twill pattern, threaded the loom, and set off weaving with a solid rust color Tammy dyed for me.

Hmmm. That’s odd, I can’t see the weaving pattern at all. I use all my usual tricks – I tilt my head, I move the light, I squint – but I’ve got nothing for pattern.

handwoven rayon scarves in copper & rust

Oh, well, the colors of rayon are great, so I keep weaving. As I near the end of the first scarf, I decide I’ll weave the second in the coordinating solid green – that’ll show up that twill pattern!
handwoven rayon scarf in copper & verdigris

Wow, even weirder – I STILL can’t see that twill pattern. But I keep weaving.

As I near the end of the second scarf, I get a big Homer Simpson “DOH” moment. When I wove those summer & winter pattern napkins, I had to change the tie up for my treadles, and I never changed it back, but I was treadling as if the loom had my standard tie up (1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-1). Pay attention, Peg!

So I finished weaving the scarf with the green weft, tied the treadles up correctly, and set out for weaving rayon scarf #3. This one would again have the solid rust weft, AND the interlocking diamond weaving pattern I’d planned.

Can you see which scarf in the first photo has the diamond pattern? No? Imagine that! It is definitely there, but that scarf has to be held in just the right light to see it. When I realized that, all I could do was laugh.

I really like the mostly orange scarves; the green weft doesn’t go with my skin tone.

Your turn: are you able to laugh at yourself when you do goofy things?

2 comments to Handwoven Rayon Scarves-Copper

  • TomZ

    Very cute. The scarves are still beautiful! I can see a twill trying to peek thru here and there!!!

    I’ve done something which made me laugh out loud at myself. It was a simple threading but one shaft had a 123 tieup. I tied up everything up, checked it and proceeded and after about a dozen picks the free tie-up string that 123 got caught on the pin and it lifted all the shafts. Well I threw the shuttle not paying attention and it fell right on my feet. DOH! Let’s try that again…..same thing!! TWICE! What the??? OHHhhhh!!! and then a big laugh! I don’t often pay attention to what’s UNDER the shed.

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