This morning I finished a sample of 8-shaft Turned Bronson using a new yarn from Webs; Colrain Lace, a 50/50 blend of merino wool and tencel. The yarn is gorgeous; soft with a slight sheen and lovely drape that make it perfectly suitable for clothing. Here is the sample on the loom:
Bronson, like most handwoven lace, looks very different on the loom compared to what it looks like after washing and finishing. It's often difficult to tell exactly what's happening with the lace while weaving, but the use of two colors in this piece make it easier to see. When taken off the loom, it relaxes somewhat. Here you can see the weft (darker blue) and warp (light teal) floats:
Notice how square the spaces are between the lace motifs? Magic happens when the fabric is washed; the ends in the lace areas shift and collapse creating a very different fabric:
Look how dramatically those square areas shifted, creating the illusion of circles. I love that! Weaving tends to be very "square" by nature, so I think it's exciting to see such a dramatic difference in the final appearance of the cloth.
I wove samples with two different colors of weft; the dark blue in the previous photos and a darker teal seen here on the right:
It's interesting to see how the weft color impacts the perceived warp color: with the blue weft, it looks more blue; with the dark teal color, it appears more green. I like both of these, but especially the sample woven with blue, so that's probably what I'll use for the garment I'm planning. A vest? A jacket? I have to decide so I can get back to weaving!
