by Robyn Story
I had some unusual yarns that I wasn't sure what to do with. Really short length of lock spun, a dozen or so yards of long twist fringe yarn, a really fat somewhat soft spun wrapped yarn... they needed the right project. When I bought a 2.5 dent heddle for my loom, suddenly some possibilities opened up! I decided to use them as warp.
Now, I did regret using the fringe yarn as warp while I was weaving because I had to keep all the fringes from getting packed in with the weft for every pass up until the fringe was at the edge of the weaving progress and ready to hang down. Multiply by all the twists, and it was a lot to pay attention to. But when it was done, I was glad I persevered! I still might leave those yarns as weft choices in the future, though. Ha.
The other yarns looked and worked nicely as warp and I'm glad I used them.
For weft, I used a mix of yarns, but didn't pack them too tight most of the time so the warp yarns could shine. I did use a little of commercial yarn because matching color mattered more to me than being exclusively handspun.
Fun details besides the twists include cutting the warp ends long and uneven so it makes a cool fringe, and weaving in a little crocheted flower (though I did tie it in because my ends were a bit short to hold it in place when just woven in).
I love the creative possibilities in weaving, and I think it's a perfect medium to highlight the good qualities of both "normal" and unusual handspun yarns! I will be able to continue to play with dent, warp, and weft choice for many years to come without getting bored.