Hi!  First post and relatively new to weaving, mostly self taught!  Love the site, so informative!

I was gifted some gorgeous Malabrigo variegated "chunky" yarn in stonechat and am stimied as to what a good choice would be for the warp.  Love its softness and squishiness, and was hoping for a nice drape for the scarf I'm planning, in plain weave. I already made one costly mistake in warp selection, i.e. Berroco's "Lustra," a Peruvian wool and tencel blend with a beautiful sheen.  That turned out to be a disaster!  Was unaware that is was a single, though when I did a "strength" test it seemed quite capable of holding up to tension.  By the time I got through with threading the heddles it was already beginning to become sticky and split, and as I began tying onto the apron rod I noticed a few threads had broken.  I thought with it being a tencel blend I'd be fine!  Ugh.  I called Halcyon for their thoughts and they suggested their signature Victorian brushed mohair so as to keep it to scale and let the weft shine through, but a mohair warp kind of scares me, lol.  Their other suggestion was their signature Victorian 2 ply wool, but the colors are so limited.  So, any suggestions from you experienced weavers would be most appreciated!  And one question.  Aside from fibers such as cotton, silk, bamboo et al, are there any wool singles suitable for warp?  Are you always safe with a plied yarn (in terms of strength)?  All the yarn stores around here cater to knitters and are clueless when it comes to choosing weaving yarns.  Thanks!

Comments

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:32

sandra.eberhar…

I would choose a plied warp (better withstands the abrasion warp gets) that has some "tooth".  It needs enough texture to keep the weft from packing too much.  If the Malabrigo will felt, you can weave a very open and pliable fabric that depends on fulling to stabilize.  I have made some notable shawls of thick handspun weft and thin, feltable warp.

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:34

sandra.eberhar…

To do the above, you need to make sure the warp and weft will felt.  I cut about 8" of yarn, roll it into a ball, and rub it hard in hot soapy water.  

When it dries, if it's still in a ball, it felts.  If it falls apart, no.

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 03:32

Sara von Tresckow

If you are looking for drape in a scarf with a chunky weft, think somehing like a Harrisville Shetland as warp. It comes in lovely colors, has a softness when woven and isn't overly stretchy. I use is often as warp on mohair scarves where the weft is not firmly packed.

The Shetland yarn will felt if that is desired for finishing.

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 14:15

Missus T.

I'm relatively new to weaving, too; for what it's worth, I recently made a mohair warp for a scarf with an open sett and one end per dent.  The warp was slightly sticky to work with, but totally worth it in terms of the lovely result.