Way back in 2001 I received my very first loom, and as it often happens, it came with cone after cone of yarn. Soon after I bought a spinning wheel, and it too surprisingly came with cones of weaving yarn as the seller was moving out of the country and was thrilled to load me up with a literal car load of cones. At the time I had no idea what I was getting, but I was equally thrilled to get that car load!
Fast forward 15 years, and most of that yarn is still on the shelf. That is because it is cotton flake, a thick and thin yarn, (I would use this only for weft) in some very interesting sherbet like colors, mostly either variegated or flecked. I have tried a couple of times to use this yarn but with little success. But, I think I may have finally figured out what to do with it, just maybe.
There is an opaqueness about this new blanket that I find interesting. I am not sure how this is going to wash, but I decided to weave up a "girl" blanket and a "boy" blanket before I cut off to hem and wash. It is an experiment, and it may go all wrong in the end, but it might not.
I probably should have adjusted the overshot pattern portion to make it a little bit taller since the yarn is finer, but I didn't think about that at the time. If this works out, I will play with that next time. I will be really thrilled to be able to use this yarn, and it may open up all sorts of possibilities to me, just by thinking of things a little differently. Who knows, I may end up putting on another Baby blanket warp, (I could use it as fabric for my bags, have I posted about them yet?) I do have some 12/3 white cotton in lots of tubs that would weave up just as nicely, maybe even better, with this weft, just think of the possibilities!
Until next time Happy Weaving, Tina
Fast forward 15 years, and most of that yarn is still on the shelf. That is because it is cotton flake, a thick and thin yarn, (I would use this only for weft) in some very interesting sherbet like colors, mostly either variegated or flecked. I have tried a couple of times to use this yarn but with little success. But, I think I may have finally figured out what to do with it, just maybe.
I have been weaving 8/4 cotton Baby blankets for years, on that original loom by the way, normally I used 8/4 cotton as weft, and I have sold or given away many, many blankets with this pleasing balanced combination. I also had begun to bring several of those "other" cones of yarn to the center to see if the other weavers were interested in them. Well last Monday, I was getting ready to grab a few more cones to take to the Center the next day, when it I hit upon an interesting color combo, and I had the brilliant idea (I hope) to try the flake as weft in the next couple of Baby blankets.
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| 8/4 cotton weft |
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| Speckled cotton flake weft |
There is an opaqueness about this new blanket that I find interesting. I am not sure how this is going to wash, but I decided to weave up a "girl" blanket and a "boy" blanket before I cut off to hem and wash. It is an experiment, and it may go all wrong in the end, but it might not.
I probably should have adjusted the overshot pattern portion to make it a little bit taller since the yarn is finer, but I didn't think about that at the time. If this works out, I will play with that next time. I will be really thrilled to be able to use this yarn, and it may open up all sorts of possibilities to me, just by thinking of things a little differently. Who knows, I may end up putting on another Baby blanket warp, (I could use it as fabric for my bags, have I posted about them yet?) I do have some 12/3 white cotton in lots of tubs that would weave up just as nicely, maybe even better, with this weft, just think of the possibilities!
Until next time Happy Weaving, Tina
2 comments:
Cotton flake does weave nicely in some projects. It looks to be working in these baby blankets.
I just made three shawls with bamboo warp and tabby weft, with flake in the pattern weft, and I really like it. The sett should be a bit closer, but I bet it will snug up in the wash. Stash busting is fun!
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