2/20 merc. cotton warp with Fox Fibre 18/2 weft in either 100% brown or 100% green
The photo of the cones shows how the yarn looks on the cone, and a small sample that I soaked for 20 minutes or so in *hot* water with a heavy solution of washing soda. I'm amazed at how dark the green gets!
Thank you for posting your photos. Your towels are beautiful. Please post pictures when they've been washed. I love colorgrown cotton~~it's one of my favorite yarns. It's just amazing how the colors bloom when they've been washed.
It will be a while, but yes, I'll post photos of the finished towels. :)
cheers,
Laura
That's pretty neat yarn Laura! I've been following your project since you posted the pics of the washed samples. I would love to try some of this one day - I just read about it online, and was wondering if it's sold in Canada or can only be shipped up? I love the green ~ your weaving is just exquisite!
I'm not sure if it is sold in Canada - I bought it directly from Sally Fox in CA. You could try Jane Stafford and see if she has it?
cheers,
Laura
Good idea Laura - I had a look on her site, but it looks like she doesn't carry this yarn. I found some though, and the shipping was reasonable, so I ordered 2 cones.
Looking forward to seeing your finished towels! ;)
Got them into the washer last night. Will get them pressed tomorrow. :)
cheers,
Laura
Oh WOW, those turned out lovely!!! The brown & green yarns really show up nice against the white warp - they look beautifulLaura! Now, can I ask about your selvages - I read on your blog (I think) that you like using a basket weave selvage with twills - is this the basket weave selvage? They look really neat and tidy!
No, I didn't use a basketweave selvedge on these. Just threaded a 'fancy' twill and used a point twill at the selvedge to 'frame' the design.
cheers,
Laura
Oh, ok. Did that require a floating selvage? The fancy twill is really a beautiful pattern - does it requre 16 shafts to do, or is that just how many this loom has? Do you have an idea of the % of shrinkage allowance that should be figured for this yarn? Your towels are gorgeous - I think either one of the two would go with any color scheme.
I never use a floating selvedge. :) That particular design was made to be done over 16 shafts - since I have them, I tend to use them. The motif on the edge, which you can't really see in any of the photos I posted was a 'fancy' twill over 16 shafts with point twill over 16 for the centre and selvedges.
But you can do quite complex designs on four - Zielinski's Master Weaver series has a section on twill where he shows how to generate 'fancy' twills on four shafts.
The disadvantage is the complex treadling required - something I don't have to worry about with my dobby loom. :)
cheers,
Laura
Thanks for the tip about the Zielinski's Master Weaver series Laura - I will check out the twills on 4 shafts book. Can you suggest the percentage of shrinkage to factor in when planning a project for this yarn please? I'm guessing it's quite a bit after washing in hot water? Thanks again! You are a great source of inspiration for me! ;)
Generally I ballpark dimensional loss at 10% for draw in, 10% for shrinkage during wet finishing. :)
During wet finishing I use about a 1/4 cup of washing soda and about the same amount of detergent, no fabric softener for towels. I also use the longest wash cycle with the soak option to help scour out the naturally occuring waxes in the Fox Fibre yarn.
cheers,
Laura
Hey, thank you so much for the really, really detailed info about this project - I appreciate it very much! I'm looking forward to planning a project with these yarns, and I'll be sure to post about whatever my project ends up being. Thanks again for your inspiration Laura! ;)
You're welcome - enjoy! ;)
Laura
