The Series of Weaving Scarves on my Dorothy Loom-Part 1
With this new video, I’m stating a whole new 4-part weaving series! I have just finished warping my 4-shaft Dorothy loom with enough yarn to weave four scarves. In this post, I will explain all you need to know about my warp pattern and about the weaving of the first scarf of this series. I really hope you’ll enjoy the series of weaving scarves on my Dorothy loom.
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The warp for those scarves is made of 100% Tencel. I used 4 beautiful colors of 8/2 Tencel from Maurice Brassard. Here are the names of the different colors used:
-Slate (LEC-T112)
-Navy (LEC-T8019)
-Charcoal (LEC-T4275) (*referred to as gray in my pattern)
-Brun (LEC-T8024)
Those yarns are available through The Woolery’s website here: https://woolery.com/maurice-brassard-tencel-8-2-yarn-1.html?aff=214
The Dimensions
In total, I made a warp of about 8.7m long and I warped a width of 50cm (20”). Also, I used my 12 DPI reed and I double the threads in the dents allowing for an EPI of 24. This means that in total, my pattern has 480 threads plus 2 threads on each end for floating selvedges.
The Warp Pattern
For the pattern, I played around with the colors and made different thickness of stripes. Here’s the detailed thread count:
As you can see, I have created 3 different color blocks that I repeat throughout the pattern. There is one that is mostly navy, one that is mostly brown and one that has lot’s of gray and slate.
Finally, I threaded my heddles with a simple 1-2-3-4.
The Weft Pattern
For this first scarf, I wanted to keep it simple and to do a plaid effect. This is why I’m weaving an uncomplicated 2/2 twill. I believe that weaving twill is often straightforward for experienced weavers. For my part, I always refer myself to the drafts provided in Anne Dixon Book: The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory. The 2/2 twill directions for attaching the treadles and weaving can be found on page 32 of the book.
Here’s where you can get this book: https://woolery.com/handweavers-pattern-directory.html?aff=214
Now back to the color pattern and plaid effect. Basically, I’m repeating what I see in the warp into the weft. The beginning and the end of the scarf are a bit different then the rest of the scarf. First, I’m weaving about 2.5cm (1”) of gray followed by 12 picks of slate. After that starts the repeated pattern.
As previously stated, I have 3 different color blocks in the warp pattern that I will repeat in the weft. Let’s start with the first block: a big rectangle of navy with a little stripe of brown in the middle. In a nutshell, I’m weaving with navy for 24 picks, which gives about 3.5 cm. Every big stripe of color of this pattern is woven for this exact same length. After that, I’m weaving 4 picks of brown which will create a thin stripe. Then, I’m weaving another stipe of 24 picks of navy. Just like that, the first block of color is done.
After that, I start weaving the second bloc of color which is made of two small stripes of slate and one thick stripe of gray. For the first slate stripe, I weave for 12 picks. Then, I weave with gray for 24 picks. Finally, I weave another 12 picks of slate and it’s done for this color block.
Then, I’m weaving the third bloc of color. This one is the inverse of the navy one. This means that I’m weaving for 24 picks of brown, and then 4 picks of navy and finally another 24 picks of brown. After that it’s back to weaving the second block of color, which is two small stripes of slate separated by a thick stripe of grey.
This sequence creates the whole pattern. I’m repeating this all the way through the scarf!
Finishing the Scarf
For the last inches of weaving, it’s important for me to repeat the exact same pattern that I did in the beginning. And because I do not trust my memory one bit, I always take good note of what I do at the start of a project. So here, I noted that I had started with a bit of gray, then a stripe of slate and then the navy color block.
I was planning on weaving this pattern for about 1m75 (70”). So, when I was reaching close to this length on the loom, I stopped and looked where I was at to make sure to finish the scarf with the same pattern I made at the beginning. Luckily, I had just finished weaving the navy color block, which is the block I started with. Then, I repeated what I did at the beginning of the scarf: 12 picks of slate and about 2.5cm (1”) of gray. Finally, I added 2 picks to allow for hemstitching.
I hemstitched at the end and at the beginning. To do this, I made bundles of 4 warp threads and 2 weft threads. In total, I wove for 71” or 1m78.
About the Rest of the Series
In the next videos of the series, I will be weaving scarves number 2 and number 3. Then, In the final video, I will be weaving scarf number 4 and unrolling all the scarves from the front beam. For those next scarves, I will be playing around with different patterns and different fibers. Stay tune for a stunning revealing at the end of the series of weaving scarves on my Dorothy loom!