Friday, February 27, 2009

A Weaver is Born


So I spent an hour or so making a twisted fringe on my woven scarf, and then I wet-finished it (which is basically the same as blocking in knitting, but by a different name.) Now it is dry and lovely. As with knitting, the finishing makes all the difference. When it first comes off the loom, it is quite stiff from being made under so much tension. After it is soaked thoroughly, the fibers can all move around a bit and get comfortable with their neighbours. Now that it's dried, it is very soft and has a lot more movement. (Hard to explain, but if you felt it before and after, you'd know what I mean.) As I suspected, the camera doesn't really pick up the iridescent quality of the fabric. If you see it in person, it's quite something. (Click the photo for a ridiculously big image, where you can make out the pattern more clearly.)

Secondly, here is a little progress shot of my Jengu Woobu Aran.
I have just bound off a few stitches for the front neckline. A few more inches and it will be done and I can start the back. It's been a bit of a challenge to keep three different stitch patterns (which all have repeats of different lengths) straight, as well as adjusting the shaping of the thing to fit me. Hopefully it all pays off in the end.

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