The final steps of the diamond twill weaving project

Ah ha! Blogger was being a little persnickety about letting me upload pictures to show you all. Now that I seem to have that issue fixed, let me give you a peek at the wrap up of the diamond twill weaving project.

Cutting the fabric off of the loom is always a bit nerve wracking, while still being a joyous celebration that the weaving is finally done. Take a deep breath, and....

And then, this part is even more nerve wracking. You never really know what your finished fabric is going to be until you wet finish it. That first washing lets the threads slide into their finished places, and the fibers bloom and soften. And shrink. In this case, the fabric was 32" wide and 12 yards 20" long coming off of the loom. I sewed the ends so they wouldn't fray, then tossed the whole kit and caboodle into the washing machine on hot, with high agitation. After a trip through the dryer (also on hot), the finished fabric was 30" wide, and 11 yards 22" long. And the fabric had softened beautifully to the touch. I was so pleased with it!!

Of course, brand new fabric is fair game for the Studio Cat. We had a discussion as to whose project it really was. She was not pleased with me when I pointed out that I was the one with opposable thumbs, as well as the one who provided the cat food.

But, here is a shot of the finished fabric. Is it not gorgeous?

I'm really pleased with the way this project turned out, and will be making more yardage out of this yarn now that I have proof of concept. This fabric though? I can tell you now that this project was inspired when some friends of mine won Crown Tournament in the historical recreation group we're part of. They are both fiber geeks as well, with spinning and trim weaving skills that I think are better than mine. Of all the people I know who have taken on the burden of being in charge of the batch of...er...'strong personalities' that make up this hobby of ours, they would be the ones to most appreciate a gift of handwoven fabric to make costumes out of. I chose the light weight cotton since they're ruling in the summer in the deserts of Arizona, the blue to match the heraldry for the kingdom, and the medieval pattern to match some historical fabric remnants.

And how did they like it?

I got a Royal Squee!

Mission Accomplished.

(Last photo by Scott Whitaker.)