After a few weeks of spinning 2-ply yarn, I finally feel like I have enough to weave with! But I also feel like I need to do lots of sampling because I'm not sure how it's going to respond to the loom. I have woven with handspun yarn before, but it was on my rigid heddle loom. This time, I am going to use my floor loom and I'm so excited! I almost feel like a new weaver.
I decided to stick to very simple designs to begin with for 2 reasons: 1) I have mainly turned into a cotton weaver and this is wool and 2) this is my handspun and it might behave differently than other commercially produced wool yarns that I've used in the past.
So when I first sat down to draw out my plans, I decided on an M&O design. But I've only woven M&O's once before, with cotton... so I decided to maybe save that one for later and do a very simple 2/2 twill.
My handspun yarn had a w.p.i. of 18, and since I was going to do twill I multiplied it by .66 to get a e.p.i. of 12. I don't have a #12 reed, so I threaded my #8 with 1-2. The wool really wanted to stick in the reed while I was winding it onto the back beam so perhaps in the future I will try to thread a read 1 strand per dent. I only wanted a 6" scarf to practice on, so I counted out 36 threads on the warp board at 2.5 yards.
I warped my 4-shaft loom 1-2-3-4 and did the usual twill tie-up of pedals 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, & 1-4. Then I simply treadled 1-2-3-4 over and over again. So far it's been very interesting to see the pattern emerge and the characteristics it is taking due to the handspun wool yarn. I can't beat it too hard, I kind of have to gently push it into place.
So far I like it! It has some neat bumps and imperfections that you can't get in commercially produced wool yarn. It's neat to see it being incorporated into the design! It almost become a new design element!
And it cost next to nothing because it is made completely from scratch!
That feels good!
I could have sat and done this all in one sitting, that's how fast it was weaving up. But instead, I decided to take my time and enjoy the process!
Plus, those apples just keep coming off the trees, and those have been taking a lot of my time lately!
I love the way this wool wove up. It looks so cool, all the little blobs that appear in the weaving due to the imperfections in my handspun yarn. It gives it a real rustic look.
And about the natural wool colors... I love them!
It's not the softest wool ever, but with a collared jacket, it should be one of the warmest scarves ever!
I made the fringe SUPER long!! It's going to flow so nicely in the chilly winter wind!
It's hard to think about how nice this will be on a cold day, because our temps were around 80 when I was weaving it! But it will be cold one of these days, and someone in the family will get a chance to enjoy it!
Keep those shuttles and wheels amovin'!