Friday, September 11, 2009

Beach Scarf: What Now?

Last month, my nieces, nephews and I had a great time weaving a one of a kind scarf at the beach for their grandmother.

The project was a smashing success for all concerned.


The one of a kind scarf was gifted and greatly appreciated.


Now that I'm back home, I still have warp left on the rigid heddle loom.

When I dressed the loom, I considered putting on enough warp to make two scarves. I decided against it - wanting the scarf we created at the beach to be totally unique.

I did allow enough warp for sampling, a full extra yard for practice weaving and enough warp in case my mother-in-law likes a long scarf.

I ran out of sampling time - finally cutting off and doing a bit of re-sleying the very day we left for the beach. I didn't use the extra warp for sampling.

When the kids tried weaving, they did great work. They didn't need to practice.

My mother-in-law prefers a waist-length scarf.

So I have a lot of warp left - probably enough to make a second scarf.

That's definitely contrary to my original intent However, now it does seem like the best thing to do with this remaining warp is weave it as another scarf.

I'm using a fairly thick chenille weft, and I have some concerns about worming and fraying - two things chenille is known for. I figure if I make a second scarf I can experiment more with methods of finishing and find out how the chenille behaves.

I guess that will make me a member of the Full Sized Sample Club. I wonder if I get bonus points for being an after the fact sampler as well!


My weaving setup is not nearly as sweet as at the beach - where I was outdoors on a beautiful deck with the sounds of the ocean in the background.

Here I'm in the only clear corner of my studio, blocking some of my cabinets and sitting next to my neglected Toika shafts.

But weaving is fun. This is a nice project work on a bit each morning when I first get up.


I want to note that I have two badly behaving yarns in this warp. (Two is not bad when you consider that the yarn in the warp is all from the weaving guild yarn table. I have 8 yarns prominently used, with tidbits of 5 more thrown in just to use them up.)

This yarn is a blend that seems remotely woolish. It tends to stick to other yarns whenever it gets the chance, plus it sometimes breaks. It might make a better weft, although now that I know it breaks I'm more careful with it.


See the boucle loop in this picture?

It's because the rigid heddle tends to tug too hard on the boucle, so it pulls apart. The yarn stretches out at various points when I'm weaving.

My method for dealing with it is to pull those stretched bits tight, and pin them to the warp and weave on.

After the weaving is complete, I repair those loops by cutting them and using a needle to weave the ends in. (I got significant practice with that technique in the first scarf - especially when I had the boucle threaded through both slots and holes in the rigid heddle. Once I re-sleyed so it was just going through the slots, it behaved better.)

Lucky for me, a mixed, random, fluffy fabric can hide a lot of flaws.


This boucle isn't tough enough for warp on the rigid heddle. It might work on a floor loom, because the dents could be wider.

So part of wrapping up summer in my little corner of the world is finishing up this scarf with all of its beachy associations.

Related Posts:
Finished Original Scarf at the beach
Setting up my beach scarf warp

12 comments:

Theresa said...

Oh very pretty! Hats off to you for dealing with chenille. I have not attempted to weave anything with it, ever. Can't you move that RH loom out to the porch or maybe the Tuscan room? :-)

charlotte said...

Those colors are just beautiful, and I love the texture too!

bspinner said...

I love the color and texture of your scarf. My first loom was a RH and haven't used it since I got my first floor loom. After seeing how pretty your scarf is I'm tempted to get mine out and weave a scarf on it too.

Life Looms Large said...

Moving the loom might make sense....although I like leaving it set to go up in my studio (which is not possible in our Tuscan room!) I like to wake up, go up and weave one shuttle full of yarn, and then get on with my day.

I usually have many more project ideas that involve a floor loom rather than a rigid heddle loom - but it is a nice portable change of pace!!

Sue

Delighted Hands said...

lOve this project-it ia good to like something so much that you want to make another! We all learned about the fiber and not to freak out at the breaks-thanks for sharing! (the idea of an early morning wake up weave it grea!)

Deanna said...

If you don't want another scarf, you can make a neat furoshiki bag from a piece of fabric that has a length 3x its width. You do 2 seams - on one side, fold the top third down and sew a seam with the top and middle thirds. On the other side, fold the bottom third up and seam the bottom third with the middle third. When you pull on the corners, up pops a very cool bag! Attach a handle and you're set. I can send a diagram if that will help, or just make a little model with paper and tape to see what happens.

Life Looms Large said...

Thanks for the positive feedback Delighted Hands! Blogging really helps me continue with projects where otherwise they might rest for extended periods.

Deanna, great idea about the furoshiki!! I tried it out with paper, and didn't get it - but then google found me a picture of the exact thing you were talking about. Awesome idea!!! I'll definitely do one at some point. Not sure I'll do it with this chenille, but I might!!! Thanks!

Sue

Life Looms Large said...

Now Deanna has posted instructions about the furoshiki idea that make it much easier for me to visualize.

Check it out here on her blog if you're so inclined!

Thanks Deanna!!

Sue

Laura K. Aiken said...

Oh Sue your scarf is delightful! What a beautiful shade of blue and I love the texture your incorperated!!
Laura.

Sharon said...

Chenille is also known for drape and the scarf certainly demonstrates that. I wish I had access to your weavers table - cool yarns.

Jennifer said...

The second scarf will be wonderful and is a great idea! I haven't worked in chenielle. My mother found me a number of spools at a sale and I haven't figured out what to do yet. Your post was inspiring a scarf = especially with the texture to hide the flaws!!!

Life Looms Large said...

I think there are definitely tricks to chenille - not saying I've mastered them by any means.

I do have a bit more chenille that I want to figure out how to use....so more experiments are in my future!

Sue