I have figured out how many yards of 20/2 silk I will need for the warp: 3,650 yards. Yes, I double-checked that figure. After I caught my breath. Then I decided that I was going to use two shades of red and one shade of red-orange. I needed to dye the warp three colors. So I divide the total yardage into three: 1,225 yards for each color. I decided to round this number out and be a bit generous. Yarn shrinks in the dye pot a bit. Yarn breaks. Decisions change…….. So I decided to go with 1500 yards per skein.
WINDING SKEINS
Skeins that large, at least in 20/2 silk, do not dye well for me. The resulting color tends to be a little uneven. That is not necessarily bad, but I do try my best to obtain even results.
Also, my skein winder does not hold large skeins comfortably either. So I decided that I would make two skeins for each color. That means I needed to wind 6 skeins of the silk, each skein being 750 yards long.
I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND
But of course……… During a sleepless night I decided that there was going to be so much going on in terms of the weft, that getting the warp too complex would only create visual confusion. So I am going to go with two fairly closely related shades of red. The plan to make six skeins, however, does not change. I will simply dye three of them in one shade of red and three in the other.
BLACK?
The jury is still out on black in the warp. The original image had interesting streaks of black; I had thought about incorporating those into this project. I am still thinking of including occasional black ends. And I am still thinking of dip dyeing or dye painting parts of the completed warp bouts in black. I have time to make the final decision. I expect, at least right now I expect, that that decision will be no. Using some black would probably also create visual confusion.
When I design I tend to move into greater and greater complexity as I go through the process. Then, I start moving back. It would appear that the moving back has begun.
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2 comments:
Can this really be the first time I've looked at your blog this week? You've written three interesting posts and I've just been going to work and doing chores... I'm glad I found time to stop and look around this evening. I am following the unfolding story here with interest, very much looking forward to see how the colours emerge in this silk crackle piece.
I'm just catching up on your project (my link to your blog feed seems to have let me down) and I am really rooting for the dip-dyed yarn because I'd love some tips on how to do this! Whatever you decide, I'll be following progress with interest.
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