Reflections on the Baby Blanket

The acrylic baby blanket is done and my computer has returned to me. I am celebrating with some pictures, and also with some reflections. Above is the blanket, folded. Below is a detail of the crochet border.

And I just couldn't resist posting the picture of all three blankets my daughter will get, as well as an afghan I knit for the baby. The other two blankets, by the way, are in cotton. I do hope she will be pleased. It should be easy to guess that this will be her first child and my first grandchild.

Now to some reflections on the baby blanket. They center on the finishing. I do like the way the crochet edging turned out. However, the way I prepared the edges with just plain zigzagging on the machine created a small problem. I found it difficult, if not impossible, to remove every little tuft of fiber that broke loose when I simply zigzagged those edges.

Next time, I think I will try a two-step process. First, I will straight stitch the edges on the sewing machine. I will cut as close to that stitching as I dare. Then I will use a stitch on my machine that mimics a serged edge, making sure that the needle actually goes off the edge of the fabric so that, hopefully, every last tuft will get enclosed before I start the actual crocheting.

I could also just fringe the blanket. But fringe is dangerous for infants. And fringe wears thin with wear and constant washing. I do hope these baby blankets will be used all the time, I trust they will be washed frequently!

I could twist the fringe ends as many people do. I have done that, but never have been happy with either the process or the results. I think twisted fringes can look quite elegant on silk scarves. But there is a sameness to them that I do not like. So, when I do finish off a fringe, I use a braided fringe. My braids are not terribly even, for I don’t get the practice that would be needed for really even braids. But they have, in my eyes, a unique look not possible with the polished finish that twisting the fringes gives. Braiding fringe, for me is is not unlike dyeing my own yarns. And there are so many different ways of braiding! It is always fun to try something new. And, perhaps most important to me, it is nice to feel the yarn in my fingers as I braid.

Here are my two favorite books for fringe designing:

Finishes in the Ethnic Tradition by Baiserman and Searle

Finishing Touches for the Handweaver by Virginia M. West

Killing Acrylic Yarn

Donna had a question about the acrylic yarn I was using. She explained that the yarn she has used does not result in a very soft fabric even when woven in twill. I don’t think it is the brand of yarn that is the real issue. As a point of information, however, the yarn I have been using is 2/14 Kitty by Tamm. My source is the KnitKnack Shop The yarn is designed for the knitting machine but it work very well on the loom. Because it is designed for the knitting machine, the yarn has a kind of oily finish to enable it to go through the machine easily. That oily finish washes out just fine.

I suspect that the real issue involves the finishing of the fabric. I killed mine. I suspect she did not. Killing? That is the term for pressing/steaming acrylic yarns. This creates a very soft fabric which drapes nicely. But it no longer feels quite like wool. And the effect is not reversible. If you do not like it, you cannot undo the effect you achieved with the iron. It is permanent. You may decide that instead of feeling soft, the fabric feels limp and you just don't like it.

Warning: washing it again will not undo it, hence the term “killing.” So my advice is to “kill” a sample first to see whether or not you like it.

Dyeing Pale Neutrals: Inital Notes

My computer is still at the computer hospital. I therefore cannot access my weaving software. So, except for some vague in-my-head thinking, I cannot really do any work towards getting the threading design worked out for the crackle jacket. Until I do that, I cannot wind the warp. So I am stuck.

Yes, I have the acrylic afghan sampling yet to finish. But it seems there will be only 3 more samples. So, even though I have to retye the treadles for them, this is not very much to do. Of course there will be removing the samples, cleaning up the loom, washing, ironing, pulling together the notes. Time enough for that.

So, I am stuck. But I am not stuck. Writing about the book I bought on color got me going. I took a look at the book I bought. I put markers in the pages that I liked. Then I got out my silk dye samples and my color wheels, and began working out possibilities. I dismissed the book I had purchased. Was buying it a thus a waste of money? No, it got me thinking and moving. And I will turn to it another time.

I came up with a color scheme I like. It is based on yellow-green, orange and red-violet, with blue as the spark. I think that’s a pretty good color scheme. The tough part is going to be the neutralizing and the paling of those colors. Well, maybe not so tough. I know how to do it. I think the tough part is going to be the decision making after I have done the sampling.

Here are my initial plans:

BASIC COLOR SCHEME:
Yellow-Green, Orange, and Red-Violet with Blue as the “spark.”

FORMULAS FOR THE BASIC COLORS
YG = 95% SAB Sun Yellow + 5% SAB Royal Blue
O = 40% SAB Sun Yellow + 42% SAB Mustard Yellow + 13 % WF Acid Magenta
RV = 52% SAB Violet + 14% SAB Scarlet + 34% WF Acid Magenta
B = 80% SAB Royal Blue + 20% SAB Sun Yellow

FORMULAS FOR TWO MORE NECESSARY MIXING COLORS (Green and Violet)
G = 70% SAB Sun Yellow + 30% SAB Turquoise
V = 95% SAB Violet + 5% SAB Scarlet

MIX THE FOLLOWING AT VARYING DEPTH-OF-SHADES TO OBTAIN NEUTRALS
YG + RV
YG + V
B + O
RV + G

Now I need to decide on formulas for the depth of shades I will be experimenting with. Or, it other words, I will need to figure out how much dye I will use to achieve various degrees of paleness. This I will express in percentages, just as I expressed the color formulas above in terms of percentages.

Once I have done this, I will start working with actual figures. First, though, I will get back to the sampling that is on the loom.

Perhaps, however, my computer will be ready today? Then I can return to the cotton crackle jacket. But these dyeing notes will be carefully filed away so that I can pick up on them when I am ready. I will probably be ready when I actually start weaving on the crackle jacket.

Color

I did buy another weaving related book while I was in Washington, D.C. It is a recent book called The Beader’s Color Mixing Directory: 200 Failsafe Color Schemes for Beautiful Beadwork. It is by Sandra Wallace.

I have tried my hand at beading in the past, but this book is not to help me with beading, or even with using beads in my weaving. It is to help me with color schemes.

I am not sure that there is anything that can be called a “failsafe” color scheme, for the best of them can be ruined in the application of them. And I actually cringe at the concept of such a thing. But there are some really interesting neutral color schemes in the book. And neutral color schemes are a foreign country to me. Give me brilliant colors, deep colors, toned colors and I feel totally at home. But neutral colors? I don’t know where to begin.

This book offers me some places to begin.

Developing a neutral color scheme for a crackle project has been in the back of my head for awhile now. What brought the vague thoughts to me head was Sandra Rude’s series of wood grained scarves. To see some of them, check out her blog’s April archive here. Her scarves are multi-shaft wonders. Mine, on the other hand, will continue the crackle theme. I don’t want to limit myself to browns, but when I see how beautiful a neutral such as brown can be, I am inspired to stretch myself in a new direction. And that new direction, to be more specific, will be pale neutrals.

Dyeing the colors will be a challenge. Sandra used natural dyes. That was part of her overall theme. On the other hand, I will be using Sabraset/Lanaset dyes, which, for all practical purposes are considered as acid dyes. This is where first real stretching will take place. I suspect a lot of dye sampling will be in order. I have come up with some interesting neutrals in past dye samplings, so I will first take a look at those and figure out where I want to go from there. Then, when I have the colors, the second stretching will be designing a crackle structure to exploit them.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, check out Sandra’s recent postings as well She always seems to be working on something new and phenomenal. Now she has got hold of some amazing variegated yarn that she is going to use on her next project.

Thoughts While Weaving Samples

One of my intentions in weaving these samples is to find a design I might like for an afghan. I have envisioned the afghan in the same acrylic yarn I used for the baby blanket because it is so light, soft, and cuddly. Also, way back in my machine-knitting days I knit a lace afghan for our bedroom which I have truly worn out, I have liked it so much.

Why acrylic? Why not a nice soft merino or merino-silk? Yes, these would make lovely afghans. And I am not allergic to wool. However, in this case, the ability to throw the piece in the washer and dryer is a definite plus. The older I get, the more of a plus it becomes. This is not because I am lazy---which I am. It is because I am now old enough that I can imagine myself ending up in some kind of facility where everything I own will end up in the washer and dryer. So I am taking precautions against a possible future which I am working hard to avoid.

I have envisioned this new afghan in the same squares as the baby blankets, but in 3 colors. Actually, the idea came upon me because I have a lot of leftover yarn and was trying to think how I might use it up. I thought it might be fun to get a third color of the same yarn and weave an afghan with it.

As I have gotten into weaving the samples and have begun feeling the woven fabric between my fingers, I have discovered that this fabric seems to be thicker than the baby blanket fabric. Also, it feels like it will not drape so well. But really, this is not a surprise. The baby blanket was woven with a straight twill treadling on a straight twill threading, and this comibnation will probably yield the most drapeable fabric possible with any given yarn. And pressing only makes the fabric drape more nicely.

Why should I want an afghan to drape nicely? To me, a soft fabric that drapes well feels much more warm and comforting than a fabric which does not have these characteristics. So I will definitely have to wash and press the samples to see if pressing brings out softness and draping.

Even Warp Tensioning

Leigh made the following comment on my previous post:

It seems that (in my haphazard experience) the overall warptension usually seems tightest in the center of the loom, and it loosens toward the sides. I always assumed it was just me.

Like Leigh, when I have problems, I generally tend to assume that they are "just me." Implied in this, of course, is that nobody else has such a problem. In fact, nobody else has ever had such a problem!!! I wonder how many of us have a tendency to feel this way. Even after 8 years of weaving experience, I still do.

I have noticed the tendency in my warps tending to be looser on the sides than at the center. I wonder if this becomes more possible the wider the warp? Still, on the blanket warp which I was talking about, it was only the left side which was looser, not the right. I do have some ideas vis-a-vis knotting, mason twine and techniques for tensioning that I will try out on the next warp.

Also, Leigh goes on to say:

I have used Peggy's 2 stick header even when I haven't cut projects off the warp, and find that it really evens the tension out.

And this is one of the things I will try on the next warp. Usually just throwing those first shots of yarn to separate the warp ends also evens out the tension pretty well. I always find it interesting to see the various ends bubbling up and tightening in the process. And I always wonder, did I do that lousy of a job?! Anyway, if I really seem to be having problems, I will add Leigh's suggestion to my arsenal.

More Time, Please

When I arrived home from Washington, D.C., I found a very sick computer. She is still in the computer hospital. But I also arrived home to the additional cotton yarn I need for the crackle jacket I am designing. Yes, I wanted to jump immediately to that project. Forget unpacking. Forget washing clothes. Forget eating dinner. Well, maybe not the last. Forget the extra blanket warp left on the loom for tie-up and treadle experiments.

I didn’t forget any of those things. Most of all, I did not forget the left-over blanket warp still on the loom.

Oh, if only I had two looms! I could then do both. There are many times I yearn for a second loom, just so I could start another project while I am weaving off a current one. Or I could use it to weave samples for the project going around in my head as I weave off the current project. A second loom would be the answer to all my prayers.

But wait a minute. How could I do both at the same time? I could alternate, and indeed I frequently do this. I will be designing, dyeing, or making a warp for the next project during those times when I am not actually weaving on the current project. This works very well for me. So a second loom really isn’t the answer.

Or is it? One time when I really really want one is when something like a swap deadline comes up. Then I could just stop weaving on the current project, temporarily, of course. I could proceed with the swap project and, when that is done, come back to the current project. I’m afraid that planning ahead is the answer there.

There is only one answer to my problem, and it is not a second loom. It is, quite simply:. more time, please.