Remember the Sunrise

Well, here's an idea for a weaving or more.





Whoops, not quite right, but I like the larger plaid. Back to the drawing board, or rather the photo retouch, the winweave, the scanner, the photo processor and the blog. Phew!

Lap robes - 36" x 58"

Scarves - 5" x 60"

Here come the colors!

Cottons for the lap robe.










And Shimmer Chenille for the scaves.










Fiber Content: rayon Gauge (stitches/in...needle size): 5.5 on sz 6
Wraps/in: 12 Tabby sett: 10 to 12 Twill sett: 15
Weight: DK Yards/lb: 1000 Yards/unit: 1000

Chenille . . . it's been the fashion rage. And with our great selection of rayon chenille, you'll find a color scheme to fit your wardrobe. Chenille is an interesting yarn; not spun, but woven or twisted. When chenille is woven, the warp consists of closely sett groups of about 4 ends which are spaced up to a half inch apart. After the weft has been woven, the fabric is cut between the groups of warp ends. The number of cuts per inch describes the yarn. Today most mills employ a slightly different means of making chenille which involves twisting the warp ends and adding the fill. Shimmer Chenille is closest to an "8-cut" chenille. Chenille can be used for knitting or weaving, but the unusual structure of chenille causes it to behave differently then a spun yarn. Biasing and snaking are chenille's two quirks; just be ready for them and you'll not have much to worry about. Weavers can use Shimmer Chenille in the warp, weft or both. When designing your project, remember chenille's tendency to snake and choose a weave structure with few floats. Tabby actually works best. Be sure to use a relatively close sett: 10-12 epi for tabby, about 15 epi for twill. Chenille's tendency to bias will cause a warp chain to twist and be unmanageable so use plenty of choke ties to keep everything under control. If your project has loose ends always use a twisted or braided fringe or the ends will fray away.

Hand and Machine Knitters - Shimmer Chenille can be considered a DK weight knitting yarn. To overcome its biasing and snaking tendencies we recommend using a firm gauge of about 5 to 5.5 stitches/inch on size 6 needle, and avoid slip stitch patterns. Textured stitches like seed or moss actually work well to counter-act biasing and can add a nice touch. Shimmer Chenille will work beautifully on standard and bulky knitting machines.

Care - your new rayon chenille garment can be hand washed in cool water with a mild soap, if you have taken the proper precautions to control biasing, snaking and fraying. When wet, the bias of chenille yarn will be very apparent; be sure to wet block your washed piece. When dry, "air fluff, no heat" in the drier to restore chenille's wonderful texture. Always test wash a sample, woven or knitted, to see how it behaves. If in doubt...dry clean!

$6.50 for a mini cone.