Ask Madelyn: Weaving with Handspun

Dear Madelyn,
As a weaver on the transition from knitting I have a question about sett. I know the answer is SAMPLE. Handwoven put out the lovely PDF that shows yarns used in the magazine with suggestions for lace, tabby, and twill Those numbers assume a balanced weave with a weft similar to the warp. I have handspun. In many cases it was one of those 4 oz packages of lovely handpainted fiber. In some cases there is not enough yardage for warp and weft of a scarf. I think I would like to do a warp-faced fabric with a finer weft. What is the right direction - any "rules" to get me started without sampling away all that precious handspun?
––Charlene

Hi Charlene!
There really aren’t any rules that would tell you exactly what to do. What I would do is wrap the handspun yarn around a ruler somewhat loosely, at about the distance apart you’d really like the warp threads to be (this won’t account for shrinking and fulling if the handspun is wool) as a start. I’d sett it a little more loosely than that if the yarn will shrink and full (probably the best rule of thumb is to go for looser than you think) and then I’d use a lot finer weft.

You don’t have to weave a separate sample. Just make the warp long enough so you can weave a bit, take that off, wash the sample, and then change the sett on the warp you are using as needed by spreading the threads farther apart or closer together in the reed.

––Madelyn