Category Archives: Coming Into Being

Wool Shawl No.3

Posted on by

10

Number three of Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces, last week I reeled off the loom , and now it is finished, and this one warped with the help of Juno who’s colorway is so similar that I’m naming the colorway “Juno” . . .

I’ve woven this one with a larger dent reed on my Ashford Knitters loom than the last two, a 12.5 dent reed, and think I’ve decided that it is the perfect size for this single ply fingering/lace weight yarn. Now three finished, no more Donegal Tweed and so on to the rest of the yarn in my drawers.

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Reed: 12.5 dent reed, optimal I think, for the Donegal Tweed.
  • Sett: Warp = 12.5 epi and weft = 9 ppi, 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.
  • Direct warp method.
  • Selvedge: Doubled up two outer most selvedge warp yarns, and used a temple.
  • Finished: Not wet finished, but steamed, tied a simple knotted fringe (knots could be taken out and twisted fringe worked, but I prefer the soft yarn strands). 
  • Measurements: 76″ long x 19″ wide, not including 4″ fringe.
  • Weight: 246 grams. Yarn has 218 y per 50 g so that is about 1090 total yards. 

Wool Shawl No.2

Posted on by

8

Number two of three Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces, mid October was reeled off the loom, and now it is fully finished and so photographable. These three tweeds have literally made me fall in love with weaving on my Ashford Knitters Loom. But what to call them…. scarves? Wraps? Stoles? The three Donegal Tweed pieces I’ve woven have used up every ounce of my stash.

♣  Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Reed: 12.5 dent reed, optimal I think, for the Donegal Tweed, 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.
  • Warp (sett) = 15 epi and Weft = 6 ppi. 
  • Direct warp method; if you take a look at the photos in the gallery you’ll see I am winding on to the back beam while scooting the table & loom closer and closer to the pegs clamped down, I’m finding this is a good way to maintain tension on the warp while winding it on.
  • Selvedge: Doubled up two outer most selvedge warp yarns, and used a temple.
  • Finished: Not wet finished, but steamed, tied a simple knotted fringe (knots could be taken out and twisted fringe worked, but I prefer the soft yarn strands). 
  • Measurements: 74″ long x 18″ wide, not including 4″ fringe.
  • Weight: 248 grams.

Coming Into Being (Wool Shawl No.1)

Posted on by

8

I am finding with weaving that after the piece is taken off the loom, weft ends woven in, fringe knotted, twisted, or braided, then it seems to take on its third dimension . . . draping, folding, wrapping around, rippling into its new personality, yarns blooming and fusing in place and it simply finds itself coming into being.


Number one of a series of Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces I intend to weave. The wrap, stole, scarf, throw, is 17″ wide and 98″ long, not including the fringe.

This wrap is au natural in photos, minimally steamed, but otherwise not wet finished, it now needs to hang in the rafters a while to let it relax more. Already off of the loom for a couple of weeks it is not at all stiff, as I thought it was going to be, but like leather, or linen, needs to be handled and used to soften up to be a really seriously fine 100% Irish Wool piece.

Another day with storm brewing, I’m afraid is making the photos all a bit dark.

♣  Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Finished piece commentary here, the weaving notes for this piece are to be found on this post In Love (with Plain Weave Check).
  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Sett: Warp =14 epi (ends, or warp threads per inch, and weft = 10 ppi (picks, or weft threads per inch).
  • Reed: 15 dent rigid heddle reed: 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.

Experiments in weaving linen.

Posted on by

9

Just cut off the Knitters Loom, big enough to hem, wash & dry, and have it as a good sample, and I just LOVE linen!

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • This is pretty fine weaving for a beginner, with the finest dent reed Ashford makes for the rigid heddle loom  (  see last post.  )  I’ve used Bockens 16/2 Lingarn (100% linen) for both warp and weft, and a 15 dent reed. 
  • Warped 1 in the heddle hole, and 1 in the dent slot, 12 white, alternating stripes of 4 olive green and dark gold. Unfinished the warp threads/ ends per inch (epi) are about 16, and the weft threads/ picks per inch (ppi) are about 14.
  • The I have yet to wash and shrink it and measure the finished woven structure, but I suspect it is going to be a very open weave as far as table linens go. 
  • Once cut off the loom, the piece is about half the length I wanted to make, and now I fully understand what the term “loom waste” is.   I thought I had plenty of warp on the loom with nearly 50″ , and this sample weaving only measures cut off the loom 19″ , and that is woven to the point of not being able to weave anymore as the warp can not advance into the reed anymore so that means 31″ of loom waste. Next time I will account for the loom waste and set the warping peg back another 20″ obviously, to account for the shrinkage after hemming and washing — for ONE tea towel. It would average far less loom waste per finished item to fill the warp and rattle off two or three of them, and that is for one approx 30″ length tea towel after finishing I reckon.