Ask Madelyn: Proper Sett
Two yarns may look similar in grist but in reality they are very different and need to be sett differently too.
Two yarns may look similar in grist but in reality they are very different and need to be sett differently too. <a href="https://handwovenmagazine.com/proper-sett/">Continue reading.</a>
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| 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 |
