Handweave Adventures: March 2025

Double layer shawl

The weaving went much quicker than I expected and was all over in about a day. I hemstitched both ends on the loom then cut the fringes to about 2 cm. At first I couldn't get The wool to shrink but eventually at about 55 degrees it started. Overall about 33% shrinkage in the width and virtually nothing in the length (superwash merino warp). After gently pealing the layers apart that had slightly felted together, I blocked it and let it dry.

The fabric is very light, soft and drapey with its open sett but the two layers add warmth. The areas os single cloth using the warps from both layers (the squares, selvedges and hems) help puff the layers apart and flare the ends of the shawl. The yellow side was a bit disappointing as the grey weft killed the colour (I couldn't see it when I was weaving as it was the bottom cloth). The slightly slubby linen/silk/lambswool weft adds a bit of texture.

Almost a thousand warp ends wound

940 ends wound on the beam for the doubleweave shawl. About halfway through I noticed that one of the bobbins had snarled up and snapped the thread, so quite a few sections were missing a thread (16). I managed to add the threads when threading the heddles and wound them onto the second warp beam.

My next project will be building a warping wheel (a device to wind the sections not requiring bobbins and with hopefully less yarn waste too).

More samples

More doubleweave sampling....getting closer. This time superwash merino warp 30/2 with jaggerspun 8/2 for the shrinking ties. Lambswool/linen/silk 1/7 singles for the weft. A single cloth selvedge to give a wrinkly edge. I also tried more ties in a the shrinkable wool (one each side of the squares) but they have a tendency to migrate during the long floats and become unruly!

Unfortunately after I failed to get enough shrinkage with a hot handwash it went in the washing machine and is now 2/3 size and overfulled (I had to prise the layers apart) but the double layers between the squares give the fabric a lovely volume.

Third time lucky and all should be project ready for a shawl. I think I ll put the red stripe back in the middle of the squares and space them wider apart. I ll return to the yellow for one side of the shawl this time in superwash merino.

Sample before washing

After finishing, the shrinkage with can be rather sudden! This sample shrunk about 20% in width and 10% in length.

Double weave experiments

More experiments with doubleweave. This is a weave whereby two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously one above the other. I designed a fabric with two layers of cotton (16/2) plain weave at 24epi sandwiching free floating red woolen threads between them. At intervals the cloths are woven together as a single cloth in a series of squares. These also trap the red threads. Between the squares the red wool yarn is either tight puffing the two layers apart when it shrinks on washing, or very loose allowing it to free form.

The first sample was at two close a sett, so the red threads were only visible with back light. I widened the sett to 15epi for a second sample with almost a gauze like structure.

I also wove a sample as single cloth with a fine lambswool warp, but used the double layers as squares. In the single cloth the wool is tightly held by the warp, but in the more open sett of the double layer it can shrink and create a seersucker effect.

Planning to use this knowledge on a scarf project next.

A trio of homespun scarves

The first, a scarf for me made from homespun and odds and ends. there are squares of plain weave, basket weave and twill interspersed with stripes of sateen (red).

Another with the same draft but different yarns...the wool for the warp proved too fragile so I had to end the weaving early - hence the short length!