BTW, as someone debating whether to get rid of the 8-harness jack loom
in the garage, I have a conundrum.
I loved the process of weaving. But I just was not all that thrilled by
hand-woven material. It was OK, and I made a lot of home-furnishings
type things. But stylistically, I'm not no longer that interested in the
rough-looking bedspreads, etc. that I used to make, and as for woven
wall hangings, these days I'm totally uninterested.
The only kind of wall hanging I'd ever consider making is a tapestry,
which I never used to do, except when I learned the techniques in
textile arts class. I do still like tapestries.
What I was really most interested in making then was garments. Garment
fabric is of course comparatively fine and very time-consuming to weave.
I wanted to get on to making the garments, so it just seemed more
efficient to buy fabric.
The loom also has sentimental value, but given the its size, I suppose
I'll eventually sell it. I just hate to ever get rid of anything.
Fran
Lavolta Press
http://www.lavoltapress.com
Back in the days when I had lots of time to experiment
with natural dyes on the yarn I had time to spin (Oh
for the days of no kids!!) my hubby made me a set of
stretchers to keep the shrinkage to a minimum.
Basically, it is no more than a couple pieces of 2x4
with dowels plugged in. Before the dye bath, I would
wind the yarn across the bars in a single layer with
fairly firm tension. Leave on the bars until you are
done immersing in the dye bath and rinse water. Dry on
the bars. By keeping it under a fair amount of tension
it didn't have as much opportunity to contract.
The nice part is that you can construct them to fit
down in whatever size tub you have for your dye bath.
We were lucky to have come across some fairly deep
metal pans being discarded from the VA Hospital
kitchen. Worked like a charm.
Good luck.
--- Lavolta Press <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Procion is not a literally cold-water dye; you need
to use pretty warm
water for best results.
The dyeing process almost always shrinks the fibers,
sometimes quite a
lot. Also, the earlier in the process you dye the
fibers, the more
thoroughly the dye penetrates. Dyed in the fleece is
better than dyed in
the spun yarn, dyed in the yarn is better than dyed
in the woven
material, and dyed in the material is better than
dyed in the made-up
garment. Hence the old saying, "Dyed in the wool."
Ever buy a dyed-after-sewing garment, unpick the hem
to take it up, and
discover that it is pale, or even still white, on
the inside of the old
hem? And when I have dyed crocheted articles, the
dye visibly penetrates
better into the upper surface, than further down
into the intertwinings
of the yarn.
Fran
Lavolta Press Books on Historic Costuming
http://www.lavoltapress.com
Maureen Campbell wrote:
If you're going to use a cold-water dye, like
Procion, I don't think it makes a difference.
Anything involving hot water, though, will
shrink cotton, so in that case, the yarn should
be dyed first, then crocheted.
Yay, crochet!! :)
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Rebecca Burch
Center Valley Farm
Duncan Falls, Ohio, USA
The only twelve steps I'm interested in are the ones between the flat folds and
the brocades. --Anonymous Costumer--
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