Warp 12 – Finishing 4 table napkins

Last night, I finished weaving the 4th table napkin. I want to resley the reed at 14epi and continue weaving, so I left 6cm of warp after the last piece and cut the warp threads (using the front beam as a guide). Then I unwound all of the fabric from the front roller. I’m pleased with the Saori clipping/tying rod – it was at tied to the front apron rod the beginning of this portion of weaving. The 16epi samples are discussed in a separate entry (https://weavingfromparadise.guildford.nz/2021/08/19/project-12-finishing-16epi-samples/).


After unwinding the fabric, I cut between the napkins at the centre of the fringe allowance. The unwashed napkins measured about 52cm in weft direction and 51cm in the warp direction.

The next step was to wash the napkins in warm water on a normal machine wash cycle. They were then allowed to dry overnight. This morning, I trimmed all loose ends, dampened them with a good squirt of water, ironed with a hot iron and steam, left them to dry off again and remeasured them to determine shrinkage – about 3cm in warp direction and 2cm in weft direction. The 4 napkins (post-washing) can be seen below.

They are actually quite large for table napkins – perhaps they would be better as a table mat for the centre of a table?? Whatever they are used for, they are beautiful pieces of fabric.