Starting a new weaving project. Aiming for a wrap. Not sure if it will be that wide.
After it came off the loom, I decided it needed to be called my Mardi Gras wrap. The colors & the yarn name of Jambalaya as well as the crazy textures just scream Mardi Gras to me.
Not yarns I would typically use. But saw the Jambalaya yarn at the Artisanal Yarns booth at NY S&W. It spoke to me. Wanted its texture & stripes of color.
Much to my surprise, the eyelash survived the pull test. But I didn’t use it all as there was a lot. And I didn’t want that wide a stripe of it.
There was a section that looked like purple chenille. Broke really easily. I figure it would go in the weft.
Wanted it wider so decided to use some of the yarn I intended for the weft as warp, Artisanal tencel chenille. Still not quite wide enough. Went stash diving and found The First Draft Zelda in The Depths colorway. Think it plays great with the other colors. Will also use some for weft.
I did the little bit of sampling on the mini board. I think 8 epi should work. In which case, it will actually be 19.75” in the loom. It may be a bit open in areas. But I think it will look good & drape nicely. fingers crossed
Dimensions
Prewashed:
16 1/2” to 17” wide
70” long
Stripes of Color
Purple with green chenille - 15 ends
Purple elastic with loops - 15 ends
Green chenille - 18 ends
Gold cord - 10 ends
Eyelash - 11 ends
Green thread - 16 ends
Blue & green chenille - 22 ends
Deep purple chenille - 20 ends
TFD Twain The Depths - 27 ends
154 ends
I started with 156 threads. One of the eyelash threads broke while trying to wind it onto the warp beam. They kept sticking to each other & get tangled. Don’t think I will use that in a warp again. To get an even thread count, I removed the last warp thread as not have to wrap the end thread. Figured it was easier that way.
Weft & PPI
I am using various yarns for the weft. I am also modifying the picks per inch based in part on the thickness of the weft material. For instance, the cone chenille and other chenilles are better not as tight. Where as the eyelash & fingering yarn are better a bit closer together. Trying to make sure to stabilize the fabric, but keep the drape.
Wanted to add a bit more green to the weft. Went stash diving. Stumbled on the Fresh From the Cauldron Merino Silk Worsted. Looks good in the mix.
Finished Weaving Vs. Off the Loom
The weaving was done for quite a while ago. But it sat on the loom until April 22nd. Spent a lot of time debated what to do with the ends.
Was leaning towards hemming. With the different widths & types of fibers in the Jambalaya, I didn’t think twisted fringe would work. And given the gold was thicker, I don’t think it would have done well with twisting.
But from what I have read, most weavers suggest fringe on scarves & wraps to keep a nice drape. I decided to wash it & see what I felt about it afterwards.
Wet Finishing with Agitation
I decided to go with warm water, some agitation & Soak for the washing.
It bled a lot of purple. Not sure which of the yarns was bleeding the color. But it was dark.
The agitation caused some of the ends to twist as feared. One wrapped around some others & pulled a bit. It was the gold. And boy, did it do a number on it. One of the pics shows were it really tore the gold thread/cable apart. And made it way too short for fringe. Hemming it is…
Also, as I suspected given the different fibers/yarns, it got a bit funky. I pulled the fabric a bit to even out the width some. But there is definitely a lot of differential shrinkage going on.
Curious to see how it dries & what happens…
Definitely more an art piece than rectangular wrap. But I think I will like the finished project. Hung to dry on a drying rack.
Dried & Hemmed
There was definitely some differential shrinkage with this piece. But going in, I knew it would be interesting. It is. There are parts that are wider than others. But overall it, I like it. Fun & funky. Definitely not perfect & even. But I like it.
I did a zigzag at the ends in black. Given the ends were dark purple, it really didn’t matter. I cut close to the hemstitching, but left it in. It has a bulker hem. But I don’t actually mind it. Gives a bit of weight to it which I think works.
Really like the finished result. Took it to a wedding, but didn’t end up needing a wrap.
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Project
On the drying rack after it was wet finished with agitation.
stashed
