Today I felted the Spaced-Out Felted Scarf - in the washing machine (yikes almighty) and it was an adventure!
First we have the scarf, fresh off the loom, at 8 and 1/2 inches wide and 107 inches long.
It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would, but it is still a little loosey goosey and threads are apt to scootch this way and that without provocation. I did have fun twisting the fringes with my nifty new fringe twister - yes, it is shaped like a floofy little sheep who romps around in circles as the fringes twist (I am easily amused, I guess).
The scarf was all carefully wrapped in kitchen towels, rolled into a tidy bundle, tied up tight with the legs from old pantyhose, and slipped into hot soapy water in the washer. This is a top loader, so I decided to check every two minutes, and good thing I did. Apparently, my ties weren't as secure as I'd hoped and towels, ties, and scarf were all merrily slooshing around loose! Fortunately, it was not long enough for disaster, so I re-wrapped and double tied (picture at top of post), and sent it all in for another two minutes.
Now one end was clearly more felted than the other (no that's not just my out of focus photography), so I re-wrapped and rolled it up from the opposite side and agitated for another minute. Then, re-wrapped and folded it in half, rolling the ends inside to get more felting in the middle of the scarf, and another minute in the washer.
Measurements after rinsing - It shrunk to 5 inches in width, but only lost a few in length - down to 105 inches (drat, it's still a bit long for me, but I can't really felt any more or the weft sections will turn into little bricks).
All in all, I think in the future I'll just skip the washing machine and felt by hand (though it takes a bit longer than the washing machine). It's a fun process, nice exercise even, and much easier to control where the felting happens, and how much shrinkage you get (mostly, sort of, up to a point). Actually it looks like the Crystal Palace (weft) loves to felt and shrink and does so quickly and eagerly, while the Cascade 220 is a bit more stand-offish.
Scarf is now on the drying rack - finished photos on Monday (tomorrow I'm off to Special Olympics basketball with my stepdaughter)
This is VERY FUN! I'm impressed -- can't imagine doing a blog like this. The spaced weaving must have been fast and fun, if unruly. Hope you'll share the scarf at the next Vashon Weavers meeting, Nancy. Only thing is, the picture doesn't look a THING like you!
ReplyDeleteSue
I can't imagine doing a blog either! It is making me take better notes about my process, however, which is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my picture is me on a good day! ;)ROFL