Sunday, August 23, 2009

Beach Scarf Finished

You may recall in July I set up my rigid heddle loom for beachfront weaving.

Of course, the morning we left for the beach, I hadn't finished sampling.

I woke up super early, and wove a bit with chenille and a bit with Lion Homespun.

Cut it off the loom and quickly wet finished.


Even though I liked the look of both yarns, because I'd designed the warp with the chenille in mind, the hand of the sample was much better with chenille as weft.

The sett of this warp is 20 epi, so with a bulkier yarn the fabric was stiff and thick - more suitable for bags or pillows than for a scarf.

I packed up the loom and the chenille for weft and headed to the beach.


We had a great time weaving. The plan was for all of my nieces and nephews at the beach to weave at least a little bit.

And I think everyone did.

Here my niece E is helping her cousin L weave a bit. We're out on the deck, surrounded by dune grass and the sound of surf. Definitely a nice way to spend part of the afternoon!

My niece R discovered that the rigid heddle on my loom can stay in the down position by locking it under the little heddle stand. I never knew that....but it made weaving much easier.

We had great weather for the week, but we found time to weave 2 afternoons - enough to finish the scarf!!


When I got home, I had the rest of the finishing to do.

I checked out Susan's fringe tutorial and set up my fringe for twisting.


I don't have a fringe twister - but the next day my wrist wanted me to get one!

I just taped graph paper to styrofoam and drew lines where I needed them.

I did most of the twisting with my knitting buddies...so I might have been chatting instead of counting turns of my fringe.


There were also a few spots in the weaving where the warp or weft didn't behave.

(And believe me, the way I warped the loom left some things to be desired. Advancing the warp was a little trickier than I'd imagined.)

But everything cleaned up nicely. A mixed warp of cottons and wools - with smooth, bumpy and boucle yarns with a chenille weft definitely hides a lot of flaws.

I washed by hand and dried flat.


Here's the finished scarf on our front walk....

This is the shot that Bailey was so ably supervising the other day.


Texture and drape


Texture


Yay!! A finished scarf woven by a gaggle of grandchildren for their grandmother.

Gifted at a family birthday party today!

Related posts:
Setting up this warp
Beach vacation
Bailey supervising the photo shoot
Susan's twisted fringe tutorial

13 comments:

Susan said...

What a wonderful story to go with the scarf!
I'm sure that Grandma will love all the loving hands that help make this gift.... and even Bailey who had a nose in there somewhere.

Susan
(yes, you need a fringe twister!)

Theresa said...

Priceless!

Delighted Hands said...

What a perfectly wonderful gift!!!
Beautiful1

weaver said...

What a delightful gift, and a beautiful scarf.

Anonymous said...

What a pretty scarf - and a wonderful family project!!

Jennifer said...

Wonderful idea and it will always be cherished!

Deanna said...

Wonderful post! And see if you can find a Conair gizmo - used to twist hair, but it works like a champ for twisted fringe!

Sharon said...

The scarf is perfect and what a wonderful way to introduce weaving. I do think the knitters loom is going to bridge a heretofore unfilled need between wanting to weave and owning a floor loom.

I need a fringe twister too, but am glad to see the tutorial.

Since you don't have an email, I'll answer your question here: All of our stuff is on drip. We don't have a lawn, so I planted a lot of stuff to make a field effect, like lavender. Each plant has its own drip or as in the case of the trees, drips. They wouldn't survive here without it. Thanks for the compliment!!

charlotte said...

I love the scarf, the colors and the texture are beautiful. Such a great idea to do this with kids, I'm sure they will remember this for life, and grandma will get (I'm sure) one of the best gifts ever!

sheilabythebeach said...

Great story here! Memories that will last forever, how wonderful is that?!!!
Beautiful scarf too, so much to weave, so little time...

Life Looms Large said...

Thanks you guys!! This was a very satisfying project for many reasons. And I know that the scarf is well loved and in good hands now!!

Sue

bspinner said...

What a lovely scarf!!! The memories will be priceless.

Anonymous said...

Hi!
I came back to check following your comment. I remember reading this before, but was more focused on the wonderful family story than the chenille factor.
It's beautiful.
Judy