Life History of a Scarf: Day 2 - Planning

Step 1 - Yarn Wraps. For me, the first step in planning almost always involves doing some yarn wraps to decide exactly which colors I will use and in what approximate proportions.  I did several wraps, using 6 or 7 colors and chose the 2 wraps you see below as the final two.  Finally I decided the warp needed a little extra "punch" and chose the wrap that has the black in it.  The thread counts in the wrap use Fibonacci numbers in random order (1-2-3-5-8-13-21).  I used 5 colors all together: black, turquoise, royal, chartreuse and lavender.

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Step 2:- Planning my draft.  I knew I wanted to use a mix of point twill and plain weave, just as I did in the Weaver's Challenge scarf, but this scarf was going to be a little different:

• Because the scarf was being woven with only 8/2 bamboo instead of a mix of 8/2 and 10/2, I decided to sett it at 24 instead of 27.  But I was not completely sure this was the right sett, so I would need to allow for sampling and re-setting if the cloth seemed to be too sleazy
• I wanted the scarf to be a little wider than the challenge scarf: between 10-12" on loom, resulting in a scarf between 8.5-10" after draw-in and shrinkage (unless of course I have to sett it closer...)
• The color proportions are different that the inspiration scarf

So I used Fiberworks to help me fuss with pattern and color within the parameters of 240 ends (24 epi x 10") to 288 ends (24 epi x 12") until I came up with a draft that appealed to me and that was balanced from side to side.  The final draft is below.

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​The treadling I decided on is a mixed point twill treadling.  Click on the images to the right to see what the cloth will look like in the finished scarves.

Original treadling (4 treadles)

Modified treadling (6 treadles - see explanation on Day 6)

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Step 3 - Warp calculations. The last thing I needed to do before I started measuring my warp was to do some calculations to figure out how long my warp should be, how much yarn I would need for the warp and weft, and to make sure I had enough yarn on hand.

Warp width:  281 ends / 24 epi ==> 11.7" in the reed

• The draft in this case determined the number of ends (281)
• 11.7" in the reed will yield a scarf about 10" in width, allowing for 15% draw-in/shrinkage

Warp length:  Planning for weaving 2 scarves plus 1 sample that is to be woven, cut off, and washed before proceeding with weaving the scarves.

• ​Allow 27" loom waste
• Allow 25" for sample (13" woven + 12" for tying back on)
• Allow 80" on loom for scarf 1 (after 10% draw-in and shrinkage ==> 72" finished scarf
• Allow 16"  unwoven area between scarves for fringe
• Allow 80" on loom for scarf 2 (after 10% draw-in and shrinkage ==> 72" finished scarf
• TOTAL = 228" or 6.3 yards is the length of the warp

Warp needs:

• I need 281 ends that are each 6.3 yds long.  281 x 6.3 = 1770 yds of warp

    My draft has 5 colors:

• 130 ends of turquoise x 6.3 yd = 819 yds
• 55 ends of black x 6.3 yds = 347 yds
• 47 ends of royal x 6.3 yds = 296 yds
• 32 ends of lavender x 6.3 yds = 201 yds
• 17 yds of chartreuse x 6.3 yds = 107 yds

Tip: Make sure you have at least an extra 10% on hand for your warp before you start warping because:

1. Your cones and skeins may not have on them have exactly what you are expecting
2. It is not likely that you can measure exactly the right length warp on your warping board (pegs are 6" apart after all)

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Step 4 - Weft Calculations. 
The only 3 parts of the warp that will be woven are:

• 13" sample
•  Two 80" scarves
• TOTAL woven length of 173"

I am assuming this sett and weave structure will yield a fairly balanced weave so I will guess that I will get 24 picks per inch (ppi). 173" x 24 ppi ==> 4152 picks total for all woven cloth

Each pick is 11.7" long plus a bit for take up - let's say 10% - making a pick about 12.8".  
4152 picks x 12.8" = 53,145" / 36 ==> 1476 yards for weft

I am weaving a sample with several weft colors and 2 scarves each with a different weft color so I should not need more than 700-800 yards of any one color of weft.

Tip: Remember that there is always loom waste in the warp, but virtually no waste in the weft.

f you are weaving 1 item, like a scarf or a shawl and the ppi is the same or less than the epi (your cloth is a balanced weave or warp emphasis), a good quick and dirty estimate for weft yardage would be 3/4 of the warp yardage.  

​Once my calculations were done, I was ready to start measuring my warp chains.  A project for another day.  To be continued on Life History-Day 3
To review, go back to Life History-Day 1
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