the beauty of natural dyes

warning! – this entry is all about weaving, handspun silk and a lot of natural dye colours

the end of the warp is near – it’s great to finish but then you have to decide what to weave next?

the construction of a loom prevents a weaver from  weaving to the last few inches of warp threads

what is left is called thrums and is either wasted or used for stitching or something creative

because I had finished weaving the lengths I needed these are a little longer than usual – 40 inches (approx. 111.5 cm.)

too much to waste considering the amount of time spent spinning and dyeing

I no longer knit so I’ll have to think of another way to use them

I always twist the fringes on a scarf, especially when the yarns are handspun

a quick and easy way to make sure they are all the same length

pin the two ends together, comb them straight, tape the cutting line to a firm straight edge and cut

the twisting goes quickly because you don’t have to constantly check they are all the same lengthand it looks neat

I always hem stitch the start and end of scarves while they are under tension on the loom

it’s quick, easy and again, makes a neat finish

bonus – I wove the sample for my September colour challenge

there wasn’t enough red silk so I used some wool in the weft – it created a little more texture

a little surprise, something I might use to advantage in the future

the blanket was woven on a pin loom with wool dyed in the same natural dye pots

the colours are very similar but each small block of the scarf is a blending of 3 weft colours and 1 warp colour

it makes the colour look much softer – that is what I wanted when I choose the polychrome crackle pattern

Betsy, the studio mannequin need some fresh air so she is modeling in the garden