Betty Bell, Arachne, Milton, WA
Name/Description: Shrug, silk and handspun brown wool
Made For?: Woman
Size: L
Fabric Construction: Woven
Fabric Construction – Other:
Woven Structure: 8 shaft Advancing Twill front and back of garment. Pattern found in Weavers Issue 43, Spring 99. Underarm Panel structure broken twill/basket on 6 shafts.Macomber loom treadle loom
Yarn Details and SETT: Warp: hand-dyed thick/thin silk set at 24 epiWeft: handspun brown wool from local Puyallup farmer. Advancing twill woven with singles, and underarm panel same wool used 2 ply to keep the hand same as body of garment.”
Handspun Details: I processed the fleece, carded it, spun semi-worsted on an Ashford traditional wheel. I still have quite a bit of the yarn. It was a large fleece of unknown breed.
Stitches:
Special Treatments: The silk was a collection of dye samples done with a study group. We used acid dyes on this series.
Textile Finishing: The woven fabric was machine washed with detergent with careful supervision until fulled enough. Machine spun, rinse in cool water, spun out. The placed in dryer with dry bath towel and carefully monitored until fulling was complete. Air dried, steam pressed. The fabric was woven several years ago, but not sewn until January of 2025.
Textile Challenges: The fabric wasn’t wide enough, and I used the 2 ply twill/basket I’d planned for another project for the underarm panel and neck/front facing. I chose not to use a front closure, finding it comfortable without one.
Garment Construction: Machine sewing on all major seams with hand sewn hems and facing.
Lining:
Special Features:
Pattern:
Garment Challenges: The underarm panel was necessary to make the shrug large enough to fit me. I made knitted samples with the same singles, and others with the 2 ply from the same fleece, but was unsatisfied with the effect. I had earlier sampled the 2 ply for a different project and found enough for the underarm panel and the facings. The hand of that fabric was close enough to the advancing twill after it was fulled. Overall, a happy coincidence.
