The start of a new Shawl for my daughter's Matron Of Honour, Christina. I wanted to make this black with a little blue in it to give it some sparkle but still be a versatile piece for her wardrobe in the future. The black two ply wool was a good start. To add the sparkle I spun up a thin two ply silk and dyed it with cerrulean blue silk dye but then added some more silk dyed with a black ink to give a silver grey so that the blue would not dominate. Setting up always takes ages and without planning the silk warp thread placements it seemed to take even longer. The weaving was a standard twill but with a tabby binder every other pict. I tried to keep the tension fairly loose but found that by the time I got to just over half way, the warp was showing sings of wear and I was hoping that I would have no major dramas like a silk warp thread breaking. Something like that is fairly difficult to correct. Finally I cut the piece off the loom and spent the next two days tying the overhand knots in the ends to give the decorative finish I wanted. Next came the fulling in the washing machine on a gentle wool cycle and a very short spin then drying outside in the sun. Shrinkage was minimal which was just as well as there was really not much margin for shrinkage in the length of the warp.
A quick press under a cloth with a steam iron and it was ready for delivery. I hope Christina likes it.
The finished Shawl
