My googlefu fails me. How do tartan weavers like Scotweb come up with the weight of cloth? They talk about 11 oz, 13 oz, etc.  13 oz is considered medium weight and from what I could find, this is the weight used for cloth to be made into kilts. What size wool yarn and sett is used for, say, a 13oz (medium) weight 2/2 twill for a kilt?

Comments

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 16:21

Hazel Fyrebird

By weighing one yard of fabric.  So 1 yard of "10 oz duck" would weigh 10 ounces, 2 yards would weigh 20 ounces. I wish I could tell you what yarn sizes can produce what weight fabric, but I lack that knowledge. 

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 16:26

Joanne Hall

Swedish Mora yarn from Glimakra is used for tartans.  It is 20/2 worsted spun and weaves nicely at 24 ends per inch.  I use it for one of the twill samples when I teach classes.   The warp does not stick as it does with other fine wool yarns, so it is easy to weave.

Joanne

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 17:22

joyofweaving

Thank you!!

About the "1 yard = 1 lb" I think we are missing a factor...at what width of the cloth? A yard of duck at 35" wide isn't going to be as heavy as 45" or even 60" wide and would skew the results.

I was thinking either 2/20 or 2/24 @ 30 epi would do the trick. I just don't know how they come up with the weight forumla. Would be good to know, I think.

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 18:03

kerstinfroberg

Hazy on this, but I *think* I have seen it should be a 1 square yard...

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 18:27

joyofweaving

Thank you!

That would seem reasonable!

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 20:42

ReedGuy

Camilla Valley Farm sells a specific tartan yarn which is 16/2 worsted @ 4400 yards/lb. The mill that produces it in Europe and weaves on machine looms uses a sett of 40 epi apparenty, according to the site. But for hand weaving they recommend 32-36 for twill.

I'm using an 18/2 worsted currently on my loom, it is neither sticky nor is it fuzzing up in the heddles. Someoene else is using it on a different type of loom and she is getting fuzzing up at the heddles and she has had it stick a whole bunch. I'm not so sure it can be the same exact yarn without actually seeing it I guess. Mine has been waxed, but it was probably part of the spinning process. I am using 24 epi (the recommended sett for plain weave), and I notice it gets 24 ppi as well on the weave I'm doing. Mine is Bronson lace. She is doing a twill at 30 epi.

 

So for me at 24 epi x 24 ppi that's 5.5 oz per square yard

If your figures are based on 1 square yard, that is awefully heavy cloth. Something is amiss I'm afraid. Think about what 1 square yard is physically, it would have to be a lot heavier than 24/2 wool.  16 oz in a lb. I have 2 lbs of 18/2 on cones and that is for 5.8 square yards of cloth, but I can not physically weave that much because of waste, but only theretically speaking.

If I weave at a sett of 36 epi/36 ppi I have 8.2 oz per yard, 18/2 is 5040 yrd/lb  Your going to reach a point that your sett over comes your ppi.