Even doggies need warm scarves in January!
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Scarf #6
These spaced dyed, slub yarns work well in the warp as well as giving beautiful results in the weft. Just put the slub yarn through the slots and not the holes to give the threads plenty of space to move around. This way they won’t come under too much friction as you move the heddle up and down. Wind the yarn on in pairs in the usual way and then wind the warp onto the back beam. Then when you start the threading you can move the slub yarns around and put them through the slots in what ever order you like. This is one of the reasons why the rigid heddle loom is such fun to use as it gives you lots of opportunities to make changes to your design as you thread up your warp.
Scarf #5
Even Buddha’s need to keep warm on this bright, chilly morning!
This soft boucle wool yarn makes an ideal weft combined with a 4ply wool warp and an acrylic shiny accent yarn to give it sparkle.
A 10dpi (40/10cm) reed suits the 4ply yarn used for the warp. The boucle yarn will give the weft plenty of breathing space and allow the scarf to drape comfortably around the neck.
Yarns for Scarves
If you are new to weaving and not sure what sort of yarn to use for these first, simple projects then look at the many knitting yarns that are available to use for both your warp and weft. These yarns have been tried and tested by the many manufacturers and designers to be nice to wear, easy to use and colour fast. Try to choose natural fibres such as wool, alpaca, cashmere, silk and cotton as well as some of the newer fibres like Tencel, ramie and yak. These will all be lovely to use and nice to wear close to the skin. Try to avoid anything 100% manmade as it will not weave up as well or stand the test of usage.
Faced with so much choice try using one of the many spaced dyed yarns in a colour way that you love for both the warp and the weft. The results are both pleasing on the eye and also exciting to use as the colour combinations change rapidly as you weave, holding your interest and giving you some very unexpected ideas for later projects. Learning how the warp and weft colours interact with each other in plain weave is one of the tricks to weaving beautiful handwoven fabric. All possible on your rigid heddle loom.
Natural Greys
Softly spun singles yarn in natural shades combines well with this spaced dyed, 4ply wool warp.
Weave a short header using the warp yarn for the first ten rows to allow the warp threads to spread out and to give the thick, slub yarn a good base to sit on. Knot the fringe every four to six threads for a nice simple finish. Use the 7.5dpi (30/10cm) reed as before and beat gently after each pick to allow the slub yarn to settle in against itself. If you beat too hard the scarf will become stiff and unwearable. Give it space to breath.
Muffler
Here is a sweet little first project. What my grandmother would call a Muffler rather than a scarf but still very warm and cosy around the neck and something that could be worn in the house or chilly studio on these cold and wintery days! Here we have used handspun yarn for both the warp and the weft along with the 7.5dpi (30/10cm) reed, which will give you a good spacing to allow the handspun yarn to breath and the weft, also handspun to sit easily. Scarves need to have drape and movement to be comfortable to wear so remember not to beat too hard with the heddle. Just a gentle tap each row will suffice. This project would work just as well with a softly spun commercial yarn.
Weaving for 2017
Welcome to our first post of 2017. We hope you are going to be very busy this year weaving lots of wonderful fabrics on your rigid heddle looms. If you have just got a new loom for Christmas and feel a little nervous about starting out why not try making a few scarves. This is a quick and simple project and will give you lots of practise threading up. Each scarf can have a different warp and weft and you can have great fun trying out all those glorious knitting yarns which weave up really well.
This is a space dyed yarn used for both the warp and the weft with a 7.5dpi (30/10cm) reed which is a really good size (sett) for a soft and pliable scarf. Lets get weaving!
