Would love to hear how things are coming along for you... Drop a line about your successes or struggles so far.

My mohair warp and weft turned out to be all fright and no bite. I finished weaving the throw yesterday, and hated to see the end of the warp. Today I will be twisting fringe, and picking fuzz out of the heddles, reed, and carpet.

I need to find out how to wet-finish this mohair throw. If you have any insight on that, please let me know. I don't know anything about brushing it, either. Just learning - a step at a time.

Now, how about you?

Comments

B P (not verified)

Hi Karen

I've got as far as sizing some mohair yarn with gelatin. It will be interesting to see how the yarn behaves when being woven At the moment it feels very cardboardy.

Beth

endorph

weaving my cotton and linen towels. Now to get them hemmed and washed. THey are pretty stiff right now but I have been assured that they will soften up with washing and use. I think I might be willing to tackle linen in both warp and weft now - just need to keep that spray bottle handy!

gailc

My runner is washed, pressed and rolling-pinned.  I dont know how great a job I did on that last step, so I hesitate to say it was cold mangled.  As Kerstin assured me, the linen softened amazingly.  I dont think I will ever get the shine because this yarn was so variably plied - tightly plied in some places, barely plied in others.  But I finally wove with it and am pleased with the result.  All I need to do now is fold and sew the hems and I can post a finished photo.

KarenIsenhower

Tina and Gailc, it must feel great to have accomplished so much already! I'm always pleasantly surprised with the feel and look of linen after it comes out of the wash. You're sure to find that, too, Tina! Looking forward to your photo, Gailc.

tien (not verified)

Just thought I'd drop in and say I've joined the team! My "frightful fiber" is 140/2 silk...I am currently warping up for turned summer & winter using 140/2 silk as the tabby warp and 80/2 silk as the pattern warp. Because I'm handpainting both warps and dyeing the weft, plus have over 900 threads in my 12" sample AND am writing a book while holding down a full time job and preparing for chocolate-making frenzy next month....well, I don't expect to have my project done by the end of the month! But I'm delighted to have any weaving time at all, so I thought I'd join in. My goal is to get this thing threaded and maybe weave a few test picks by the end of October.

Where I am right now: I've designed my draft and done some Photoshop simulations of the fabric (pix below). I've wound, dyed, and beamed my tabby warp, and have wound the pattern warp. Now I need to dye the pattern warp and set it up for threading. My initial sett will be 12" wide at 80 epi, so 960 threads - no idea if that is too much or too little! but I guess I'll find out once I start weaving. This is totally new to me so I expect it will take awhile.

Here's a pic of what I'm hoping will come out the other side:

I'm really hoping that at least one of these simulations "pans out" because they all look SUPER cool!  They're 24-shaft turned S&W with variations on painted warps/wefts, - the top left one is a simulation of a warp that's painted while on the loom, or pre-woven, dyed, and then unwoven. If I like the top left version when I try it painted under tension on the loom, I may do more experiments with it. It's my favorite so far.

endorph

very exciting Tien - can't wait to see what you end up weaving - I like the upper left version the best!

KarenIsenhower

Welcome, Tien! 140/2 silk certainly qualifies as frightful fiber. You are in the right place!

Your plans sound very intriguing, and your fabric simulations give a glimpse of how fabulous the end product will be. We'll all be looking forward to seeing how your sample comes out. Be sure to drop in when you can - between work and chocolate perhaps - and let us hear of your progress.

KarenIsenhower

Hi all, I finished the mohair throw. After wet-finishing and brushing it, it is everything a mohair throw should be - soft, fluffy, and cuddly. I'm always amazed at what a weaving loom can do! I ended up with a cute scarf, too. The sampling piece was perfect to play with, and with a little bit of hand-stitched edging, it will make a lovely accessory peeking out from a jacket. You can see both of the mohair accomplishments in my projects.

I will never shy away from mohair again. I actually enjoyed working with it - which surprised me as much as anyone.

Happy weaving everyone! What's happening on your end?

kerstinfroberg

is warped and half-threaded:

With a bit of luck I will have a sample woven tomorrow, so I can start the exact weft calculations. (Pros and cons w compudobby: patterns can be "made to fit" - but will have to be "pegged" exactly. OK, so "pegging" a compu-dobby is less work than pegging a mechanic dobby, but...)

kerstinfroberg

Sample for both quality (ppi) and tabby weft. I decided on a light beige-y cotton for tabby and a dark grey 2-ply linen of unknown number (slightly thicker than 16/2) for the pattern. It will be woven upside-down not to over-develop my right leg, so I just pointed the camera at the underside...

tien (not verified)

Ooh, that's gorgeous!! Just love the colors.

kerstinfroberg

It is now in the washing machine. After a proper  mangling I will decide if it is the "right" one for the sheepskin. (There is warp for another one left) 

tien (not verified)

Ooh, I love your new cat bed! (just kidding!) I adore black cats, I have a wonderful black guy myself!

Is it going on the gray sheepskin in the photo?

kerstinfroberg

Yes, it is (going on the sheepskin). Unless it shrank too much... it looks like it will be a tright fit. Mangling will (hopefully) add a cm or so to the width - or I might have to add to the remaining warp...

(Btw the Resident Black Panther is called Rob Rhuadh McGregor - or Black Fluff, for short)

tien (not verified)

LOL! Mine is just named "The Fuzz". (As in, "Hey, have you seen the fuzz lately?") He's twenty-one years old and pretty arthritic, but is still quite cheerful about waking me up at 5:30am to feed him, so I think he's doing pretty well!

That sheepskin is gorgeous. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

B P (not verified)

Hi, I've just loaded some photos of weaving to my project page.

I like what I'm weaving, but progress is moving at a snail's pace. I'm using a stretchy yarn in the weft, which I hope will compress the lacey structure a bit.

I'll keep you posted...

Beth

kerstinfroberg

good news: the fabric *is* wide enough, even if "only just".

Perhaps bad news: several of the stripes should have been narrower (in the fabric width) - now the stripes are wider than the cut piece will be. As I do have more warp, I will contemplate the option of weaving another...

Cloth with pattern laid out:

More pics among the projects, here.  

endorph

I am so excited to see your project progress - I love the idea od a tiger in sheeps clothing - or is it a sheep in tiger's clothing?
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