I have so much information about Bambu 7!I couldn't decide which color to use as my weft. I couldn't decide whether to use Bambu 7 for the weft, Bambu 12 for the weft, or Bambu 12 doubled for the weft. In the end, I decided to use them all and weave a "gamp". (I was going to impress you with the definition of the word "gamp", but the only definition I could find in the dictionary was "a large baggy umbrella") I even looked up the word in all of my textile reference books and couldn't find anything.
But I digress: First I wove 2" of red in Bambu 7, then 2" of red in Bambu 12, and then 2" of Bambu 12 doubled. I continued alternating throughout the 12 colors. The whiteish line is a few picks of cashmere. I thought at first I would use that as a cut line and run a couple of inches of black in Bambu 12 (singles and then doubles). I don't have any black in Bambu 7.
I had put on a 3 yd warp and wove pretty much as far as I could go. The dimensions when I first cut it off the loom were 17" x 78". I washed it in warm water, gentle cycle, with Cot'n Wash I got from Cotton Clouds. When I took it from the washing machine, the dimensions were 17" x 74". I popped it into the dryer on low and came out with the dimensions 15 1/2"x 68".
Surprises:1. Although I sett both the 5/2 cotton and the Bambu 7 at 20 epi, the cotton seems to bloom and the bambu seems to compress.
2. I thought varying the weft would give me a scalloped edge, but it really didn't.
3. I thought the Bambu 7 weft would not work very well, but it isn't bad at all.
4. I thought I would have to press the piece after it came out of the dryer, but not so.
5. The feel and drape are amazing.
6. My favorite weft is the black Bambu 12 doubled (the very last one I wove!)
7. The 2 1/2" fringe didn't tangle at all.
8. 10" shrinkage in length
I wish you could feel this!
Bambu 7 poses with 5/2 cotton.I have more to say, but I have to meet someone for dinner. I will add and edit later.
5 comments:
Pretty!
Thanks so much for posting all of the eye and brain candy! Tomorrow I start the horoscope blanket. I can't wait to get that on the loom!
Bonnie, the word "gamp" comes from Dicken's "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1843-1844). Sarah or 'Sairy' Gamp is a character in the novel. She is a comic (but awful) drunken midwife. If I recall she carried a large colourful umbrella. What I don't know is how her last name came to be used for a woven sampler!
A hint I found with Bambu 7 & 12. Continue to wash it in the machine, but then lay it flat to dry on towels. You'll experience hardly any shrinkage and the fiber keeps it's shine and sparkle much better than if dried in the dryer.
Donald, I agree with you completely. I will often press the bamboo dry (something I do with silk). It give a great sheen to the bamboo. I did want to see what would happen if I did toss it into the dryer. Here is a PS on this project. I ended up cutting the shawl into sample swatches for workshops and additions to my "kits".
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