Here's the warp, sleyed and ready to be tied onto the front apron:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvXA5T52SnfmWJyq1Q-AB3WMHGWBPMzgPgG1WQJggmMMbU0HGupylDes_GJag87SnXpIICBDwyw6kTdpaUJgUmpwbn55hjH734CIM2C0jsXMHJWbo5_bj1_27dWMjXajR4u3iUg/s320/warpinreed.jpg)
Last time I used this dark brown merino, it shrank nicely for me, so I was sure it would behave the same now.
I wove about 6 inches, using a rusty orange silk weft. The lower part is all plain weave. In the upper part, the dark brown merino stripes are broken 2/2 twill. Also in the upper part of the sample, I put rows of 8-12 picks of a beige wool (testing for future shrinkability). Then I cut off the sample, zig-zagged the raw edges, and washed and dried it.
Lo and behold, no shrinkage what-so-&*%^#(-ever. So I washed it again, by hand, agitating fiercely. And dried it in a HOT drier.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoVYegMrkn6FmhVAQ7aCsQBpvqyUiIAtLWhP5qYicRjR4TpNp3PIadQm353Its-Qfba3Z75bAIkGs5RC8zIwvcCMI_drgKkiYxZIvNY3Ea232imcJd9Pku_jwuT_3Yt8W_m_dZg/s320/finished-sample.jpg)
Okay, the upper portion shows a tiny hint (but only a hint) of shrinkage in the wool stripes. Back to the drawing board. I have now resleyed in a 10-dent reed, same as before with 2 ends of wool in each dent and 3 ends of silk/tencel.
Tomorrow I'll weave another sample and wet finish it. If nothing shrinks at the more open sett, I'll take a different route for bark-like texture, and put it into the weft. I've got some Jump yarn from Silk City that's almost the same color as my rusty orange weft, and some Merino/Elite from Textura Trading (no longer available) in a milky brown that's similar to another weft yarn. In horizontal stripes, I KNOW they'll produce texture.
And so it goes...
2 comments:
I know that feeling! I had several #*&%@! moments this summer trying to manage some differential shrinkage. Yarns, eh?
How about trying 3-1 twill in the wool stripes for more space to move.
Dianne
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