Wet Finishing

I just thought I would post a couple of photos to demonstrate the difference wet finishing makes in handwoven textiles. This first photo is of an Ms and Os scarf that I wove recently, in bamboo, with lots of fun colors (purple, teal, yellow, caramel...):



I actually took the color inspiration from a painting by my daughter! (When she paints, I give her three little pots to fill and she chooses what primary colors to mix to get the final shades she wants.)

Anyway, you can see that it looks kind of flat when it comes off the loom. It also feels much stiffer than it will after it is washed. There's also a threading error in it, so that means I'm keeping this scarf instead of selling it (I know others sell less-than-perfect work for a discount, but I just can't bring myself to do it!)... I love the colors so much, I'm wondering whether I did it intentionally, lol! I fixed the threading, though, and wove another one to put in my shop.

And, here it is, after washing (photo taken inside, normally I take them outside, in the shade):



Can you see the difference? (I hadn't trimmed my ends or anything yet at this point.) The structure has really softened up, the Os looks like Os, and the whole thing shrank a bit as well. And it's beautifully soft to the touch now, too!

Man, though, it looks like it's going to be tough to photograph it's sister (the one without the goof) and really capture the colors... It's really quite a bit prettier in person, I think!

Current Projects

Just thought I would post a couple quick pictures of my current projects...

On the little loom now:

The colors look a little bland in the photo, but they're a bit prettier in real life. Deep gold, a nice basil green, light light yellow and a khaki color, in a that turned Ms and Os structure that I keep coming back to (like the texture it creates in the fabric).

Here are some recently finished scarves that will be Christmas presents, I think:

What a difference wet finishing makes! My Mum was here yesterday (as always on Fridays, the kids love seeing Ginga every week) and was peeking at these scarves, but that was before I washed them... Fabric right off the loom can be stiff, but once it's washed up and dried in whatever way is appropriate for the fiber - hooray! Lovely, soft and drapey. At least, that's the way bamboo, tencel, wool/silk, alpaca/silk, etc. turn out - I have yet to work with linen, but I assume it keeps it stiffness to a certain extent...

Can you believe it's the 22nd of December already?? Yikes! Just about done with Christmas shopping, hooray, now I just have a bunch of presents to wrap up and a turkey to buy...