Thinking About Sett

I just have a tiny bit to say about this today because I think it is a huge topic. But I’m going to specifically talk about the sett for the scarf Spin and Weave Along that is going to begin on January 1.

For the clothing fabrics I have been weaving I am purposely setting the warp closer than most people advised. This is because I want a harder wearing fabric and I want one that holds its shape  when I sit down and stand up (no bubble butts in my skirt please – unless that’s my actual butt).

So, like a good weaver, I did some sampling. Most advice, when a plain weave fabric is the plan, is to measure wraps per inch and divide that number by 2 and that’s your sett. Then as you weave you put in the same number of picks (throws of the shuttle) per inch as warp threads per inch. But I thought I’d see what would happen at a tighter sett too.

Both of these sock yarns which we will be using in the Spin and Weave Along measured about 17 wraps per inch. So technically, with general guidelines I would sett these at 9 ends per inch but that’s sort of a pain so I just rounded up to 10 wpi because I have a 10 dent reed:-). So I knew that 10 epi would be my widest sett and I wanted to do a couple of tighter setts to see the difference. So I did 14, 12 and 10 epi samples.

The far left is the tightest sett (14 epi) next is the middle sett (12 epi) and the two on the right were sett at 10 epi. The first three were woven with singles and you can see I did some beat experiments there too which I will talk about soon. The furthest right was woven with a 2 ply yarn. All of the wefts are handspun Polwarth.

I love the fabric on the far left but I don’t love it for a scarf because it is a bit firm and there is very little drape. Definitely the best scarf fabric is the 10 epi fabric with the even beat. It is not a fabric I would choose for a jacket or a skirt but it is certainly a beautiful scarf fabric. The great thing about making these samples is that I can label them and have a reference for a future project.

Sampling is your friend.

If you’d like to join us for the spin and weave along that begins on Monday you can still sign up. Most of the instructions will come in a weekly newsletter. Discussion will happen on my Beth Smith Facebook Page so be sure to like my page and follow along. To take part all you need is a skein of sock yarn, some soft wool to spin and a loom with a 10 dent reed. Also you can sign up for the Spin and Weave Along Newsletter here.