Autumn Leaves 8-Shaft

Celebrate autumn with Deanna Deeds’s 8-shaft Autumn Leaves Scarf from Handwoven Loom Theory: Eight and Over Eight Scarf Collection. Woven in scrumptious Jagger Spun wools, this scarf will keep you warm and cozy on the coolest of autumn days. Here’s what Deanna had to say about her scarf:

Deanna Deeds’s Autumn Leaves scarf, the perfect autumnal accessory.

Designer Deanna Deeds’s Statement

My goal for this project was to create thick and warm scarves with pockets of air between the layers for extra insulation. To achieve that effect, I decided to explore differential shrinkage using networked doubleweave for both the 8- and the 16-shaft versions. I used the drafting method outlined in Network Drafting: An Introduction by Alice Schlein and started with one of the design lines in the book, a simple S-curve.

Differential shrinkage in yarns of varying fibers can create exciting effects. For example, wools, depending on how they’re processed, can react very differently when washed. The Jagger Spun Superfine Merino in this scarf fulls and felts like a dream, in contrast to the nonfelting Super Lamb superwash wool.

This scarf can be woven on an 8-shaft table or dobby loom or on a floor loom with 16 treadles (most 16-shaft looms, for example).

RESOURCES Schlein, Alice. Network Drafting: An Introduction. Greenville, South Carolina: Bridgewater, 1994.

Weave well, Christina

Project at a Glance

PROJECT TYPE: 8-shaft.

STRUCTURE: Networked doubleweave.

EQUIPMENT: 8-shaft loom, 27" weaving width; 10-dent reed; 2 or 3 shuttles; 3 bobbins.

YARNS: Jagger Spun 2/24 Mousam Falls Super Lamb (100% superwash wool; 5,960 yd/lb) Jagger Spun Superfine Merino 2/18 (100% wool; 5,040 yd/lb).

OTHER SUPPLIES: Synthrapol textile detergent.