By Deb Gerish
Spinners are in a tough spot when it comes to giving gifts. Not many people will appreciate getting a skein of yarn, no matter how beautifully it's wrapped. Folks usually want something made from yarn, not the yarn itself. But we spinners enjoy that step in the middle, right? That can lead to lots of yarn with no purpose.
I'm going to make a few guesses about the yarn stash of anyone who's been handspinning for even a few years, based on my own experience.
- You've got lots of handspun yarn.
- You made most of that yarn from hand-dyed 4-ounce braids.
- Those skeins sit unused because you don't know what to do, or the yardage seems insufficient for anything bigger than a hat.
Does this description apply to your or your stash? Would you like to create something beautiful with those yarns? (Remember, clearing out your stash makes room for MORE FIBER OR YARN!) Would you like to give gifts made from your handspun yarn?
Why Weave?
I figured out some time ago that rigid heddle weaving with my handspun produced fast and fantastic gifts. If you've already got a Cricket or a Flip, and you're searching for project ideas, skip down to that section. But if you don't have one yet, consider these reasons to get one:
- Make bigger projects quickly. I can and do knit lots of accessories with my handspun. A simple stockinette hat in worsted weight yarn takes me about 4 hours, not counting a gauge swatch*. A scarf or wrap would take much longer, even in stockinette. So for these long lengths of fabric, I quickly estimate my sett** with the wrap test, direct-warp my Flip (1 hour), and grab big handspun yarns from my stash. A few inches of sampling will greenlight a project or steer me to different weft yarns. Once I'm good to go, a 72" plain weave scarf works up really quickly. The fatter the weft yarn, the faster it goes!
- Plain weave with handspun, or handspun and commercial yarn, looks fantastic. Every slub, variation in twist, or subtle color change creates cloth with character. The last time I knitted a cowl from handspun, all the most interesting parts of the yarn showed up on the wrong side. If I had woven a cowl, I could have seamed it with a twist to show both sides of the fabric.
- Weaving also lets you work with small amounts of yarn. Mix and match handspun skeins, or use a commercial yarn as warp with handspun weft. I'm planning a woven "fade" project from a bunch of 4-ounce braids that coordinate: the fabric can shade into and out of different colors along its length.
* When you're working with "known" yarns, the swatching/sampling steps can be simplified. Yarn weight and fiber content are the biggest variables in producing handwoven cloth you like. Our helpful guide to rigid heddle reeds matches reed sizes to standard yarn weights. Substituting a yarn in a weaving project isn't difficult, as explained here. Liz Gipson explains everything you'd ever need to know about yarn diameter and fibers in A Weaver's Guide to Yarn. Finally, if you want to work your own sett and shrinkage experiments, Jane Patrick explains how she thoroughly tested a number of yarn weights in weaving projects.
Projects to Weave with Handspun
Already have a rigid heddle loom? These project ideas suit different weaving widths. Remember, you can always work a project narrower than your loom's weaving width. You can also weave panels and seam them together for wider projects.
Up to 10" weaving width: headband, cowl, scarf, wine bag, small pouch or bag (with handle worked separately), microwave cozy (natural fibers only), pot holder/trivet
Up to 15" weaving width: throw pillow cover, table runner, set of tea towels, project bag or tote bag (with handle worked separately), set of placemats
Up to 20" weaving width: wrap, set of napkins, set of kitchen towels, wall hanging
Up to 25" weaving width: lap blanket, bath mat
Up to 30" weaving width: baby blanket, poncho panels