As a weaver, one of the most common questions that I am asked by spinners is whether it is possible to weave with hand spun yarn. This blog seeks to answer this question with a few tips and hints for weaving with hand spun yarn.
Introduction
My journey into weaving started with the spinning of yarn. I was given a second hand spinning wheel as a Christmas gift from my husband. After some determined practise I soon realised that my knitting was not going to be able to keep up with my spinning. After talking to a friend who had been on a weaving course I decided that weaving might be the way ahead. I now weave with a range of yarns and occasionally with hand spun yarn. Below I have shown a recent project woven with some hand spun yarn outlining some key features of the yarn that I used and its weaving.
Spinning the Yarn
I originally started weaving on a traditional Ashford spinning wheel. It is a beautiful wheel but more recently I have shifted to using an Ashford e-spinner. The traditional wheel is perhaps easier to use but with practise I now find the e-spinner excellent although a little trickier when plying. I have used both plied yarn and singles for weaving although I have only used singles as the weft. I think it is best to use a plied yarn for the warp as the plying process gives the yarn greater strength.
Washing the yarn
After the yarn has been spun and plied I wash the yarn before use. I wash it in hand hot water with some gentle detergent and a little agitation. I then leave the yarn to soak before rinsing and natural drying. The washing process causes the yarn to settle but also results in a small degree of felting which adds a little more strength to the yarn. If plied yarn is not washed I find that when weaving the yarn sheds fibres which aggregate as knots which get stuck in the heddle.
Yarn Thickness and weaving sett
I have woven with hand spun yarn of doubleknit, 4 ply and aran weight. For the project detailed here the hand spun yarn was a merino yarn. The yarn was a doubleknit thickness being around 15 ends per inch when wound round card. I decided to weave it at a sett of 8 ends per inch.
Which loom do I use?
I have used both my rigid heddle loom and larger floor loom to weave with hand spun yarn. My preferred loom is the rigid heddle loom. Whilst the loom waste on my floor loom is minimal to waste any of the hand spun yarn seems rather frustrating, especially as I know only too well how long it has taken me to create it in the first place! My preferred weaving structure with hand spun yarn is tabby weave or a simple twill as it is my opinion that this simple weave structure allows the yarn to 'sing'.
Which loom do I use?
If I am weaving a scarf I tend to use my TabbyandTweed rigid heddle loom. I have both an 8epi and 10 epi reed for it and with this yarn I chose to weave with the 8 epi reed.
Do the warp threads break?
I would be lying if I said that I never had a broken warp thread when weaving with hand spun. Obviously the finer the thread the more likely it is to break but with this woven scarf not a single warp thread broke. As said before, I think it is important to use a plied yarn for the warp as this gives the yarn greater strength. Of course the yarn used also impacts on its strength. Merino fibres are beautifully soft but in my opinion create a yarn which is a little more fragile than a nylon or silk blend.
The finished scarf
The scarf was removed from the loom and washed creating a scarf of approximately 22cm wide by 152cm long with a 12cm twisted fringe at each end.
The scarf used approximately 350m of yarn.
So what have I learnt about weaving with hand spun yarn?
In answer to the question ' Can you weave with hand spun yarn?' the answer is definitely yes!
I only use plied yarn for the warp
If I use a single it will be used as the weft only
I wash my yarn before weaving
The type of yarn does impact on its strength
I prefer to weave a simple structure either tabby or a basic twill so that the yarn is the showcase rather than the weave.
The scarf is now for sale in my website for UK delivery but in both my website and Etsy shop there are a few handwoven scarves woven with hand spun yarn.
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