Working with Harrisville Shetland

[Norma OCuilinn]

Hi,

I’m making a Shetland blanket and am wondering if I can full it in the washing machine like we did the mohair blankets at Jane’s retreat.  Or if doing it by hand in the sink is safer?  I wove a very tiny sample to experiment with it so I know it will full nicely but I did that small bit in my kitchen sink.

any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Ginette]

Hi Norma, I do full my blankets woven in Harrisville shetland in the washing machine as well.

Ginette

[Norma OCuilinn]

Is there a trick to it? Or concerns I should be aware of before I try it?

and do you go by Ginny?  We may have met at Jane’s…..

[Ginette]

Hi Norma, I follow Jane’s instructions on fulling.  Here’s the link to her helpline where you can download it.  I found with this yarn that it doesn’t take long in the washing machine.  I check it every 30 seconds once I noticed the fulling has started.  It’s great yarn for fulling!  I fulled last yardage I wove and it turned out lovely.  I don’t go by Ginny but have been to Jane’s for a few workshops.

 

https://janestaffordtextiles.com/faq/fulling-your-handwoven-fabric/

[Norma OCuilinn]

Thank you!  I’ll read the info on the link you posted.

[Norma OCuilinn]

ok. I finished the first blanket out of Shetland and fulled it and that went fine.  It had a 15% change horizontally and a 10% shrinkage in length.

However, when I was tensioning it on the apron rod before weaving I broke a whole bout of threads at the knot!  ( I half hitched the unbroken threads around the bundle and then taped it tight.  It stayed)

I didn’t realize it’s so fragile.  So, I’m wondering if any of you have a helpful hint about getting it settled with a good tension when tying on.

thank you

[Inga]

I think lashing a warp should help.  I am sure Jane will cover it in a next video, but you can check on youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnrCoijfZVY andaAlso http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.ca/2007/10/how-to-lash-on-warp.html.

[Norma OCuilinn]

Thank you Inga!  I had completely forgotten about that as an option.  It’s a good idea and I’ll do that for the next project which is a shetland/mohair scarf.

Cheers

[Norma OCuilinn]

Hi Ginette

Ha! I got it to work!  It’s drying in this picture.  The dark horizontal line roughly in the middle was me messing with beat…. Oh well, not so noticeable now it’s dry…. First time to weave with Shetland.  I learned a lot. And it’s going to a friend who is happy to be a Guinea pig.  It’s for the foot of her bed.  The center is grey/brown, grey/brown across, weft is obviously black.

 

[Norma OCuilinn]

Thank you

[Norma OCuilinn]

So, Ginette, when you make cloth with Shetland how much shrinkage do you usually get?

[Norma OCuilinn]

Oh my gracious.  That’s beautiful.  It almost looks like overshot.  I may need to get that book 🙂

[Norma OCuilinn]

To Ginette,

well I just beamed about 9 yds of Shetland and a thread broke while beaming.  It got caught on adjacent threads and tangled.  This stuff tangles so easily.

Do you have any suggestions for keeping it from wrapping around itself.  It was chained tightly and the cross was 2×2.

 

I just tied the broke bit together in a knot and I’ll keep my eye out for it while I’m weaving.  This is certainly a learning curve.

 

 

[Ginette]

Hi Norma, I would love to see a picture of your blanket you just did in Shetland after fulling!  Are you able to post one?

Ginette

 

[Ginette]

That is so lovely Norma!  Love your colour mix and those black stripes, stunning!

[Ginette]

I wove it at 10 epi.  I used the ‘Earl’s Canvas’ pattern.

Shrinkage was 13 % in width and about 10% in length.  Very close to your amounts.   I ended up with a piece that was 41″ wide and 4.33 yards long.   The nice thing was that I was able to full it as a whole piece!

Ginette

[Norma OCuilinn]

Picture?  I’ve never heard of Earls Canvas… I’ll look it up

[Ginette]

Hi Norma, here’s a picture of the pattern that I did napkins as you can see it better on that as the warp was one colour, weft – second colour.  The second picture is the one I did in Shetland Harrisville, black on black,  finished, fulled fabric (not the best picture, it’s actually much darker the fabric)

The pattern is from Twill Thrills book, 8 harness.

 

 

 

[Ginette]

Hi Norma,

did you keep your 2 threads in the same dent in the raddle when you were winding on?

Ginette

 

[Norma OCuilinn]

Yes. But the twisting, binding seemed to be before it got to the raddle and all down the warp towards the chain

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Norma OCuilinn.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Sandra.

[Ginette]

Hi Norma,

The one suggestion, which you may be doing already, is when you are beaming on the warp, if you feel any kind of snag or it feels like it’s not winding on as smoothly, is to pull/tug on your chain to get the threads back into place.  The next JST online guild video is tomorrow and that is where Jane will be showing how to beam on and I’m sure you’ll find some tricks in it to help you.  The nice thing about the Harrisville Shetland yarn and repair of a broken thread, when it’s fulled, the repairs don’t show.

Ginette

[Norma OCuilinn]

Right!  Thank you.

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