Chenille Advice Needed
I recently came into a few cones of rayon chenille yarns [*cough*kathie’s fault*cough*] that I’d like to use to make a scarf. I’ve heard it can be tricky to use. One thing I read said that it’s best to use a plain weave to prevent worming, etc.
Do you have any tips or pointers you’d like to share?
If I end up with the plain weave, I’d most likely use the Wolf Pup, and a 12 dent reed is what I’m thinking. Is one type of shuttle better than another?
Hi Dave, I’ve only woven scarves with chenille three times, but learned lessons each time. The basic one is with rayon chenille you need to use a sett around 18 (16 – 18) – the underlying “yarn” is thread-thin. Packing it will prevent the worming (using ~12 sett will not). However, with cotton chenille, you need a looser sett or it will be a nice stiff tote bag instead of a drapey scarf.
Anyone else agree or have different advice?
Good luck!
Liz
First of all Dave, you should really take care of that cough 🙂
Second of all, I second Liz’s recommendation of the sett of 18. I asked Patricia Morton (aka the queen of rayon chenille) at Fuzz Fest for her advice and that was it in a nutshell. Right Patricia?
Can’t wait to see what you weave with those gorgeous colors!
Ahhh, that makes sense about the sett at 18, basing it on the core thread and not the whole “fuzz”. That makes sense. I’ll post pics when it’s done. (I’m planning ahead, so this is going to be a Holiday 2010 scarf, so I’ve got time to make it.)
Yes, for 1450 ypp rayon chenille, I always sett it at 18 epi. I have sampled at 16 epi, and it makes a slightly drapier and less firm scarf (at 18 epi it’s quite substantial, but not stiff). But I would think it might worm a little at 16 epi.
Plain weave is the stablest, but I’ve also done 2/2 twill. You don’t want long floats,
and where I’ve used a little chenille in with other fibers in twills, the chenille will worm some.
You also want a firm, even beat. I have a hilarious sample of chenille weft on a cotton warp, where the little Kindergartener doing the weaving didn’t beat hard enough. It looks like smocking after washing! I couldn’t do it again if I tried.
Thank you, Patricia. I’m willing to give this all a try, just for the learning aspect of it all. This is going to fall under the category of Fiber Adventure.