I enjoy weaving with 3/2 cotton and a 10 dent rigid heddle loom.  In plain weave I can get a nearly perfect beat but I cannot get the selvedges to look really nice.  I am able to get much better selvedges with wool.  Is there a trick to this.  I have done about a dozen samples.  I'll add more to my projects so you can look there.  

Any suggestions?  Ideas?

Claudia

Comments

Thu, 02/17/2011 - 04:04

laughingcloud (not verified)

That's a good question.  I think the main cause of your problem with using 3/2 for warp and weft and having trouble with the selvedges is that perle cotton is so murch more dense than  wool that is loftier.  When wool weft meets wool warp it can mesh together more easily.

At this point I don't have a definative solution for your problem but I am researching it with my friend and Cotton Clouds' weaving master, Robin Lynde.  Robin designs and weaves Cotton Clouds' project kits and weaves samples with all our yarns.  I'll get back to you on this by next week.

Wed, 03/23/2011 - 22:31

Robweaves (not verified)

Hi, have we heard back about working selvedges when weaving with cotton?  I would also find this information useful.

Thu, 03/24/2011 - 02:14

Joanne Hall

Hi Claudia,

Selvages look better when weaving with finer threads.  Perhaps it is just because the turns are less noticeable in finer threads.  Maybe you should try doubling 8/2 cotton.

Joanne

Thu, 03/24/2011 - 12:59

Karren K. Brito

The 3/2, 5/2 and 8/2 perle cottons are no longer on my list of yarns I want to use.  They seem to be hard but not robust.  By hard I mean that the threads keep their individual definition, they don't meld into a cloth.  No amount of washing,  pressing etc. makes them look like anything except threads crossing each other.  Then I made a warp-faced pouch out of many colors 5/2 DMC skeins I had; the weaving was fine but within a month of completion the surface was dull, all the shine was gone.  This happened only on the outside surface, the inside is still shiny. My conclusion is that a small amount of abrasion ruins the finish on these threads. ugh!

Carpet warp, a smiliar grist, can make suprisingly nice towels.

Fri, 03/25/2011 - 02:51

bolivian warmi

Very thought provoking all this...I have been wondering why I get ugly ridging when I use the heavier cotton to weave warp faced bands in plain weave and this talk of dense fiber not wanting to mesh makes total sense. We beat especially hard on our backstrap woven bands and are just smashing hard fibers against each other that want to stay as individual threads as Karren says and not form cloth. It doesn't happen with the fine cotton that I use and if I lighten the beat it doesn't happen either.

It doesn't happen when I weave areas of plain weave next to complimentary warp pick up as I believe that the pick up area advances ever so slightly more rapidly than the plain weave areas and so when I beat hard I am actually beating hard against the faster advancing pick up area and the plain weave area is receiving a lighter beat as a result.

Sorry that this has nothing to do with the original question but I am just thinking out loud as this ridging thing has been bothering me for some time and your discussion has confirmed things that have been turning in my head.

There is no ridging when I use wool! Maybe I need to start spinning again. That will slow production down somewhat!

 

 

Fri, 03/25/2011 - 10:33

Joanne Hall

I have not used mercerized cottons enough to notice how they wear.  Most cotton threads produced in the US are made from short staple cotton.  It feels soft when you use it, because of the short fibers.  These are the cottons which are also mercerized and called Pearl.  But, I have found that after use these short staple cottons will pill.  If you weave with the long staple cotton threads, they will stay looking nice longer.  And they have a natural sheen, so are usually not mercerized. 

Joanne