Black Tencel Shawls in Eight Shaft Twill

Just before Christmas I got a commission for a shawl similar to one that I had woven but had recently sold.  The shawl was purple silk and a black Tencel warp with a favorite twill pattern called Frost Crystals.  I didn’t take any photos of it on the loom but here it is getting ready to be shipped.

It is always more economical to put on enough warp for two shawls than for just one shawl, so that's what I did.  I could have cut off the first shawl for the commission but I had enough time that I could weave both shawls at once.  I tried out a couple of weft colours in Tencel, a blue, gold and white.

I thought that the white was a little stark and the gold a little brassy and the blue OK but not quite what I had in mind.  Thankfully, I have another warmer gold colour called Straw, which I think works a lot better.

I was going to change the tie up and/or the treadling but I really do love this pattern, so I stuck with it.

When I start to twist the fringes I chose the number of threads in each bout and then make sure my math is right by flicking every other bout up onto the book that I am using as a weight.

The gold shawl has such a wonderful drape and the warm gold colour is quite stunning and dramatic. For Sale.

Final Garden Shot is a hardy orange called Flying Dragon (Poncirus trifoliata) and yes, that is snow behind it!