Woven Scarf

This is my first hand-woven scarf, and I am rather pleased. It wasn’t my first time weaving. I used to weave samples on a larger loom at university long ago.

I used the Ashford New Zealand wool ball that came with my loom as the warp—a lovely forest green colour. I used three balls of Noro Silk Garden Lite colour 2051 for the weft.

It is a beautiful scarf. I love the colours, but it feels relatively scratchy at this point. I think it needs to be washed a few times so that the Noro Silk Garden Lite begins to soften.

Yes, my imagination often runs away with me when I think of a new piece of equipment, and my reasons for investing in the loom are no exception.

After doing some research, I chose an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom (40cm) along with a set of Ashford warping pegs, an Ashford 40cm reed 12.5dpi and an additional Ashford stitch shuttle, let’s not forget the fringe twister.

With some help from watching a series of instructional videos created by Ashford Wheels & Looms, I succeeded in:

Assembling my Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom

Simple Warping on the Rigid Heddle Loom

Tying a Warp on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Spreading a Warp on a Rigid Heddle Loom

Using the Fringe Twister

And I finally actually started to weave my scarf on the loom. Rehash Fibers did a handy instructional video, although she has a broader version of the loom.

There are many videos on YouTube that you can watch for help.

I also bought a couple of books on weaving to give me some ideas.

• The Weaver’s Idea Book – Jane Patrick
• Hands-on Rigid Heddle Weaving – Betty Linn Davenport

I think weaving would be a great way of using some of my handspun yarn. My handspun isn’t particularly fine yet, but it is lovely, soft, and fluffy and would make a very pretty woven scarf. Yes, spinning is another of the fibre arts I am trying to learn to do proficiently.

I had always fancied having a small loom that I could use for weaving scarves, placemats, fabric for making a project bag, cushion covers, book covers, etc. I have many ideas for items that could be made from woven fabric.