Profile

 

In yesterday's post I mentioned the yarn 'profile' as being sawtoothed, and I began to wonder if people would know what I was referring to.  So I worried about it for a while and decided the best thing to do was manipulate the image a bit.  And, while I was at it, see if I could gain an understanding of the thickness of the yarn.

The 2/20 is on the left, the 2/10 on the right.  What that means is that the yarn is made up of two strands twisted together (or plied).  The 20 refers to the number of yards/pound which is 20 x 840 = 16,800 divided by 2 (for the number of threads in the 2 ply yarn) for a total of  8,400 yards per pound.  Approximately.

The 2/10 is thicker with 10 x 840 = 8,400 yards per pound divided by 2 or 4,200 yards per pound.  Approximately,.

Nominally, then, you would expect the 2/10 to be twice as thick as the 2/20, right?

Well, no matter how many times I try to measure the two, the 2/10 is not twice the thickness of the 2/20.  Which kind of affirms what a very experienced spinner suggested would be the case when I consulted with her when I did the original samples for the article I'm (still) working on.

I have not done any further 'testing' of the yarn to try and determine numbers of twist in the singles and the plied yarn but I suspect that if I were to take the yarn apart I would discover the singles for the 2/20 are more tightly twisted than the 2/10.  The finer the yarn, the 'weaker' it can be, so additional twist can be added to add a little 'backbone' to the yarn so that it can perform as warp more easily.  The thicker the yarn, the more strength it will have - united we stand, divided we fall, and all that.

I just beamed the sample warp for these yarns yesterday.  (it's the 2/20 for warp) I wound the beam quite tightly - more tightly than I've been using for the 2/16, in part because I could, in part because I wanted to make sure the yarn was 'sound'.  I did not have one single broken end during beaming.  I have a nicely beamed warp that will need to be re-sleyed a couple times, and re-threaded once (according to my most recent set of scratch notes).  It also needs to withstand a pretty significant change in weaving width, which will stress the outside ends, so I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to fall apart on the stress of the deflection as the weaving width changed.  I don't remember that I had any issues when I wove the original set of samples, but this is a new lot of yarn so I wanted to improve my chances by increasing the tension on the warp as I wound it.

These samples have to be to the magazine by the end of August.  So my goal today is to begin threading and try to weave all the samples this week.  August 12 I have my next back injection and need to do 3 days of 'light duties'.  Seems like a good time to polish off this batch of samples and polish the two article on cotton are due 'next' so I can mail everything in one box...

Change One Thing

 

When I say 'change one thing, everything can change' some people don't realize that they are actually changing anything when they change brands of yarn.  Or if they don't understand that the way yarn has been spun will impact the quality of their cloth.  Or the experience during weaving.

Let's look at some yarn up close and personal.

The above photo is two yarns that are rated 2/16 (the red/rust on the left) and 16/2 (teal) on the right.

Hold up, you might say, those aren't the same!

No.  No, they are not.

Because the only piece of information that you have is the number of yards per pound, and nothing else.

The 'count' merely tells you the length per weight, not how the fibres were prepared for and the method of spinning.

The open end spun yarn (the teal in the above photograph) is weaker, loftier (more trapped air in it), and has more 'loose' fibre sticking out of it.  Since it is weaker, it will not behave nicely during beaming (if used as warp), it will cast off more lint during weaving and the quality of cloth you weave will be different from a ring spun yarn of the same count.  The ring spun yarn will be stronger, create less lint during weaving, and withstand abrasion better than the open end yarn.

Even if you are not interested in spinning, per se, it's a really good idea to understand how your materials are created so that you can use them 'properly'.

And this is why a ruler wrap is just a starting place.  Given that the open end spun yarn is thicker/loftier than the ring spun, the weaver may want to adjust their epi/ppi to accommodate that difference, too.  

I've just finished a rather large cone of 20/2 unmercerized cotton (as weft) and switched to 2/20 mercerized cotton for weft.  The difference is slight, and I won't know how much of a difference will be made to my cloth until I wet finish both.  In some ways I prefer the mercerized yarn because it is providing a 'crisper' look to the motif.  In the end I may like both - for different reasons.

But change one thing?  And everything can change...

Potential

I've talked about my resources before, my 'libraries' of drafts that I can browse through, evaluate for their potential for being the 'next' warp in the queue.

The one open is the latest, the draft I'm using being the one partially covered by the blue arrow.  The booklet is called The Fanciest Twills by Irene Wood, based on the drafts developed by Fred Pennington, as I understand it.  All (or most, there are a very few at the back that are on more than 16 shafts) are done on a 16 shaft point progression.  Most are symmetrical, although not all, such as the one I'm currently using.  which has a symmetry, but not up and down as well as side to side.  As such it creates stripes in the cloth.

Other books have been in my library for a very long time, like the Oelsner, which has drafts for 4, 6, 8, 10 and on up.  There is a section for twill based weaves, but also sections for other weave structures.  Well worth the price if it is something you are interested in.  Should be readily available second hand, although it might be a Dover publication, so not terribly expensive new, either.

The other book is a much newer book, purchased on a trip to Sweden.  As it happens Kerstin Fro:berg knows one of the authors, and introduced me to her when we ran into each other somewhere.  It is a book similar insofar as it is drafts, various numbers of shafts involved.  It has a number of weave structures that are not very common in North American, and because I had actually met one of the authors, bought it. 

I use these books as jumping off places.  I browse through them looking for ideas, for inspiration.  Usually I know what I want to make (what function the cloth is to perform) but I may not have a clear idea as to design or weave structure, beyond a category (twill, lace, etc.)

So I idly thumb through with my idea simmering on the back burner, looking for something that appeals to me that would be suitable for the function, and perhaps the colours I have on hand.

Right now my primary mission is to use up what I have, not buy more, so there is that creative constraint as well.

I'm pleased enough with how the red and black is weaving up that I will go ahead with the other three warps I've pulled, plus look to see if I can re-combine the yarns to make one or two more warps in this same design.

And after that?  Well, I will just have to wait and see.  There are scarves to be made and 2/16 bamboo from Brassard to use, a variety of fine rayons in lots of different colours and textures to use up.  And all that silk.  The silk may take a while longer to simmer before I feel up to tackling it.

Currently reading Benefit of Hindsight by  Susan Hill

Best Before

Took a while to rev my engine yesterday, but did finally manage to start beaming the next warp.

The last time I worked with this black yarn (purchased in, oh, 1997 or somewhere about there, sitting in darkened store room since then) was for a warp a couple of months ago.  During beaming there were several tubes that were culled out because the yarn kept breaking.  That yarn was mostly used up as weft.  But I still had tubes of black yarn so I came up with this warp.

Turns out that there are even more tubes that have gotten weak enough that they don't like the tension of beaming so yesterday I got this far, culling two more tubes while beaming the first two sections.

I'm hoping that I've got them all now, but if not, there are 5 more tubes I can substitute and if I need more, there are a few really dark blue tubes, too.

The plan was to use up the last of the originally culled tubes as weft, then use up some of the 'good' tubes.  Well, now there are four tubes that will be used up as a matter of priority.

And I'm thinking that I need to use up more of this yarn, possibly as weft, as soon as I can. 

Black dye is widely regarded as being very harsh on yarn and this yarn appears to be approaching it's 'best by' date very quickly.  It can still be used as weft, but once this warp is wound, I am going to be very reluctant to use it as warp again.  So now I'm trying to think about what I have in the queue that would benefit from a very dark/black weft.

Stay tuned!

Those Pesky Numbers

The above photo is in black and white because it shows the difference between American open end spun 8/2 cotton (below) and ring spun 2/8 cotton (above) more clearly.

Those numbers are used, these days, interchangeably although they do actually have meaning beyond the obvious - 2/8 (and 8/2) cotton is spun to the imperial system of yarn numbering where the value for 1 is 840 yards per pound - for cotton.  Other fibres have different values for 1.

So what does that mean?

If 1 equals one pound of cotton fibre spun so that it produces approximately (the numbers are only ever approximate) 840 yards of yarn, the other sizes can be calculated from that by beginning with 840.

For 2/8 (or 8/2) cotton, that means that the spinner or spinning mill has spun 8 times 840 yards of yarn from one pound, then plyed it dividing that number in half.

840 x 8 = 6720/2 = 3360 yards per pound

a 2/10 (or 10/2) yarn would be:

840 x 10 = 8400/2 = 4200 yards per pound

And so on

However!

A yarn is not just how many yards per pound it has.  It is also the quality of the fibre it has been spun from and the method of spinning used *and* the number of twists applied to the single and then the ply.  No, they won't necessarily be the same.

An open end system is much like woollen spinning - the fibres are disorganized, lots of air is trapped in it, it is loftier and weaker than...

...ring spun yarn which is spun from (generally although not always) longer fibre staple, with fibres aligned, denser with less air trapped in it and stronger than open end spun yarn even when spun from the same quality of fibre as the open end spun yarn.

8/2 is more absorbent than 2/8.  8/2 is dustier than 2/8 (evidenced by the degree of lint left on the loom after weaving a warp using 2/16 for warp and 10/2 and 16/2 for weft).

The only thing the numbers tell is the number of yards per pound or meters per gram (or 100 grams or other metric unit).  Even then, that number is only ever *approximate*.

Unfortunately the numbers have become muddied and are now used interchangeably.  For those who say I'm wrong, I suggest they take a look the Jaggerspun Yarns website to see that they *still* identify their worsted (ring spun) yarns as 2/x, 2/y, 2/z.

The numbers do not tell a weaver everything they need to know about a yarn.  Only by weaving with it, using different densities and weave structures, and then wet finishing it, will a weaver know the potential locked within the yarns that they are using.

I received complimentary copies of the last two issues of the Guild of Canadian Weavers bulletin.  Jane Stafford is doing a column for the bulletin and she addressed this issue of needing to weave, weave, weave samples in order to understand how a cloth is brought to life, to serve its purpose with integrity.

If someone wants to really delve into the craft, Jane is crafting a series of on line classes that I strongly suggest everyone take.  If you sign up now you get access to all of the presentations.  She is taking this entire year to take a deep dive into twills.

Strongly recommended for people who want to understand this craft below the surface.

Little by Little

blue yarn all used up (except a bit on a tube)

next colour

With about 6700+ yards per pound, this yarn* gives a lot of playtime for what it costs.

Peg asked if I use it doubled or single.  I use it single at 32 epi (more or less, depending on weft and weave structure) because I find it makes a good tea towel.  I use 2/8 cotton at 20 to 24, again depending on weft and weave structure, but find that makes more of a 'kitchen utility' type of towel, great for wiping hands, not so good for a tea towel as it becomes quite thick and difficult to get into the insides of small items like glasses/cups.

At a conference a while ago, the people at the table I was sitting at kept ooh-ing and ah-ing at the garments made by one of their guild members, who typically wove with fine silks.  It was like no one in the history of civilization had ever woven with such fine, fine yarn (it wasn't all that fine).

In response to repeated observations about how expensive silk was, I commented that you get a lot of play time with finer yarns.  

So it is with this cotton.  It takes me about 55 minutes to weave a towel with this weight of cotton.  It costs the same as the heavier yarns - about $8.50 per tube wholesale.  I get a different quality of cloth from a thicker yarn which would take less time to weave.

Neither one is 'better' or 'worse' than the other.  They serve different purposes.  The thing is, weavers need to choose yarn, density, weave structure, suitable for the purpose they wish their textile to serve.

Right now my mission is to use up as much of my yarn as possible.  I'm still getting satisfaction from seeing the shelves empty of yarn.  I have worked out the technical aspects of making tea towels with this yarn so I'm left with playing with colour and design.  The fun bit.  And the working meditation of sitting down to weave for 45-55 minutes without thinking too much about what I'm doing - just a human, being.

For now, during this time of self-isolating during a pandemic, that is enough.

*Brassard 2/16 cotton, not the US 16/2 cotton, although I would use Brassard for warp and 16/2 for weft.  When I did that on the end of the last warp I found the 16/2 cast off a lot more dust than the Brassard 2/16.  I'm going to have to dust off the loom more regularly as I use up the American yarn, which is open end spun, more loosely twisted, and obviously, dustier.

Wabasso Yarn

In 1959 Wabasso Cotton bought its competition in Welland and Wood’s Manufacturing became a branch plant of Wabasso of Toronto. The entire processing of raw cotton was done at the Welland plant. Denim cloth was now manufactured in Welland where five hundred looms were dedicated to the process. Wabasso was Canada’s only supplier of denim cloth at that time. It was Welland’s largest, light industry employer, reaching a total of eight hundred workers during its best years. French–Canadians constituted the largest number of employees.

Faster, shuttleless machinery replaced looms in 1980 to increase production. This modernization did not produce forecasted results and on December 5, 1984 Wabasso announced the closure of the Welland plant. The closure was completed in May of 1985 when the last employee was laid off. Wabasso could not compete with foreign markets. In December 1985 National Textile bought out Wabasso but continued to sell products under the Wabasso name.

Over the years I have accumulated stash from various sources.  In the current warp I added in two tubes of pale green of 2/16 size.  How do I know it's 2/16?  The manufacturer, Wabasso, says so.

Now, I don't know what the KW stands for.  I wish I did.  Maybe a spinner could enlighten me.  But the label very clearly says "2/16".  Not "16/2".

It is comparable to the Brassard brand of 2/16 cotton which, if you look at the French website, still lists their cotton in the 2/16 format although they changed the English side to 16/2 a while back.

If you compare the standard 2/8 cotton as provided by Brassard, and the standard 8/2 cotton provided by US suppliers, the yarns are very different.

So again, leaping up onto my soap box to remind people that the only thing those numbers mean is how many (approximately) yards per pound the yarn is supposed to have.

It does not speak to how the fibre was prepared or how it was spun. 

The Canadian yarn is strong enough for warp.  If you do a simple break test, it feels weak, but if you do a snap test, it will withstand the forces that intend to replicate the opening and closing of the sheds and the force of the beater against the fell.

When I compared the two qualities of yarn, I managed to discover that US 8/2 cotton is open end spun while the Canadian 2/8 cotton is ring spun.  When I deconstructed the two yarns, the US cotton appeared to have a staple length of about 3/4" while the Canadian yarn was closer to 1".  The twists per inch differed.  The yarn looks different and behaves differently.

These two very different looking yarns are both natural white. (I changed the scan to black and white to show the difference more clearly.)  The top one is 2/8 Canadian, the bottom 8/2 US.  The top one is smoother and whiter looking probably because it has the fibres aligned and is more tightly twisted than the lower yarn which was spun from fibres that are not aligned and are less tightly twisted.

The top one is stronger than the bottom one.  The top one is less absorbent than the bottom one.

Since I acquired the pale green Wabasso yarn after an older weaver had died, I have no idea how old the yarn is.  (I have more of her yarn in my stash - a pale brick red.)  However, it was stored well and does not appear to have deteriorated at all.  Certainly the other colour has been fine.  It also was Wabasso.  I rather suspect that Dorothy probably bought yarn when the mill closed down, so quite possibly in the 1980s or even earlier as she had been weaving for many years before I met her around 1986 or so.

A number of our local guild members were friends, so when she died her family contacted as many weavers as they could to sell off her yarn stash.

I have fond memories of Wabasso sheets and towels.  Since it was Canadian made, mom could usually buy cheaper than textiles made elsewhere.

Canada had quite a few textile mills, both spinning and weaving.  They eventually mostly closed as they could not compete with mills in other countries.  But for quite a few years I purchased 2/8 cotton directly from a mill in Ontario.  When we contacted them, they wanted to know my specs - what size, how many twists per inch.  I told them I'd send them a sample of the quality I needed and they called back when they got my sample and told me it was 2/8 cotton with x number of twists per inch. I think they even broke it down to twists per inch for the single as well as tpi for the ply.

My minimum order was something like 150 pounds of a single colour, so I would buy three 50 pound cases of white from them, then buy the colours from other suppliers - South Landing and Brassard, mostly.  At the time Curl Brothers also provided 2/8 cotton.  It was a higher quality and a higher price, so I only bought a few colours not available from the others.

The difference?  I could (and can) easily break the 2/8 cotton from those with my hands.  The Curl Brothers was more like the Swedish cotton - very strong, almost impossible to break with my hands.

When examining yarn, look beyond the numbers.  The numbers only tell one small part of the story.

Change One Thing

I have been working on this series of table runners for a while now - with a large break in between due to my travel/teaching schedule.  I'm very happy to be making good progress on this warp, with three more waiting in the wings.

With something like a dozen different colourways, I will choose one to be a Book Project.

The warp is Brassard's 2/8 cotton for warp, with a cotton slub for weft.  This particular one is a cotton slub I inherited from my friend Lynn, so won't be used.  Instead I'll choose one with Brassard's cotton slub.  Because I'm trying to use yarns for the book that are (currently) readily available.

For this particular design I have set the warp at 24 ends per inch.  Previously I've done towels with exactly this same combination of yarns set at 20 epi.

Now which one is correct?

They both are.  Because I am aiming for two different qualities of cloth.  A towel needs to be more flexible and more absorbent.

A table runner needs to be sturdier, to lay flat and smooth, and perhaps even be less absorbent, therefore resisting spills a bit better than a less dense textile.

Change one thing - in this case the epi - and you get a different quality of cloth.

Currently reading The Disappeared by C. J. Box

Simple Questions/Answers

People new to the craft of weaving are usually looking for definitive answers to what they think are very simple questions.  They are expecting a simple answer to their simple question.

The problem is, weaving (like life, really) is anything but simple.  In fact, it can be quite...messy...in terms of the things that need to be factored into any decision.

Since the vast majority of people learning to weave are doing so as a pass time, a hobby, perhaps a long held dream to make their own fabric, or even just an undefined desire, many expect to be told to do x, y and z and then they 'know it all'.

But it isn't that simple.  There are very few 'black and white' considerations when it comes to the creation of a textile; rather, there are many different shades of grey.

Although I've posted about this many times before, I will use this example again of how things...depend.

In the photo above there are two skeins of cotton.  Both skeins are the same in terms of how many yards per pound have been spun.  Can you see the difference between them?  (Biggify the photo for a closer view.)

Even though they are both 100% cotton at about the same thickness (or grist, or yards per pound), they are quite different and they will behave differently.

First of all there is the staple length.  One has a staple length of approximately 3/4" which is about the shortest staple length used to spin yarn.  The other has an average staple length of just under an inch.

One was carded (the shorter length staple) and spun open end which produces something akin to a woolen spun yarn - lofty, more air in it, weaker than the other - which was combed, ring spun, more like a worsted yarn.

So yes, even though they both have the same number of yards per pound (approximately) they are two very different yarns.  They will behave differently as they are used and will make cloth with different characteristics.

Which is better?  (Wait for it.)   It depends.  What type or quality of cloth do you want to make?  The shorter staple loftier yarn will be more absorbent, but weaker.  The other yarn, more tightly spun, will be stronger, but less absorbent.

See?  No simple answers!

And so it goes for the entirety of the craft.  (I am quite sure other traditional hand crafts have similar complexities, but I'm most familiar with weaving.)

So, new weavers, ask your questions.  But don't expect a simple answer because the correct answer in almost every case is...it depends...

Up Close and Personal

This rather messy looking pile of...straw?...is actually a really close up view of cottolin (purple) and cotton (pale blue) woven together.  It is hard to make out but the purple yarn is a two ply - if you look really closely, you might be able to see the one ply of purple on the surface with the other ply in the background.  Look for the shadow of the ply.

Cottolin is a blend of cotton and linen.  In terms of fibres, they have different characteristics.  Some people think that blending them together improves both; others think it brings out the worst in each!

Cotton fibres are from the seed pod of the cotton plant.  When harvested the 'tube' of fibre collapses into a flat ribbon which twists.  The pale blue fibre in the foreground probably shows this the best.  (Do click on the photo for a bigger view.)

Linen fibres come from the stalk of the flax plant and fall into the category of 'bast' fibres.  In order to blend the two fibres, the flax fibres are cut up into a shorter length, close to the staple length of the cotton.  In the photo, the much darker fibres are the flax while the lighter shade of purple are the cotton fibres.

In preparation for the Next Big Project, I bought a little digital microscope.  This is about as far as it will go in terms of magnification.  It's still not enough to easily see the structure of the fibres.  However, there is a possibility of getting some images from a scanning electron microscope.  I'm hoping to get cross sections of the fibres as well as just an enlargement of the fibre.

Knowing the inherent characteristics of the fibres means having the knowledge to choose materials wisely.  The more I know about the fibre, the better.

Beige, Not Bland

Next, up, this lovely beige warp.  Lovely, you ask?  What is so lovely about beige?  Beige is bland.  Beige is boring.  Beige is...not any sort of colour at all!

Beige doesn't have to be boring or bland.  Beige is a nice neutral colour which can set off other colours quite nicely.   A beige warp can be a nice 'neutral' backdrop for all kinds of colours from white all the way through to black.

This particular beige warp isn't just beige though.  Take a closer look.  Yes, the majority of the threads are, indeed, beige - several different shades in fact.  But what else do you see?  Why peach and a pale mint green.

One of the things weavers need to take into consideration is the distance at which their cloth will be viewed.  It's a good idea, I think, to make them interesting from a distance, but also from close up.

I have high hopes for this warp.  There are several candidates for weft, one of which is a mid-range kind of burnt orange.  If that doesn't look good there are 3 or 4 other yarns in my stash which ought to look good.  It's a 30 yard long warp.  I should be able to do a little bit of stash busting.

Currently reading The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill

'Cheap' Yarn - Another Soapbox

There is a poster on Facebook that says "Life is too short to (knit, weave, crochet) with cheap yarn."

I agree.  But define 'cheap'?

One of the main complaints of new weavers is that weaving is so expensive - the yarn costs so much.

OTOH, when I look at yarns for knitting, my thought is "that's so expensive!"  When you look at what you are getting for your money, there can be quite a large difference in cost per ounce, knitting vs weaving yarns.

The thing is, weaving just uses up way more yarn so the initial outlay may seem as though it is more expensive.  Instead of one skein of 100 grams of knitting yarn for, say, $25 a new weaver may buy 3 or 4 tubes (8 ounce tubes) for more than that.  But compare the weight and yardage.  Generally speaking, cost per ounce for weaving yarns is a lot less than for knitting or crocheting.

So what is a 'cheap' yarn?  Are we talking inexpensive?  Or poor quality?  The word 'cheap' can be defined as either.

My approach to weaving has been to work with the best quality yarns I can afford.  So no, I don't buy the acrylics commonly available in Michael's or Wally World.  I go to weaving yarn suppliers.  I examine the way the yarn has been spun.  Test it for strength.  For integrity in the loom as warp.

If you look closely at the photo above (click to biggify) you will see two skeins of 2/8 or 8/2 cotton yarn.

Can you see the difference between them?  That one looks whiter and smoother than the other?

The skein on the top is Canadian standard 2/8 cotton.  The other is American standard 8/2 cotton.  (Although you can get 2/8 cotton now in the US - try WEBS and their Eight/Two cotton or Yarn Barn of Kansas - read the fine print where it describes the yarn as more tightly twisted for warp.)

Ring spun cotton is more like a worsted preparation while open end spinning is more like woolen preparation.  The ring spun yarn is smoother and stronger (by about 20% according to industry) than open end spun yarn of the same fibre.

My approach to weaving (I've said before and I'll say it again, no doubt!) is that the most expensive component of a hand woven textile is the time the weaver invests in creating their textile.  Why would I work with materials that can't stand up to the stresses of weaving?

My preference for warp is a stronger yarn.  The weaker yarn belongs in the weft.  IMHO.

Learn more about the inherent qualities of the yarn you are working with and make appropriate choices.  Watch this space for more information on my up-coming webinar with Weaving Today on just this topic.

Keeping On

I started by stapling 50 of each sample but realized I have more than 50 names on my contact list.  Since I'm an optimist, I decided that I'd better begin with 75 copies (half) so I've been doing 25 more of each in preparation to assembling the sample pages next week.  Hopefully Monday, although the forecaster finally seems to have got it right and the warm sunny weather they have promised has arrived.

Thankfully the a/c is working and the studio, which is in the basement, is nice and cool.

My proof reader has completed the project notes and is now working on the rest of the pages, I took some photos for the cover shot - still not entirely sure I like what I've got but I have to stop procrastinating - and we are planning on carrying all the samples up to the guild room Sunday night so I can spread out on the big work tables in the room.

Unfortunately the guild room always gets very hot when the weather is warm so I'm going to have to plough through as quickly as possible so that I don't bake up there.  My procrastination is 'punishing' me - if I'd got this all done a week ago the room would have been quite comfortable!

I did manage to weave a scarf today but there is still one more to go on this warp so perhaps I can get that done tomorrow in between stapling, contract details for a conference, etc.  I also have to do the sales tax return which means balancing the May ledger and entering/balancing the figures for June before I can do that.  Fortunately I've got a couple of weeks yet so that's been postponed until I can get the Big Project off the ground.  When you are a one person business, you have to get good at juggling to meet deadlines....

Long story short - I will be sending out details on July 9 with shipping to begin July 16.  So I've sort of nearly made my arbitrary deadline?

Currently reading Believing the Lies by Elizabeth George

Fringe - Four Sides

As mentioned in a previous post, I used to use this finish on placemats and table runners when we were doing table textiles in production mode.  For the purposes of these samples I didn't want to colour code the cut lines differently than the body of the textile because what I did was make a larger tea cloth while the samples themselves are more mug rug size.  I planned the warp so that the design (the green stripes) and the weave structure (turned twill) would act as cut lines and stitching lines.  

Here, then, are photos showing how I do it.

The samples were cut on one of the green stripes.  Three threads were pulled from the cloth using the weave structure as a guide - 4 blocks were designated as fringe so 3 threads were pulled out of the fringe area leaving a ditch in the warp and weft.  Where they intersect there is a hole where the needle pivots:

approaching the hole where the needle pivots

needle in the hole ready to start down the next side

After sewing all four sides, overlapping the beginning with the end by about an inch and a half, the excess 'fugitive' ends and picks can be pulled away from the body of the cloth.  I find that starting at a corner, pinching a couple of threads from both directions, I can strip two sides at once.

After the threads are pulled I am left with fringe on all four sides.  It looks very thready and not very attractive at this stage but after wet finishing the threads will relax and bloom, the corner will fill in and after trimming the four corners and pressing the end result looks pretty good.  

Warning:  If you are doing a lot of fabric like this, there will be oodles of lint in the washing machine and the dryer.  Clean the lint trap in both machines when done.

The trick to using this method is to keep the fringe fairly short so that the threads can be easily pulled from the cloth.

Currently reading Thai Dye by Monica Ferris (where the word 'dying' is used where the word 'dyEing' should have been - a grave mistake (pun alert) in a murder mystery!

Analytical

Since the Big Project is about choosing yarns appropriate for the final purpose of the cloth I decided that fabric samples alone were not going to be enough, that I would also have to include samples of the yarn used as well.

The question then became how to efficiently handle making lots of little bundles of yarn.  The obvious choice is to staple the bundles to the pages.  Yes, I could drill holes and lark's head them through the holes.  Anyone want to volunteer to spend the hundreds of hours that would take?  Anyone want to pay someone to do that?  Didn't think so.  :D  So, I will staple the bundles and those who want to lark's head instead are welcome to make that change.  I know of several people who pulled the staples from the samples in Magic and sewed them to the pages instead.  Makes perfect sense, especially if you live in a humid climate, but if I'd done that the book would have been over $1000, not the price I actually charged!  I ruled out glue because glue eventually dries out and then the samples fall off the pages.

Since the sectional beam was used to dress the loom I left the spools used on the rack.  Using one of my 6" wooden rulers as a guide I am tieing a knot in the end, then a knot every 6" or so.  I'm doing this in groups of 5 knots.  More than that and the length of 'string' becomes cumbersome to handle.  Once I've got all 30 groups done I'll cut them apart.  Then when I staple the samples to the page I'll also have all the little bundles ready to staple as well.

A 6" sample of the yarn might be a bit generous but yarn is cheap (relatively speaking) and I wanted people to get a good sample they could examine and even deconstruct if they wanted in order to better understand the properties of the yarn being used. 

The baby blanket samples are in the washing machine and the first batch are just now ready to go into the dryer.  Tomorrow I'll press those along with the place mats and tea towels I've managed to hem.  It feels good to see some real progress being made.

Re-Tooling

A few days ago I posted this photo with the comment that I wasn't happy with the spacing of the colcolastic yarn and that I was going to resley the warp.

So last night I started re-sleying.  To remove the header I just cut the weft and pulled it out rather than unweave it.

When nothing much is changing, just squeezing the yarns together in the same reed, I don't pull all the threads out.  Instead I just move each bout of threads over one at a time.  I find this makes it much easier and keeps the threads under tension and controlled until their turn comes.  I loosen the knot of the next group and then just stick the hook into the next empty space grabbing the threads from the next dent to be moved.  It only takes a few minutes and it's done.

I expect I'll weave this sample warp off today - IF I'm happy with the new spacing - and go through the workshop warps to see how many need to be updated.  I've got a supply of 10/2 mercerized cotton now so that will probably be added as it is a yarn commonly used by US weavers.

As regards the colcolastic yarn, it is more fragile than I expected which is a bit disappointing, but now I know that I will take more care handling it as warp.  I will suggest back to front beaming and lashing on rather than tieing knots as I did originally.  These things are good to know so that people understand how to handle the yarn. 

Big Project Reveal

top of the big bag of yarn that arrived yesterday - yum!

stapler stand

cutting up sample #2

I hesitated to do the Big Project Reveal so soon but have made sufficient progress that I feel as though it is well on the way.

The first two samples have turned out the way I wanted them to, #3 is on its way to reaching material form (pun intended!) and #4 is actually further along in the design process so may get bumped up the queue.

So what is the topic?  This project grew out of the Workshop in a Box turned lecture/seminar/workshop called A Good Yarn.  What I am doing is taking a variety of fairly commonly available cotton yarns and designing projects for which I think they are particularly suited.  The text pages will talk about the specific characteristics of cotton fibre/yarn with the aim of helping people who want to know these sorts of things choose appropriate yarns for their cloth.  Fibre geeks I suppose I could call us.  :^)

I brought the stand for the electric stapler home the other day and cleared out a corner for it to live in.  Not entirely clear - the table still needs to be cleaned off and the buckets of bobbin lace - although they may wind up living under the stand!  (Doug has just returned with the stapler and set it up immediately so that is good to go.)  As soon as I cut the finished #1 samples apart I can start stapling.

The format for this publication will be very similar to Magic in the Water.  The samples will be stapled to card stock but this time I'll also include samples of the yarn used.  Drafts are primarily for 4 shafts, although I may include a couple of 8 shaft drafts.

The pages will be printed via a laser printer (I think - I still have to explore actual options).  There will be no binder, partly to keep the cost of publication down, but also to reduce the shipping cost.  Most people can get their hands on a 3 ring binder, after all.  And as someone from Europe pointed out, their standard paper size and ring configuration is different than in N. America.  The sample pages are already drilled for the N. American standard so they will come with that format.

I am making 150 copies (give or take) so if you want to be first in line, let me know.  (email laura at laurafry dot com) I'm taking names of people who are interested and will contact them first.  Price is still ball parked at between $50 and $60, depending on cost of printing.  For this you will receive 10 projects illustrated with before and after samples of the cloth, draft and wet finishing info.  (Well, I could hardly leave that out, right???)

With fewer and fewer guilds including samples in their newsletters and the cost of producing a publication with actual samples in, I'm hoping there will be enough interest to carry on with several more topics (potentially:  silk, linen, the rayons)

Please let your friends know.  150 copies is all there will be - first come, first served!

Currently reading Inheritance by Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm

New Directions?

Next warp on the AVl - 2/20 mercerized cotton in two shades of red.


I've been on a mission for several years now to drastically reduce my stash.  I've also been looking for new directions to go with my weaving.  Sometimes one just has to wait until the universe (or whomever) gets things aligned.

This weekend I had an ah-ha moment as pieces of the puzzle appeared to begin to fall into place.  I even had sufficient yarn in my stash to put a full-sized sample warp onto the AVL in preparation to weave some prototype textiles. 

In point of fact, if this idea pans out I actually need to buy more yarn in order to go into production so I've been looking at colour cards and rummaging on the 'net for sources of supply and today I'm placing some small-ish yarn orders with the intent of exploring this new type of textile.

Of course there is no guarantee that customers will buy what I make.  But that's the gamble anyone who weaves for sale takes when they make and offer their wares to the buying public.  The one consolation is that if they don't sell I can turn them into something else.  One advantage of weaving rectangles!

I can share the fact that I have applied for a wholesale account with Vreisis to purchase Fox Fibres organic, natrually coloured yarns.  If things go well I may be able to offer these yarns for sale at shows etc.  I've also been looking for more yarns to offer on my Art Fire site and these may fit the bill. 

Next week I'll be coning off the last of the wool/lycra yarn (I acquired a couple more kilos) and the singles 6 cotton with high twist energy.  I've used the singles 6 yarn to create 'collapse' fabrics and it works quite well.  It goes well with 2/10 and 2/12 cotton yarns.   I also have to decide if I will skein off the 2/28 worsted wool and dye it - or not. 

But as for the bulk of my stash?  I've actually done quite a good job of using up much of it - enough that I don't feel as though buying more is a bad thing.......

Cotton

Four different cotton yarns - from left - seine twine, 2/8 warp twist, 8/2 and 3/2 Perle

click to biggify

Chart showing cotton close up and fibre characteristics

New weavers sometimes don't understand that just because a yarn is made from a particular fibre, that doesn't mean that they are the same in terms of how they function.

Cotton fibres for textiles range from about .75 of an inch to up to 3" depending on the variety.  Some of the best quality fibres are Egyptian, pima and Sea Island.  A new variety called Supima is now available commercially although I doubt handweavers can get their hands on that, yet.

Even though all four of the above yarns are made from cotton, they are very, very different in how they behave as yarns, and therefore will create very different qualities of textiles.

Cotton seine twine is the original netting yarn.  It is extremely dense, hard wearing and stiff.  It is very useful to weavers for rug warp.

2/8 warp twist cotton is less dense than seine twine but more than strong enough for warp.  It is more flexible than seine twine and can be used for things like placemats, table runners, heavier weight garment fabric.  I've even used it doubled for rep weave rugs where it behaved quite nicely.  I still have some of these rugs and they are wearing quite well in lightly trafficked areas.

8/2 cotton is carded and much more loosely twisted than 2/8 warp twist yarn.  It is loftier and more absorbent.  It is also weaker than 2/8 and not much loved for warp because of that.  It is useful for weft in towels, baby blankets and other textiles where a lofty, flexible textile is desired.

Perle cotton is combed, not carded, mercerized and engineered for embroidery so built to withstand abrasion.  In comparison to 8/2 cotton, Perle cottons are extremely strong and much loved by US weavers for warp.  The yarn is generally available in a multitude of beautiful colours.

While all of these yarns are made from cotton, they are very different and weavers need to look beyond the colour at how their yarns have been manufactured to know and appreciate them for what they are, and what can successfully be made from them.

Currently readying Lying Dead by Aline Templeton

Special Orders

Finished winding this warp for a special order this morning. It's only 6" wide, but 11 meters long - for 30 mug rugs.

I hesitate to do special orders except that this client has been so easy to deal with. She pretty much gives me free rein to do what I want within general specifications. :D

She is understanding of and supportive of the time it takes to do something handcrafted because her husband is also a creative person.

My student will come back on Monday to weave her scarf and then I'll slam this warp onto the Fanny loom. My client needs the mug rugs for hostess gifts in September which means I have to have them completed before Labour Day when I start to travel myself. Since I'm also going to be away for 4 days next week (if my back continues as it is - or hopefully gets even better!) I'll have to really focus on getting these woven and hemmed in time to deliver them.

Currently reading A Play of Tragedy by Margaret Frazer