Weaving a Rainbow

If you can't decide on a color, use them all!

I enjoy bright colors and this warp makes me happy.  I warped my HD loom with 8 yards of 8/2 Tencel to weave several scarves.  The threading is an 8 shaft straight draw so I can use several twill drafts to make each scarf slightly different.

Are you familiar with Tencel?

Tencel is one of my favorite threads with which to weave.  It has a beautiful sheen, comes in many colors, and makes a soft, silky fabric with a beautiful drape.

Tencel is also known as Lyocell.  It is made from the pulp of wood which is chemically treated to create a slurry which is pumped through spineretts to make a continuous filament.  Tencel can be used by itself or mixed with other fibers.

Lyocell is used in many fabrics we use daily.  It is wrinkle resistant, soft, absorbent and makes a strong fabric that will stand up to machine washing and drying as well as dry-cleaning.

I have only woven with silk a few times.  The silk I used was close to the size of 8/2 Tencel.  For me, the silk and Tencel are almost identical.  The cost of Tencel is so much lower than silk that I think it is a great substitute for silk.

There are a few things to keep in mind when weaving with Tencel.  It is slippery, so when you tie on to the apron rod make sure your knots are tight.  Also,  the selvedge threads have a tendency to wear and break.

To reduce the breakage there are several things to do.  First, watch your draw-in.  If possible, use a temple, an end-feed shuttle and beat on an open shed then close the shed before pushing back on the beater.  When you beat on an open shed the weft will ease into the warp better and not pull on the edges.  Then, close the shed before moving the beater back.  This will hold your last pick where it belongs while you change the shed.  Since Tencel is slippery, it has a tendency to bounce back away from the fell if you don't trap it with the next shed.

When you take your fabric off the loom you will find it seems hard and has no drape.  Don't despair. Once you wash it the fabric changes.  The next step is to press it with a hot iron.  I mean PRESS it.  Hold the iron in one place and press down, move the iron to the next place and press down.  Do this on both sides of the fabric then Iron the entire piece by moving the iron back and forth.  The ironing sort of polishes the fabric.  You only need to do this pressing to finish the weaving process.  For future cleaning a light ironing is all that may be needed.