Hello - I just finished a rayon chenille scarf (wet finished with a small amount of liquid soap in warm water with a few drops of fabric softener in the final rinse and then dried it almost fully dry in the dryer). I have made lots of rayon chenille scarves and notice a difference in how soft they are when I am done. This feels a bit too stiff to me. In the warp I mixed rayon chenille with what may be acrylic chenille and the weft was the one that may be acrylic. Could that make a difference? Is there anything I can do at this point (rewet it for example) to make it softer? Thanks. Lee
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chenille
Hi Lee
No one has answered you yet so, even though I'm guessing, I want to try.
You could be right that the plastic (acrylic) chenille is not as soft as the plant-based (rayon) chenille. Petroleum-sourced yarns can get crunchy over time, especially if 'cooked' in the dryer. Besides, as I'm sure you know, sticking chenille in the dryer begins the chenille-shedding process that gradually removes the fuzzy. Perhaps chenille-shedding happened faster with this yarn which is new to you. Less Fuzzy = Less Soft.
Perhaps the issue is simply that you have developed your beat & tension for the rayon—and it may be too tight to get the same effect from the acrylic.
At any rate, I personally would not try more hot water or spin-drying.
OK! Now that I've given you a sort-of useless response, somebody who actually has had this issue before will probably weigh-in with REAL information.
Good Luck! Jac