Ask Madelyn: Proper Sett

Dear Madelyn,

I am doing a doubleweave scarf (MOMA Scarf) from a past Handwoven and I am using an 2/14 Alpaca Silk rather than the regular 30/2 silk (when twisting them they seemed to be the same thickness).  It calls for using a 12 dent reed with 4-5-5 in each dent.  Right now it is very dense and because of the fuzzy nature of the Alpaca Silk I am having a rough time pulling on.  Do you have any suggestions on how to make this easier or have I chosen the wrong warp?
 
Thanks you, and I hope you can help me.
 
—Nancy Collins
 

Hi Nancy!

These yarns are really not the same grist at all.  The 14/2 alpaca silk is about 3,500 yd/lb and 30/2 silk is about 8,000 yd/lb, no matter how they look if you twist them. The alpaca silk has loft, the 30/2 does not. You want to sett that alpaca silk a LOT more openly than the recommended sett for the silk. The alpaca/silk also needs to full a bit for a soft hand. I’m thinking that this scarf is probably a twill? I would sett the 14/2 at about 24 epi (2/dent in a 12) but whether it should be a little closer or more open than that depends on the float lengths of the twill. The longer the floats, the closer the sett.

—Madelyn