I had a good look and decided the problem was the fringe; I really didn’t like the wool and silk novelty yarn in the twisted fringe. It looked lumpy and bumpy and wanted to bridge with it’s’ neighbours.
I decided to pull the novelty yarn out of the fringe and hoped for an improvement.
This is the culprit!
This is the culprit!
I re-twisted the fringe leaving the novelty yarn out of the mix and then needle wove the novelty back up to the first novelty weft pick and cut if off. Wow, a great improvement, why didn’t I do that originally? 
While I was twisting the fringe I noticed that the nap had risen and there was a definite haze on the weaving. As you may remember I was really devastated when this shawl turned out to be a bit scratchy, because the wool was Merino and the Possum should be soft. 
So, I borrowed my husbands’ clothes brush, which I know isn't the right tool, and started brushing. I brushed each side lengthwise twice and felt like clobbering myself on the noggin…..there is a HUGE difference. The brushing seems to have helped the soft Possum fur come to the top….soft and sheer. Could it get any better? You can see the Possum haze glowing in this photo.
Now I was left with wonky fringes, so I took the whole thing to my ironing board. I folded the shawl in half and aligned the fringes, then sprayed them with water like mad. I had to get them really wet and pull them straight, but didn’t have time to wash the whole shawl before I need it tomorrow. It worked really well, and after some time spent combing to make sure that the twists were out of the ends, I cut them evenly. I am truly thrilled with this shawl now and I can’t believe I did everything twice! Just goes to show the saying “do it right the first time” has merit!
Weaving WordsThe word for the fabric Gabardine comes from the Spanish word gabardine meaning protection against the elements.
6 comments:
How to make scratchy yarn seem nicer, and how to make scarves without fringe are two things on my mind lately.
Thanks for touching on both of them in this post!!!
Sue
Thank you so much for the award, what a pleasant surprise! The shawl looks great, I like the square pattern. By the way, what is possum?
Wow your shawl does look different. The added work sure did pay off. I love the deep purple.
Thanks for the award and have fun at your Spin In.
I wonder if fulling would have helped as well? When i fulled a blanket I wove, I didn't even bother with the brushing I had planned because it raised such a lovely nap such as you describe. I also like what you did with the fringes. A lot of work,but definitely worth it.
Such a nice shawl Lynette. Would you work with the possum again? I've been tempted in the past to try it, but as yet have resisted dong so.
Thank you so much for the award;) I'm sure you know that I love to read your blog (one of my faves;) and really appreciate the detail you take in sharing this refining process! I think the scarf looks great!!!
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