Multilayer Scarves (still...)

Whenever I start a multilayer project after having woven several warps of single-layer cloth, I have had time to forget how tedious the multilayer weaving is! My loom has a single-box fly shuttle, so each time I finish weaving one weft stripe and go to the next, it means lifting out the Color A shuttle and replacing it with the Color B shuttle. Ditto changing from B to C. In addition, it's hard to get a good smooth rhythm going when you weave 20 picks of A, 12 picks of B, and 8 picks of C.

At this point, what with various miscellaneous interruptions (aka Life), I've managed to finish the first scarf in the run and am about half-way through the second.

Here's the first scarf, seen under the loom on its way onto the cloth storage beam. The white weft stripes, which are the non-shrinking mohair blend, are already bubbling up in the float areas. Once the piece is wet-finished, the white warp stripes will bubble too, as the red and grey yarns shrink around 'em.



And here's the second scarf, at the front of the loom.



In both shots, you can see the loops of weft yarn at the selvedge. I don't bother clipping the ends and tucking them back into the weaving. These are wool-blend yarns, and once the piece is fulled and shrunk, I just clip the loops at the appropriate selvedge (this is a 6-selvedge cloth...) and trust the wool to do its work of sticking together. I've never had any problems with ends sliding out of place, except with one set of scarves where the non-shrinking layer was woven with a very fine, slippery, 100% mohair yarn. Those puppies just refuse to stay in place! Which pretty much guarantees that the scarves will end up being gifted, not sold.

The measuring tape I pin to the right selvedge is a length of white seam tape (the non-elastic reinforcing tape, not the stretchy hem tape). I've marked it for 90 inches (the on-loom length for the multilayer scarves that are designed to shrink significantly during wet finishing) and 100 inches (the on-loom length for scarves that use stripes of lycra-based yarns to get a ruffly faux seersucker look.

The one good thing about tedious weaving is that it gives me an opportunity to plan the next warp in my head. I've got a few ideas simmering in the brain cells that aren't busy counting 1-20, 1-12, 1-8, and repeat ad nauseum... Perfect way to timeshare left brain and right brain tasks!