*** 15 April 2011 - Update ***
yay - its off the loom - I've not got a pic yet as the sun had gone down already and I was not keen to photograph it by the orange light of an eco-bulb (don't think it would do it justice). The texture is rather interesting, and the soumak weave made both the ends cleaner, and it seems to have also kept the warp threads more evenly spaced (either that or I'm getting better at weaving!). I'll have a pic or two up in the next day or so.
***13 April 2011 ***
I've had these balls of sari yarn in my stash for over a year now - afraid to use them because I did not know quite what do do with them. I tried to use them in kumihimo, however the twist was/is unstable so the yarn unravels itself while hanging from a marudai. I also wanted to try soumak weaving (thank you Miryam-chavah) as an experimental "end".
The sari yarn is working well as warp & weft, and the soumak weaving has madea a lovely starting end - which for rigid heddle users is a great way to reduce waste (because you normally instert a bit of flad card or paper to get your first lines running) this adds a decorative finish, while evening out the warp threads and giving you a base upon which to start weaving.
I'll have some pics to post tomorrow or the next day.
Ok Thumper70, you've tantalized us enough. Pictures please!!!
he he - sorry about that - pictures are now up.
And worth the wait! Sari colors are spectacular, aren't they? I've got some in my stash that I've been debating re-spinning (unspin and respin finer). You'll have to keep sharing with us if you put it through a wet finish, any stress tests, etc. I've thought that the ends popping out for an eyelash effect could be a nice effect.
Very nice! What does it feel like and how does it drape? I've considered buying some sari yarn so I'm curious. (Not that I need any more yarn...)
Carie
Thanks, Alison,
they are really striking yes. I've not done the "finishing" yet. I'll be curious to see what changes after I give it a good wash and so forth.
I'm not so sure how well it would re-spin - at least the batch I had looked like spinning it in the first place would have been a real challenge - when you consider freying, the lumpy bits created by patterning from the original sari, etc. . . . I've spun paper, its the closest material I can compare with the feel of working with the sari yarn - and that while rewarding was a real challenge, I think that trying to get a finer spun product out of the sari yarn would be insanity-inducing to say the least.
Hi Carie
thanks - yes, I'm rather pleased with the result, and a bit surprised.
At the moment it is a bit on the stiff side - and the texture is . . . "curious" - it is slightly scratchy, and half way between soft & hard (if that makes any sense).
It is on the stiff side so while it is silk it holds its form more than I expected - however, I've not washed it yet so that might change.
My current thinking on it is that it would make a great hat, bag, coat, a bit of accent in something else, a cushion cover, but if you're thinking about something to be against the skin I think you might find it uncomfortable.
Thanks for posting. This is very interesting. Like many others, I'm sure, I was so taken by the brilliant colors that I added some to my stash without a clue about what I would do with it. I look forward to the continuing saga...
