Recycled Sari Yarn Makes Sorry Warp

I’ve had some recycled sari silk yarn which I dyed back in June.  I hadn’t been too sure what I was going to do with it.  I almost tried putting it on my rigid heddle last weekend; I’m glad I didn’t.  Right before I started warping, I took a real close look at it and realized it would not do real well for warp — there was way too much differentiation in thickness of the yarn.  Also, it’s a bit “sticky” — Ok, a lot.

Tonight I put it on a frame loom to weave as a cowl in one piece — no sewing.  I’d woven a Moebius strip that way 2 winters ago, as a trial/proof of concept.  From that experiment, I found that the plain pvc was way too slippery; I added the curlers after.  The curlers help hold the yarn in place, however when advancing it, they don’t stay in place as well as I might like. Also, it being a loop, differences in width will likely be very noticeable — I need a “small” temple.

My main complaints about the sari yarn for warp are that it’s really thin in places; I’m afraid it will break.  Also the yarn has clumpy bits — granted, they add character, but it still makes it more difficult to use as warp.  And the stray fibers like to stick together.  A lot; it can be really hard getting a decent shed.

As of now, it’s about halfway woven — in about 2 hours.  I can’t complain about that.  I can’t tell as yet how warm it will be; I expect fairly, but I don’t know.  Still an interesting experiment. I’m glad to have worked with some sari yarn — I’ve got a good bit more (already coloured and it looks like a much finer spinning, albeit a bit more stray threads coming from it) which I plan to use to make a coat for my daughter by Winter Solstice.