A frequent buyer of my scarves sent me a pattern he would like me to weave – 8771 from handweaving.net (https://www.handweaving.net/draft-detail/8771/crackle-with-swirls-sally-breckenridge-california-2004-2024). It is designed by Sally Breckenridge – architect of the main weaving software that I use – WeaveIt. I quite like this pattern, so I decided to weave a silk scarf using it. I think that this pattern requires fine yarn and at least 3 pattern repeats so that the pattern can be fully appreciated.

In WeaveIt, I made a few changes to the threading and treadling so that the pattern began in a place that was more satisfying to me. Basically, I moved the second half of the threading/treadling so that it was the first half. Then I played with the warp and weft colours. I decided that I liked the warp in a light blue and the weft in a royal blue.

Warp yarn – Rosie’s 60/2 mulberry silk, colour Mumbia Blue (4016)
Weft yarn – Bluegrass Mills 60/2 mulberry silk, colour Blue salvia

I have based the epi for this project on that of Warp 39, crackle weave that used 60/2 eri silk. There are 262 ends in a single pattern repeat, I will have 3 repeats in the warp. The number of repeats in the weft will depend on the number required to create a scarf of sufficient length – I want at least 175cm of fabric.

Total ends = 790 (262 per pattern repeat, 3 repeats + 4 for floating selvedges, 2 per side)
Wind warp with 4 ends in hand
Warp length – 4m long (1 piece 1.75m long + sampling + shrinkage + loom loss)
On loom width – 46cm (spread 8,8,8,8,12 in raddle – 2 slots/cm)
EPI & PPI – 43
Reed – 16dpi
Sley reed – 2,3,3 ends per dent
Treadling = TAW

Once the design and calculations were completed, I wound 3 balls of warp yarn from the main cone so that I could wind the warp with 4 ends in hand.
The warp was then spread in the raddle, wound onto the warp beam, the heddles threaded, the reed sleyed, the warp ends tied to the front apron rod, the treadles tied up (plain weave = 1,3,5,7 & 2,4,6,8) and the header woven.

I am now ready to hemstitch and begin the actual weaving!!