Designed and woven by Anu Bhatia
Azul Verde Do Mar
This beautiful scarf is a luxurious addition to your wardrobe or would make a fabulous gift. Silk in 20/2 is an exceptionally fine and luxurious yarn, often considered challenging for RH loom weaving due to its requirement of a sett between 28–32 epi or more. However, when using the direct warping technique for a clasped warp, each end in all slots and holes is doubled. A doubled 20/2 reeled silk yarn reduces the required sett to just 15 ends per inch. With this simple principle in mind, Anu designed and wove this stunning clasped-warp and clasped-weft silk scarf.
The two contrasting colors used in this unique 20/2 Bombyx spun silk scarf are inspired by the serene blues and greens of the sea surrounding the Portuguese island of Madeira. The Portuguese phrase Azul Verde do Mar means “Blue Green from the Sea,” and Anu beautifully captured the essence of these shades by clasping Peacock and Sage silk in both the warp and the weft. She created this elegant scarf using her Flip rigid heddle loom with a 15-dent reed. The result is a graceful, drapey scarf featuring two distinctly colored ends and fringes, making it truly one of a kind.
Project Specs
Finished size: 9 ¾ʺ wide and 72ʺ long on the loom under tension
Size after wet finishing: 9" wide and 70" long with 7" twisted fringes on both sides
Weave structure: Plain clasped warp and weft
Number of warp ends: 151 doubled ends
Warp length: 99" (including take up, fringes and loom waste)
Width in reed: 10"
EPI: 15 (doubled) ends per inch
PPI: 13 – 14 (doubled) picks per inch
Clasped Warp on a Rigid Heddle Loom
The direct warping method for rigid heddle loom works perfectly for putting a clasped warp. A loop of color A is pulled through the reed from behind the loom. Color B feeding from the peg passes through the loop of color A and returns to the peg making a clasp randomly or in some pre-determined pattern. Clasped ends mix colors and add the design element by varying lengths and proportion of colors. Unclasped ends run all the way from the back beam to the peg and weave stripes. Doing a random warp is the easier for a weaver trying a clasped warp for the first time.
Anu used unclasped 1" stripes in Peacock and Sage for the selvedges (15 ends on each side) and in the middle (15 ends of each color). Forty-five clasped ends on either side of the middle stripes added clasps going diagonally.
Weaving with Clasped Weft
Weaving with clasped weft is freeform and is quite fun! Clasping of yarns creates doubled picks (as it does in the warp ends). For weaving clasped weft one color feeds from the left and the other color from the right. Clasps here are made by throwing pick of one color; going around the color on the other side; returning in the same shed and pulling the other yarn with it. You can create weft clasps by moving just one shuttle. You can design your own scarf or follow as Anu created her Azul Verde Do Mar scarf. Instructions are as follows:
Set up your shuttles with Peacock on the left and Sage on the right.
On every unclasped pick, weave twice in the same shed: send the shuttle across, wrap it around the selvedge thread on the opposite edge, and go back to the side you started from. Leave enough slack in the weft to beat without drawing in the wrapped selvedge thread. This thread acts as a floating selvedge.
On every clasped pick, send the shuttle across the full weaving width, then wrap it around the other color, then go back to the side you started from. Position the clasp where you want the color change to occur. Leave a lot of slack in both weft colors, so they don't pull in the selvedges when you beat.
Warp color order (From left to right)
15 unclasped Peacock
45 clasped with Peacock and Sage clasped in a freeform diagonal
15 unclasped Sage
15 unclasped Peacock
45 clasped with Peacock and Sage clasping to form a diagonal line
16 unclasped Sage.
Total 151 ends.
Note that the ends get doubled by clasping two yarns around each other at a point between the reed and the peg. For unclasped ends, simply pull the loop through each slot and hole.
What You'll Need
- Note: As this is a freeform design scarf, the exact yardage is hard to determine. Usage might be different depending upon setting up clasps in warp and weft. Keeping a 100 g (1,100 yd) skein of each color at hand would be advisable.
- Warp: Kiku 100% Bombyx spun silk, 20/2, 1,100 yds/100 g, Peacock (#207) and Sage (#215), Treenway Silks, ~ 550 yd of each color
- Weft: Kiku 100% Bombyx spun silk, 20/2, Peacock (#207) and Sage (#215), Treenway Silks, ~ 200 - 220 yd of each color
- Waste yarn or sewing thread to spread warp.
- Rigid heddle loom (Flip or Cricket) at least 10" weaving width
- 15-dent heddle
- 2 shuttles (boat or stick)
- 2 bobbins (if using a boat shuttle)
- 2 pegs for measuring warp and for guide thread
- Schacht fringe twister
Materials
Equipment
Directions
Warping
Measure a non-stretchy cotton yarn about 110" long to make a guide thread. Make an overhand knot about 6" from one end measure 2 ¾ yd (99") from this knot and mark the length with another overhand knot. Add marker ties if you want to make a pre- determined pattern to guide your clasps.
Set up a rigid-heddle loom for direct warping a length of 99". Include a second warping peg. You will use one for the guide string and one for your warp ends. For Azul Verde Do Mar scarf, Anu wanted to make clasps moving in a diagonal, so small ties as markers on guide thread were helpful. Tie the guide thread to the back beam and extend the other end to one of the pegs.
Center for a weaving width of 10" in a 15-dent heddle. To aid the process of threading the reed, Anu tied markers every inch on the lower side of the reed. With the heddle in neutral position and starting in a slot, thread the first 15 ends of Peacock all the way to the peg using 15 adjacent slots and holes. These ends are doubled and un-clasped. NOTE: Usually, in direct warping you would only fill the slots at this step, then sley the holes after you beam the warp. But with clasped warp it is required to thread holes and slots individually as the looped and doubled warp ends cannot be split to thread slots and holes as can be done with a regular warp.
Clasped Warp: From the 16th end, add Sage tied to the peg and start making clasped ends with both colors. Pull a loop of Peacock through the heddle slot and through this loop pass the cone (or ball) of Sage feeding from the peg. Adjust the length of the clasp; secure it with a tie; and take Sage around the warping peg. This makes one clasped end. All clasps should be at least 18" away from the peg or the back beam. Clasps showing up in the fringe section may slip out. Anu recommends using cotton ties or clips to secure clasps as you go especially when the warp is silk or tencel. It may be an extra step, but it is worth the effort and time to prevent slippage of clasps. Continue pulling Peacock from the back from consecutive holes and slots and passing the Sage through each loop to make the next 45 clasped ends. The clasps will form a diagonal line by increasing Sage (and decreasing Peacock) by ½" - ¾" from the previous clasped position. Tie Peacock on the back beam and Sage to the peg. Cut both yarns.
Tie Sage to the back beam and make 15 (1") of unclasped ends pulling Sage from the back to all the way to the peg.
- Repeat Step 5 with Peacock to make the next 15 unclasped ends.
Continue Peacock in the back and repeat Step 4 making the next 45 clasped ends diagonally with Sage feeding from the peg. With diagonal line increments, the clasps move toward the reed making the Peacock side shorter and the Sage side longer gradually. The last clasped ends (135th in a slot) should be at least 18" away from the back beam. Tie Peacock to the back beam and Sage to the peg.
Tie Sage to the back beam and make the last 16 unclasped ends making sure the threading follows the path of previously tied ends over and under the back beam. There will be a total of 151 doubled ends.
- Beam the warp carefully by untying choke ties one at a time. Tie
the warp to the front beam.
Wind one bobbin or shuttle for each of the weft colors. Allowing 10"-11" for fringe, spread the warp with scrap yarn or sewing thread.
Add the Starting Border
Weave one doubled pick with Peacock. Start with Peacock shuttle from left, throw a pick and bring it back in the same shed by going around the last selvedge end on the right. This Peacock yarn on the shuttle will stay at the left selvedge and work as a floating selvedge when weaving the border in Sage. Alternatively, you can double Sage yarn and wind it on a shuttle to weave with single color; no floating selvedge is needed then.
Start weaving with Sage from the right, leaving a tail 4 – 5 times the width of the warp for hemstitching. The yarn travels from right to left and goes back in the same shed going around Peacock FS. Here the Peacock weft is being used as floating selvedge. Keeping the Peacock color on the left and Sage on the right selvedge makes it easy to switch colors as needed. This will double the pick without winding two strands of yarn on the bobbin. Have enough slack in the returning shuttle so it doesn’t pull Peacock in the shed.
- After the third pick in Sage, add hemstitching in 50 bundles of three doubled ends (one bundle with four). Anu used Italian hemstitching for a lacier look; you can use regular hemstitching if you prefer.
Continue weaving plain with Sage for the next 32 picks (~ 2").
- Throw 4 picks of Peacock from left going around Sage as a floating selvedge on the right to double pick in the same shed; 19 alternate picks of Sage and Peacock weaving a pick-and-pick pattern ending on Sage; 4 picks of Peacock.
- 14 picks of Sage.
- 2 picks of Peacock; 11 alternate picks of Sage and Peacock ending on Sage; 2 picks of Sage.
- 14 picks of Sage
2 Picks of Peacock to finish weaving the border (~7.5"). This end of the scarf will show dominance of Sage color.
Weaving the Body with Clasped Weft
With Sage shuttle on the right and Peacock on the left, open the shed and pass the Sage from the right to left, loop it around Peacock on the left, and pass the shuttle back through the same shed pulling Peacock with it. Pull both yarns at a slight angle to adjust the clasped pick. Close the shed and beat firmly. The clasped weft follows a freeform diagonal line on the left side and Sage on the right.
Clasped wefts will mostly stay within an inch of the clasped warp ends maintaining a diagonal movement. Intermittently lengthening the clasp into the other color area adds interest. Continue weaving with clasped picks shifting the weft clasps gradually to right side (~ 63"). By now, the fabric will have more of Peacock weft and less of Sage.
Weaving the End Border
- 2 Picks of Sage
- 14 picks of Peacock
- 2 picks of Sage; 11 alternate picks of Peacock and Sage ending on Peacock; 2 picks of Sage
- 14 picks of Peacock
- 4 picks of Sage; 19 alternate picks of Peacock and Sage ending on Peacock; 4 picks of Peacock
- 2 picks of sage
- 14 picks of Peacock
- 2 picks of sage
- 16 picks of Peacock
- Throw a pick of Sage from right to left; cut and weave in Sage.
Throw a pick of Peacock from left to right; cut yarn leaving a long tail for hemstitching. Add a row of Italian Hemstitching in Peacock as you did in the beginning. Finished scarf will measure ~72" under tension on the loom.
- Anu found three clasps in the fringe portion of the scarf. To fix these, cut each end carefully at the back beam. Secure the loose yarn side (Peacock side) of the clasp with an overhand knot.
Remove the scarf from the loom, leaving 10 - 12" of unwoven warp at each end for fringe.
Finishing
- Prepare twisted fringes of the warp, making 25 fringes.
- To wash, immerse the scarf in hot tap water (110° - 125° F) with few drops of Eucalan or Dawn dish detergent. If you use dish detergent, rinse first with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar mixed in water. Rinse thoroughly with tepid water. Squeeze out extra water and press gently with a clean towel. Lay flat to dry.
- Steam iron gently to take out wrinkles and fluff up the yarn.
Notes
Tips for Clasped Warping and Weaving:
Knowledge of direct warping method is helpful before one starts with clasped warp.
Avoid making clasps within 18" of the peg or the back beam. Clasps showing up in the fringe section may slip out.
Handling yarns gently without undue slack or pull is the key for measuring clasped warp.
Measuring warp in an organized and orderly manner.
Take frequent breaks and warp when feeling fresh.
Keeping detailed notes (or taking pictures) to document and to maintain symmetry of design is helpful.
Be creative and take your weaving on RH loom to the next level with clasped warp and weft.
Resources
Bhatia, Anu. “Peaks & Valleys.” Easy Weaving with Little Looms, Summer 2021, pp. 37–38.
Lynde, Robin. “Clasped-Warp weaving.” Easy Weaving with Little Looms, Summer 2020, pp. 107–109.
Patrick, Jane. The Weaver’s Idea Book: Creative Cloth on Rigid Heddle Loom. Fort Collins, CO: Interweave, 2010.
