Subscriber Exclusive
A Dress Scarf Designed for Sunday Best
Weave a classic piece with a twist—using just two shafts.
Weave a classic piece with a twist—using just two shafts. <a href="https://handwovenmagazine.com/sunday-best-scarf-exclusive/">Continue reading.</a>
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Malynda Allen’s Sunday Best Scarf is a color-and-weave gamp featuring areas of houndstooth, log cabin, and a three-end pattern (or meta weave). Photos by Matt Graves
Experiments with a color-and-weave gamp led to a scarf design that combines houndstooth, log cabin, and meta weave motifs, for an elegant and interesting result.
Read on to learn more about this project, developed exclusively for the Summer 2026 issue of Handwoven, or head to the library to access the project PDF. Please enjoy this subscriber bonus project from the Summer 2026 collection.—Handwoven editors
About the Sunday Best Scarf
My husband told me he wished he had an extra-long woolen dress scarf to wear to church on cold winter days, and I immediately set to work on a design. I wanted to create a scarf with a subdued design, not too flashy, for a man who prefers classic clothing. I also wanted to play with color and explore ideas from Tina Ignell’s book Plain Weave. By using plain weave, I would be able to weave the scarf on my two-shaft table loom.
I began by entering some basic two-shaft color designs into my weaving software to create a color-and-weave gamp. I settled on three patterns: houndstooth (which is two dark ends and two light ends); log cabin (which alternates single dark and light ends and
then reverses their order); and a three-end design (which has two light ends followed by one dark end). This last design creates alternating vertical and horizontal lines that remind me of a woven fabric, or meta weave. As I worked, I realized that
weaving the scarf as a gamp made the fabric more interesting than if I had focused on just one of the patterns.
For my palette, I paired royal blue (my husband’s favorite color) with dark gray. He is pleased with his elegant, simple scarf.
Weave it Yourself: Project Overview
STRUCTURE
Plain weave with color-and-weave.
EQUIPMENT
2-shaft loom, 10" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 2 shuttles.
YARNS
Warp: 2/24 Super Lamb (100% superwash merino lambswool; 5,960 yd/lb; Jagger Spun), Admiral, 420 yd; Midnight, 413 yd.
Weft: 2/24 Super Lamb, Admiral, 286 yd; Midnight, 278 yd.
Note: Jagger Spun yarns are discontinued. Try Mora 20/2 wool (100% wool; 4,712 yd/lb; Klippan), #2080 slate (Vävstuga) or #2080 gray medium dark (Eugene Textile Center), and #2087 yale blue (Vävstuga) or #2087 royal blue (Eugene Textile Center); or try 2/18
Zephira (50% wool/50% silk; 4,456 yd/lb; Revolution Fibers), Royal and Charcoal.
WARP LENGTH
222 ends 3¾ yd long (allows 10" for take-up, 23" for loom waste; loom waste includes fringe).
SETTS
Warp: 24 epi (2/dent in a 12-dent reed).
Weft: 19–20 ppi.
DIMENSIONS
Width in the reed: 9 3⁄12.
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 102".
Finished size: (after wet-finishing) 8¼" x 96" plus 5" fringe.
Weave it Yourself: Project PDF + WIF
Visit the Handwoven library to get the Project PDF + WIF of the Sunday Best Scarf.
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Experiments with a color-and-weave gamp led to a scarf design that combines houndstooth, log cabin, and meta weave motifs, for an elegant and interesting result.
Read on to learn more about this project, developed exclusively for the Summer 2026 issue of Handwoven, or head to the library to access the project PDF. Please enjoy this subscriber bonus project from the Summer 2026 collection.—Handwoven editors
About the Sunday Best Scarf
My husband told me he wished he had an extra-long woolen dress scarf to wear to church on cold winter days, and I immediately set to work on a design. I wanted to create a scarf with a subdued design, not too flashy, for a man who prefers classic clothing. I also wanted to play with color and explore ideas from Tina Ignell’s book Plain Weave. By using plain weave, I would be able to weave the scarf on my two-shaft table loom.
I began by entering some basic two-shaft color designs into my weaving software to create a color-and-weave gamp. I settled on three patterns: houndstooth (which is two dark ends and two light ends); log cabin (which alternates single dark and light ends and
then reverses their order); and a three-end design (which has two light ends followed by one dark end). This last design creates alternating vertical and horizontal lines that remind me of a woven fabric, or meta weave. As I worked, I realized that
weaving the scarf as a gamp made the fabric more interesting than if I had focused on just one of the patterns.
For my palette, I paired royal blue (my husband’s favorite color) with dark gray. He is pleased with his elegant, simple scarf.
Weave it Yourself: Project Overview
STRUCTURE
Plain weave with color-and-weave.
EQUIPMENT
2-shaft loom, 10" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 2 shuttles.
YARNS
Warp: 2/24 Super Lamb (100% superwash merino lambswool; 5,960 yd/lb; Jagger Spun), Admiral, 420 yd; Midnight, 413 yd.
Weft: 2/24 Super Lamb, Admiral, 286 yd; Midnight, 278 yd.
Note: Jagger Spun yarns are discontinued. Try Mora 20/2 wool (100% wool; 4,712 yd/lb; Klippan), #2080 slate (Vävstuga) or #2080 gray medium dark (Eugene Textile Center), and #2087 yale blue (Vävstuga) or #2087 royal blue (Eugene Textile Center); or try 2/18
Zephira (50% wool/50% silk; 4,456 yd/lb; Revolution Fibers), Royal and Charcoal.
WARP LENGTH
222 ends 3¾ yd long (allows 10" for take-up, 23" for loom waste; loom waste includes fringe).
SETTS
Warp: 24 epi (2/dent in a 12-dent reed).
Weft: 19–20 ppi.
DIMENSIONS
Width in the reed: 9 3⁄12.
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 102".
Finished size: (after wet-finishing) 8¼" x 96" plus 5" fringe.
Weave it Yourself: Project PDF + WIF
Visit the Handwoven library to get the Project PDF + WIF of the Sunday Best Scarf.
A mother of nine, Malynda Allen can usually be found with a project nearby. She enjoys spinning, weaving, knitting, reading, and dancing.
