Wool Fabric Finished

The wool fabric is done! 6.17 yards at 23″ wide.

Before washing

To finish the fabric before cutting, I ran it though the washer/dryer on the delicate cycle. It now measures 5.31 yards at 20″ wide, meaning approximately 16% shrinkage in length and 15% in width. I estimated 13% and 15% respectively, which means I’m right on target for the width. A bit shorter won’t matter.

After washing - the wool has fulled and is thicker.

What I have learned so far in this project

I didn’t have any fraying issues on my sample, but I definitely did on my actual yardage. I think part of the issue was weaknesses in the yarn itself (there were some finer/looser spun patches), and part of the issue was the increased width meaning more take up. I had more tension on the warp, too, because I couldn’t just pass the shuttle through and therefore had to support its weight. I’ve never woven with wool before, so I’m not sure if this is common problem or just a deficiency of this yarn. I think this might be more a problem with this yarn than anything else since I am using cheap knitting yarn.

I am attributing the root cause of all of my problems in this project so far as inexperience with the materials. I’ve never woven with wool before, let alone this wool. If I had, I might have anticipated my problems and taken steps to prevent them.

I chose this yarn because when I ordered the yarn for my samples the price was much cheaper than that of Harrisville Shetland. Unfortunately, Knitpicks raised their prices (almost doubled them!) before I ordered the yarn for the project itself. It was still cheaper, but not by nearly as much (around $50 less, compared to the over $100 less when I was planning the project). I’d like to try another project in the palette yarn but soaking the warp in sizing first and using a temple. After all, it comes in over 100 shades, the finished fabric turns out nicely, and it still is cheaper. If it behaves well with these extra steps it might still be worthwhile to use it again. I haven’t worked with the Harrisville Shetland before either, so I’d like to try a project in that as well to compare. If it behaves much better and I like the finished fabric it may be worth the extra cost just to save myself the frustration.

All in all I am satisfied with the end result. The problems are all in the selvedges so it won’t show in the finished garment (unless you check my seams).

I also learned that some of my odd warp stretching problems can be solved by keeping the door to the craft room closed.

Horrible beastie!