In lieu of always developing bulkier fabrics, I took it upon myself to venture into a very lightweight, slightly textured stripe construction from my latest tester. It’s hard to tell what a fabric will do in a 2″ x 2″ square, but I was happy to see the subtle results from this construction. I immediately imagined what it would look like in a dark grey, although I tried my hardest for a true black. Oh! If only colors would stay true when wet!
I was a little nervous weaving this fabric since it’s the thinnest yarn I’ve used thus far, but my fears were put to rest immediately. I sometimes fail to understand the uniform tension that cloth creates on the loom, how it’s no longer one thread at a time being pulled, but a group of threads that (if under proper tension) work stronger together. I’m sure I had a few breaks, but I’m officially denying that for the time being.
Since this cotton is naturally colored, I was a little apprehensive about the colors I’d be able to achieve. I tried a swatch in indigo, and wasn’t confident enough to sacrifice an entire scarf for a color I didn’t love. What I’ve found that works to the benefit of a slightly orange yarn, however, is kakishibu. So, naturally, I went to town with new (to me) techniques of pole tying, scrunching, and dyeing…all of that experimentation I’ve always loved. It’s exciting to me to make one of a kind items instead of trying to achieve the same result again and again. To see some videos of my process, check it out here.
I first started with a long piece of fabric, doing random tying techniques that eventually grew into the design in Mojave Stripe. I then took part of that technique to create Tigris Stripe, and another for the effect in Crisscross. I have a feeling I’ll be investing in a much larger pole in the future as two days of experimenting haven’t quite exhausted all of the possibilities!
Officially, these are the lightest scarves I’ve made to date, weighing in at an average 2.22 oz. Mission: Accomplished. I’ve just received some even thinner yarn that is stark white, so perhaps I should start playing with this concept in indigo? Sounds good to me!
Looming Jane 