At the weekend I wove the next of my sequence of
scarves on a Noro Kureyon Sock yarn warp.
I am very, very pleased with the result. The weft yarn is Araucania Yarn, hand dyed, from Chile. I took the photo of the scarf in progress so you can see the colours in the warp which are cool shades of brown and grey and how the warm brown shades in the weft set it off.
The weave pattern is a 4 shaft undulating twill from this book:
However, the inspiration came from the undulating twills in
the Janet Phillip's Sample Blanket which I wove last year. This blanket is not only a wonderful reference to look at when I am wondering what weave structure to use, but was also a tremendous learning experience as I discovered many new weave patterns. Here's the relevant section of the blanket:
And here is my new scarf, off the loom and after washing vigourously in hot soapy water:
The feel and drape of this weave is everything I hoped for, and I love the wavy lines.
My selvedges are significant improved from
the previous scarf, this I am sure is because I am getting used to winding on the warp carefully. I advanced the warp just one inch at a time, and I was only weaving a quarter - half inch before moving the stretcher.
Last week I bought two more combinations of yarn because I don't want to stop weaving scarves just yet!
One of my other on-going projects at the moment is spinning my way through a couple of coloured Ryeland fleece. Here's a bobbin full on the lazy kate of my Timbertops Leicester:
Before spinning full bobbins I prepared a small skein to test out the behaviour of the yarn. I knitted swatches on three different needle sizes to see how it looks.
This is the pillow slip full of wool yet to be spun:
Isn't it pretty? The fleeces were supplied by Sandie Davison of
Yorkshire Woollybacks.
The weave pattern is a 4 shaft undulating twill from this book:
However, the inspiration came from the undulating twills in the Janet Phillip's Sample Blanket which I wove last year. This blanket is not only a wonderful reference to look at when I am wondering what weave structure to use, but was also a tremendous learning experience as I discovered many new weave patterns. Here's the relevant section of the blanket:
And here is my new scarf, off the loom and after washing vigourously in hot soapy water:
The feel and drape of this weave is everything I hoped for, and I love the wavy lines.
My selvedges are significant improved from the previous scarf, this I am sure is because I am getting used to winding on the warp carefully. I advanced the warp just one inch at a time, and I was only weaving a quarter - half inch before moving the stretcher.
Last week I bought two more combinations of yarn because I don't want to stop weaving scarves just yet!
One of my other on-going projects at the moment is spinning my way through a couple of coloured Ryeland fleece. Here's a bobbin full on the lazy kate of my Timbertops Leicester:
Before spinning full bobbins I prepared a small skein to test out the behaviour of the yarn. I knitted swatches on three different needle sizes to see how it looks.
This is the pillow slip full of wool yet to be spun:
Isn't it pretty? The fleeces were supplied by Sandie Davison of Yorkshire Woollybacks.
Posts
8 comments:
I'd bide my time, too! ;)
Cheers,
Laura
where it's sunny, but a bitter north wind is blowing....
I love undulating twill. Unfortunately it does not work well on silk because silk is too slippery......sigh..... There are times when I wish we still lived up north where there are actual winters......more sighing........
Love the chocolate scarf. Also the Ryeland. Looks a nice grey I had one once and enjoyed spinning it !
I think the scarf is beautiful. Very wearable. I must explore these sock yarns as I think weaving wool is very difficult to find. We have a John Lewis in southampton which sells classy yarns though not sure about Noro.
Your scarf is very subtle and calming. The variations in tone really make it and the undulations show up very well.
We too are having a sad spring - about 10 degrees C below our usual and lots of grey skies. I have my tomatoes ready to go in the ground and the nights are just too cold right now, so they are blooming in the green house!
Spinning is such a lovely way to spend a dreary day!
Your sample of the undulating twill is very inspiring. That's my favorite book, and I've been debating on trying that pattern. Your final scarf looks nice and cozy.
Thanks for all your comments!
Tip for Deborah, the Noro yarns are all superb, I think the art is in matching it to the right weft. I've gone for other brands of sock yarn and so far avoided anything that would make bold stripes in the weft.
Tip for Dave, I think undulating twill may be better with a closer sett than the 2-2 twill I used before. I used the same sett as the previous scarfs(16 epi), but behind my temple the weave pulled in and the finished scarf is 19.5 cm wide where the others are 21 cm. This has given a bumpy weft, while the warp lies fairly flat. I like it, but will consider whether to increase the sett next time.
Lynette, it may be dull, and it rained on my washing today, but I nipped in to the garden in a dry spell and planted a new geum rivale plant with lemon coloured flowers. I love spring! Now back to my spinning...
Oooh, Peg's comments on silk and undulating twill are very timely: Thanks, Peg!
And I love how this grew from your sampler blanket -- my copy of Janet Phillip's book just arrived, I've been tossing around ideas on what yarn from my stash to weave the sampler in.
Post a Comment