Wet finished

I spent about 1 hour last night and 3.5 hours this morning wet-finishing the coat fabric:

First I washed it in the bathtub, in warm water with a little detergent to remove the spinning oils and any dirt it might have accumulated while weaving.  (It’s in the bathtub because – as I discovered on the sample – the spin cycle on the washing machine can put in permanent creases.)  Then I rinsed twice in warm water, drained it, and – carefully NOT wringing – left it to drain overnight.

In the morning, it was damp, but no longer dripping, so I tossed it up on the ironing board and began ironing it dry, first on the public side, then on the private side, then on the public side again.  Three presses, in total.  Boring work, but it was such bliss to see the luster emerge on the silk, and the fabric transform from a fairly dull, translucent-looking fabric to a luscious white-and-gold satin:

And, finally, it was done, loosely folded, and set on the ironing board to finish drying:

I measured and there’s a trifle over 9 yards there, or 11.5 yards finished if you include the 2.5 yard “sample” I wove earlier.  That might be (barely) enough for the coat.  But I’m going to continue weaving as much as possible this week, and wet-finish the last of it on Saturday morning before going to Sharon’s for a marathon sewing session.