A hand-spun and handwoven emerald green merino scarf - yarn spun on an Ashford wheel, woven on a rigid heddle loom in Salisbury
 
This emerald green scarf is made from yarn that Emma Baker spun herself on an Ashford spinning wheel in Salisbury, Wiltshire before weaving it on a rigid heddle loom. The yarn is merino wool, hand-dyed in emerald green and with accents of aubergine dark purple. Hand-spinning produces yarn with a natural irregularity in its thickness and twist - the spun fibre has a character that commercially wound yarn does not, and this gives the finished scarf a surface quality that is impossible to replicate with shop-bought yarn.
 
What hand-spinning means
Most handwoven scarves including the other pieces in this collection are woven from commercially produced yarn. Emma buys the yarn and weaves it into fabric. This scarf is different: Emma created the yarn itself, starting from raw merino fibre on an Ashford spinning wheel. The spinning process twists the fibres together into a continuous thread. Because this is done by hand rather than by machine, the resulting yarn carries subtle variations in twist and weight that give the woven fabric its distinctive, living quality.  The scarf is then woven on a rigid heddle loom - a loom well-suited to working with hand-spun yarn, which can vary in thickness in a way that some loom setups cannot accommodate. The rigid heddle allows Emma to adjust the beat and tension as she weaves, responding to the hand-spun yarn’s natural character.
 
Two design variants
Both variants are woven from the same weft yarn in the same emerald green.  The difference is in the warp arrangement:  In design A the warp uses an even arrangement of emerald and dark purple threads, giving the scarf a balanced, blended appearance. In design B: the warp threads are arranged to create slightly more clearly defined colour stripes running lengthways along the scarf. The stripe pattern is more visible in this variant, giving the scarf a more structured, linear character.  
 
Select your preferred design from the drop-down menu before adding to cart.
 
What makes this scarf special
Yarn hand-spun by Emma Baker on an Ashford spinning wheel in Salisbury, Wiltshire
Handwoven on a rigid heddle loom by Emma Baker
Fine merino wool - soft, warm and naturally breathable
Emerald green and aubergine - a rich, jewel-toned colour combination
Tasselled fringe at each end - 10cm, adding movement and a relaxed finish
Absolutely one of a kind - hand-spun yarn makes each scarf unique at a level beyond standard handweaving
Presented in a gold-embossed gift box with navy tissue paper lining, ready to give
 
Dimensions
23cm wide × 154cm long, with a 10cm tasselled fringe at each end.
 
A handmade luxury gift
The hand-spun and handwoven provenance of this scarf is its most distinguishing feature as a gift. The recipient is not receiving a scarf made from purchased yarn - they are receiving something woven from yarn that Emma made. That is a gift story worth telling. It arrives in a gold-embossed gift box with navy tissue paper lining.