In my journey to become a weaver, I know that I really ought to stay focused and practice until I feel proficient with each new thing that I try – different techniques, yarn, loom, etc.  But there are so many wonderful things to explore that I am easily side-tracked.  The Parrot Plumage Crimped scarf from Handwoven May/June 2015 (Issue 175) spoke to me.  You weave a wide scarf using a weft that will shrink with wet heat, so that it will crumple up.  The scientist in me just had to see this happen.

I started winding the warp months ago, but didn’t have enough yarn in a few of the colors, so I chained what I had done, stuck it on a shelf and kept the colors in mind as I traveled.  Eventually, I had enough to finish winding the warp, which was a mix of tencel and silk yarns.  I was concentrating hard on getting just the right number of each color wound in the correct order – until it occurred to me (at the last minute, of course) that these were pretty random stripes, which were going to be crinkled anyway, and no one would know if I got 3 coral strands instead of 2, here or there.  Oh, well.

Lisa, Tracy and I planned a weaving weekend, and I thought this would be a great project to work on, as they could help me if I got into trouble.  Warping took awhile, but the company made the time fly. Lisa showed me a great trick for tying on slippery yarn, using a cord.

Weaving was easy, and only took a few hours.  The resulting fabric was gorgeous,  and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to crumple it!

But, here goes.  I used a crochet hook to pull the “pull-thread picks” which were inserted every 6 picks of ground cloth.

Then I steamed the fabric for 40 min, as instructed.

It took a few days to completely air-dry, and then I pulled the picks out completely and voila!  A soft crumpled scarf!