Sunday, January 15, 2006

Which Weft Wins?



Originally I hoped to make this blanket warp dominant, but I ran out of 3/2 with 430 ends wound, so balanced weave it is. Had my original idea been possible I contemplated using the 8/2 deep purple. Now I think I'm going to use two strands of the 8/2 violet.

I have the warp spread in the raddle but it's too short to try out the trapeze. I'll put it up for the next project, tentatively planned to be rep weave placemats.

I've had a few requests for roaster dyeing instructions. I don't think I've used it the same way twice, but I'll try. These are great for low immersion dyeing, fleece or roving, as well as steaming painted warps, roving, and yarn. Now I know it's great for batching Sabracon projects too. Sara Lamb wrote a great article in the Spring 2002 Spin Off about using crockpots for dyeing that is very helpful. Think about it, these are just crockpots grown up.

170 grams of gray roving, processed by Ohio Valley from several different Romney leftovers



17 grams of citric acid dissolved in about a gallon of warm water. I put the dry roving in and gently pressed it down. Then I let it sit for ~30 minutes.



Since this is gray and I want rich color I went with 3% DOS. That translated to 170 ml each Sabraset turquoise, Washfast red, and Sabraset mustard, applied with big syringes to get the dye down to the bottom layers.



Set the dial for 175° for three hours. Turn it off and let it cool. It's probably cool enough now, but it will give me something to look forward to tomorrow.

7 comments:

  1. Very nice. I'm looking forward to seeing the reveal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll be following this very closely--Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I vote for the dark weft. JMHO, but it seems to make colors pop. Love those roasters!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I vote for the dark weft. I've been disappointed by light color wefts washing out a project in the past. You know, some bright turquoise weft would be pretty good too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Raising my hand for the dark weft.
    Love the deep rich colours in the roaster.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the tutorial. I have a roaster that I haven't tried yet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't wait to see how the colors come out. I have been contemplating getting a roaster...hmmm.
    Fun to link on your commenter's websites. It is nice to find some weaving blogs out there!

    ReplyDelete