Shadow Weave Chenille Scarf

Art Outpost: Shadow Weave Chenille Scarf

Finally finished this shadow weave scarf! It's not that I've been working on it steadily ... there have been a few other projects in between ... but it had been going at rather close to Snail's Pace. 

There was plenty I didn't understand about how best to work with chenille yarn. The first mostly successful attempt at weaving with chenille was evidently a lucky break, and everything that could go wrong went wrong this time, beginning with winding the warp and ending with ... oh ... completely starting over again ... the second time with the indispensable help of Su Butler's CD version of her book Understanding Rayon Chenille.

What makes the shadow in shadow weave are the alternating "dark" and "light" threads in warp and weft ... in "the Atwater method of threading shadow weave, the basic pattern is drawn on alternate threads and then the "shadow" threads are filled in on the "opposite" shaft." That explanation is straight from A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns, and the pattern used for this scarf is an "undulating twill" (#303 on page 77).

 

I still have trouble getting the fringes right, though I seem to be getting closer. Here's my old Riverside Shakespeare put to good use weighting down the scarf so I can evenly tie the knots. The gadget on top of the book is a novelty instrument made for twisting hair, and it works a treat for twisting fringe (actually a lot easier than trying to twist my hair). I'll need more practice to figure out exactly how much to twist and then retwist the opposite direction ... it's supposed to be exactly the same number, but I haven't figured out yet how to accurately count while using this device. I'm guessing this is why some of the yarns in some of the fringe doubled up and tangled with each other at the fell line after taking the scarf out of the dryer.

It's quite remarkable the difference in the hand and softness of the chenille after it's been wet-finished. It comes off the loom as stiff as a board, and after it's been washed and dried it's soft, supple, and very luxurious. (The scarf on the left is post-finishing ... impossible to convey the difference in a picture, but it definitely looks velvety.)

Just by changing the treadling of the same draft you can get a completely different look. The sample on the right will be the pattern for another scarf (same threading and tie-up, different treadling order) in a brighter red and black yarn instead of gray. With any luck, this one will go a lot faster and will not involve too much in the way of cursing and wringing hands. 

A New Home for Yarn

First offload all of the yarn from the super cheap bookcase and put it on the treadmill
(which often does double-duty as a storage unit. More often than it's used for walking, in fact).

Then bring in the china cabinet from the garage where we put it after rescuing it at long last from the storage unit. Its first home that I know about was my grandmother's living room in San Antonio. (I don't really remember what she had in it specifically, but it was used in the traditional way. I do remember what was in my grandmother Nina's china cabinet, because my favorite thing to do at her house when I was a child was to take out the little china figures and animals she kept there . . . I remember some little china dogs and perhaps a shepherdess, women in kimono with fans, I think, and some others . . . and have some imaginative play time with them. I don't think I ever broke any, amazingly enough. She also kept peppermint sticks in there.)

Transfer all of the yarn to its new home! 

(OK, well . . . almost all the yarn. There is still some on a couple of shelves in the laundry room.)

Admire.

Rest on laurels.

Chenille Love

I warped up enough for two scarves ... this is the second in progress, with a substitution of the black for the dark blue in the weft. I was a little worried that the pattern would not show up at all after wetfinishing. In the end, the patterning is subtle, but still noticeable in both scarves. The pattern is an extended point shadow weave (not that I really understand what that means, exactly) from A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns. Sett at 20 epi (elongated the pattern into a long diamond).

Scarf #1 after wetfinishing.

Scarves #1 and #2. The black weft greyed out the color... most noted when side by side or when examining the fringe.

And speaking of fringe. I'm not sure what I did wrong, because I twisted fringe exactly the same way with a previous scarf. It could be because I didn't hem stitch the start and finish or that the fringe was a couple of inches longer. I pulled out the worming, but I'm sure it will do the same thing again when washed again. Since I put Fray Check on the knots, I'm not even sure I can retwist them.

The 2009 Smithsonian Craft Show

Just a very few of the very amazing wearable art pieces shown at the Smithsonian Craft Show in 2009. From the fact sheet: "The Smithsonian Craft Show features 120 superb craft artists, each one reflecting the story of contemporary American craft in one of 12 categories: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, jewelry, wearable art and wood. The individual artists or partnerships, including 44 first-time participants, are selected by a panel of 3 jurors, a new set each year, from over 1,300 applicants."




Turquoise Jacket/Scarf (handwoven complex twill in silk, merino wool, and rayon jacket, and handwoven and felted scarf in merino wool) and Blue Cool Squares (handwoven and felted merino wool jacket, handwoven silk and wool collapse weave scarf) -
by Patricia Palson, Contoocook, New Hampshire.


Detail: Firefall Euro Jacket - needlefelted merino wool
by Candiss Cole, Sedona Arizona.







These whimsical, organic, handfelted hats are by
Lauri Chambers, Nordland, Washington.

The Louet David Loom

It seemed serendipitous that I was musing about how a lot of the weaving drafts I was looking at in books required at least 8 shafts, (and I, alas, had only four) at the same time that I wandered into the basement of Lakeside Fibers during a spring sale. The store's owner(s) had decided to divest themselves of all weaving equipment and supplies and their demo looms were for sale. 

Kismet, right?

And so, the Louet David, in cherry, an 8-shaft, 10 treadle sinking-shed loom, joined the Harrisville in the sunroom. V-e-r-y tight quarters, but I made them fit, I think. Sort of.

The Harrisville Loom

Up into the light at last, with a warp that was meant to be a baby blanket for the child now graduated from college. I had to buy a new handle for the beams, and make a new bar for connecting the warp beam to the castle, but that was about it ...
This is a four shaft Harrisville Designs loom that I built from a kit. It has four treadles with direct tie-up, but if I ever felt the need I can evidently buy a conversion to make it six treadles.

I replaced many, many broken warp threads, but felt I owed it to the weaving gods to try to finish it.

Tied onto the the warp beam, but the replacement of so many threads caused this waterfall of tangled warp when finally ready. I cut off the last six inches or so... I didn't have enough weft for weaving the whole length anyway.

Started weaving and finished within two days. It's a waffle weave, though the waffle-ly part would be deeper with more shafts. The baby seemed pleased with it, though...