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Spaced-Out Felted Scarf,
continued You can also
use a ruler as you weave to see if you are weaving the correct
number of picks per inch. If there is any unevenness in the weaving,
it will be completely masked when the fabric is felted. This is one
of the reasons this project is so great for beginners. Once you have
it woven and felted no one will ever know if your selvedges were
uneven or your beat somewhat irregular.
Weave in this way for the
length of the scarf: weave an inch, leave an inch unwoven, weave an
inch, leave an inch unwoven, and so on. I alternated stripes of purple and
green throughout. To leave an inch unwoven, I inserted a 1” strip
of cardboard the width of the weaving and then wove the next inch
and inserted a second strip of cardboard. After weaving the next
inch, I took out the first cardboard strip and inserted it in the
shed, in essence leapfrogging the two piece s
of cardboard between each inch of weaving.
Weave until you can’t weave any longer. Your
weaving will seem overly long, but once it is washed, it will shrink
about 20% in length and about 50% in width.
Finishing: Remove the fabric
from the loom and carefully lay it out on a table or floor. Trim all
weft tails to about 1” (if you leave them too long, they will mat
and felt into the scarf). I recommend a twisted, fairly short
fringe. I left my fringe too long and it matted up more than I had
hoped.
Felting the Scarf
If you’ve ever accidently thrown
your beloved wool sweater in the washing machine and found that
what went in a size 12 came out a size 6, then you’re an
experienced, if accidental, felter. This is what you are going to do
to your scarf—on purpose. To prepare the scarf for washing, roll it
up in cotton dishtowels, being careful not to let it bunch up on
itself. Make sure that there is a layer of towel between each layer
of scarf, otherwise the parts will felt together. When you reach the
end, make sure you have the entire end of the scarf contained
within the towel. Tie the bundle in several places with string and
place in a laundry bag. Wash the scarf bundle on the hot water
setting in your washing machine. I used a front-load washing machine and
didn’t check it during the wash. For top-load machines, I suggest
you use a gentle cycle and check your scarf mid-way through the
cycle as top-load machines are a bit less gentle
and the felting process can happen quite quickly. Once you feel that
it is sufficiently felted, remove the scarf from the machine, rinse in
lukewarm water, and lay flat to dry. Steam press using a lot of
pressure. Trim ends and fringe as necessary.
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Dear
Tabby
Dear Tabby,
I’m having trouble with my edges pulling in and the selvedge threads
breaking. Can you help?
--Frustrated in Vegas
Dear Frustrated,
Almost always broken warp threads at the edges are caused by too much
draw-in. When you beat, the draw-in puts more strain on the edges, and
with excessive draw-in, the selvedges will break. To solve this
problem, leave more weft in the shed. Usually a 45% angle is
sufficient. A good way to check for draw-in is to bring your beater
forward to the fell of your weaving and see if the edge warps are in
line with the beater. If the edges are angled in, it means your warp
is drawing in and you need to leave more weft in the shed. Sometimes
the selvedges become loose and curve up. This is usually caused by the
same problem: excessive draw-in. If you find your edge threads are not
beating in as well, you can add weight to them to keep the tension
even with the rest of the weaving. You can use fishing weights or film
cans with coins inside as weights and hang them over the offending
warps with S hooks. Just know that these selvedge situations are the
plague of beginning weavers (and at times even the more experienced).
Much of what you are experiencing now will right itself with practice
and experience.
-- Tabby |
