Tuesday, October 07, 2008

A 2nd Little Space Dyed Yarn Blanket

By Leigh

The trouble with enjoying my weaving is that I start to get ideas. I wonder, "what if I did this," or "what if I changed that." So too with the spaced dyed yarn weaving. As I worked on the 1st space dyed yarn blanket, the wheels were already turning with ideas for another.

Here's what the turning wheels produced over the weekend:

Space Dyed Yarn Blanket #2Click pic for a slightly larger view.

This one definitely has a more plaid-like look than the first one.

Catzee helps me photograph the new afghan.Cat included for size
A few close ups:






















































I did nothing special to line up the color sequences of the space dyed yarn. I measured and wove as it came off the skein.

The Particulars:
  • Yarn: Red Heart TLC, worsted weight acrylic knitting yarn
  • Structure: plain weave
  • Warp ends: 360
  • Sett: 8 epi
  • Picks Per Inch: 8
  • Width on loom: 45 inches
  • Length on loom: didn't measure
  • Finished size: 39 x 44 inches woven, with crochet edging 41 x 46 inches
  • Wet finishing: soak in warm water for about an hour, then machine wash and dry with a dryer sheet to soften the hand.
  • Edge finishing: machine zig zagged cut edges, then crochet shells
    • Row 1 - single crochet
    • Row 2 - shells - *5 DC in one stitch, skip 2 stitches, one SC, skip 2 more*, repeat
The difference in the effects of the space dyed yarns is from two things:
  1. Color value - the first blanket's yarns had more light and dark contrast
  2. Color transition - the change of colors in the first blanket's yarns are more obvious. In this blanket, the color changes are subtle.
These last two exercises in weaving with space dyed yarns have inspired me to want to try doing my own warp painting and space dyeing. In fact next month, Karen Madigan is going to give an Online Guild workshop I plan to participate in, "Easy Warp Painting and Ikat."

However, what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment, is getting ready for the Complex Weavers Tied Weaves Study Group which commenced this month. And I am, I promise. In fact I've begun a review of summer & winter weave. I'll see how well I can write that out next time.


Related Posts:
Space Dyed Yarns & Plain Weave
Space Dyed Blankie Done

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! Including the crochet edge :-)

Peg in South Carolina said...

Ahh, that is a problem when the study group crashes against something else you want to do...... Two looms would be soooo nice.......

Anonymous said...

OK that DOES IT! I am going to completely copy you and use the space dyed Acrylics for the baby blankies I have to get done. Thank you for so "boldly going" (can you tell I was a Star Trek fan?) before me.

I love the look, the ease of how they weave up, the washability, and the crocheted edgings make them a snap and so pretty.

You rock! :-)

Jane

bspinner said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
About how many skeins of yarn did you use for this blanket? I love it!!!

Leigh said...

I love weaving with space dyed yarns! It's easy to see how any color lover would be inspired.

I really don't know how many skeins this actually took as I used leftovers from another project. I can tell you that it took about 1230 total yards of yarn. I can also tell you that I ran out of some and had to get more, sort of the cereal-an-milk-effect, because I still have leftover yarn!

Tina T-P said...

Just gorgeous! T.

Anonymous said...

Very subtle coloring. And a very balanced weave, too. Great!

Taueret said...

some small person will love it, and it's super practical as well. The crochet edging is lovely too.

Sharon said...

So beautiful and so practical. You've been quite productive - you must be stocking up on Christmas presents.

Anonymous said...

That turned out so beautiful. I've been experimenting with my own hand painted warps. Some have worked, and the last one, not so much. I like how you've used a variety of leftovers to achieve a dramatic effect.

Wool Enough said...

It's gorgeous. And you did that over one weekend???? Wow.

Anonymous said...

Looks as though I am going to have to practice my crochet! That gives a really wonderful finish to a lovely blanket.

Meg said...

Very nicely finished. And thanks for the info about Kaz's workshop, too.

Annie said...

Nice blankets, Leigh! My latest is still on the loom, but there aren't enough hours in a day for me at the moment!

sheep#100 said...

Okay, I am so seriously impressed here!

Cherri said...

Great job!
Blankets are fun projects.