I successfully wove, fringed, and wet finished the three scarves on the ‘springtime’ warp. All 3 are commercially dyed 8/2 tencel for both warp and weft.
First up has a black weft with a straight treadling. Here’s the full scarf and a closeup so you can see both sides of the finished piece.
Next I used a cranberry weft. Although I really liked it on the loom, I’m just okay with it finished…the change in treadling doesn’t really show well.
Last I wove a short cowl with a red-violet weft. The way these colors play together make this is my favorite of the three.
As planned, while I was waiting for the hand painted warps to dry, I planned, measured, and beamed a warp for the loom. This time it’s 30/2 silk in a pale greenish-bluish-grayish color. I chose a weave pattern that’s complex both to thread and to treadle. 304 ends.
I carefully threaded more than 250 ends when I realized something was wrong. I had too many threads left. I looked at the threading guide I printed out and was working from.
AAAARRRRGGGGG!!!
I had inadvertently started that printing 11 ends from the beginning edge, and started the threading where the printout told me to. I sat for a few minutes and thought. If I wanted the design to be symmetrical, and I did, I had 2 choices: eliminate the last 11 ends or go back to the beginning and start threading again. I didn’t want to waste 22 ends of silk and make the scarf 3/4″ narrower to boot, so I went back to the beginning.
I did make my life a little easier for the second threading…as I unthreaded, I tied my heddles in threading ‘bundles’ so I didn’t have to carefully count out all the heddles the second time around. But still, it took a lot of time to thread again.
Finally threaded. Hope there aren’t any threading errors!
UPDATE: No threading errors, but after weaving the first scarf I realize I am working with 20/2 silk, not 30/2. Should be sett farther. Not gonna do that.
Oh Peg, those scarves are lovely! I think I like the black myself but it is so hard to chose.
I’ve been there and done that with the warp. I’d put a few good $ on the fact that it will be well worth it when the weaving begins. BTW, that soft grayish green is one of my favorite colors. I just found some fancy canvas sneakers in sort of that color and you can be sure I snapped them up, on sale and with good arch support. Summer barn shoes, cool and with decent protection.
Thanks, Theresa. What appeals to each of us visually is different. That’s the good news. It can be a challenge for me to weave with colors that don’t move me, so sometimes it’s hard for people to find colors that speak to them among my work.
I’m mostly done weaving off the silk now, and it was definitely worth it to me to take the time to go back and rethread. I like symmetry; getting past this is another of my challenges. While I’ve made strides in using color, I don’t think I’ve moved an inch on the symmetry thing. 🙂
Enjoy the sneakers!
Peg, those scarves are beautiful! What was your sett? Thanks, Susan
I assume you mean the undulating twill scarves, Susan. It was 8/2 tencel, sett at 24 EPI.