Scarf and simulations

I have finished the cashmere “test version” of the scarf, and while the pattern looks great, the selvages are awful:

Part of it may be user error, but I think a good chunk of it is actually the weave structure, which really ought to have a floating selvage.  Since I hate floating selvages and have lots of extra shafts, I think I’m going to add two ends on either side, weaving  plain weave.  With only two threads the different take-up shouldn’t matter much, it should be more or less invisible, and it should fix some of the problems I’ve been having.  I may also tighten up the tension on my end feed shuttle just a hair.

I have also been mulling over the painted warp design.  Here are the two overall patterns I’m contemplating (note that the weave structure is the same in both cases, it’s just the width of the painted-warp stripes that varies):

At first glance the wide pattern looks better (to me, anyway), but in “real life” each stripe would be 4″ wide, which I think might be a little too wide for garments.  The narrow stripes are 2″ wide, which is more manageable for me to wind and beam on.  So I think I will try a sample with the narrow stripes.

Color and dye-wise, I think I will go with Cibacron F in fuchsia, gold, and turquoise.  These colors blend well, and achieve nice green, orange, and purple when mixed in equal proportions, which is important if I want to keep the instructions simple.  I also have them all on hand – important since I am pressed for time and Pro Chemical (the only source I know of for Cibacron/Sabracron F dyes) is on the opposite coast.  The colors may be a little bright, but I’m hoping that a black weft will tone down the intensity a bit.

Weft-wise, I’ve decided to use Zegna Baruffa’s Cashwool, available from Little Knits.  It turns out that Yubina yarn store is located in China (I think), and the sample skein I ordered won’t arrive in time for me to do my sampling.  Little Knits is in Seattle, so can get yarn to me much faster.  (I could use Jaggerspun Zephyr, as someone suggested, but it is significantly heavier than the 30/2 silk I’m using for warp, and I want the weft the same size or a little thinner, for better drape and to allow the silk to shine.)

I plan to start winding the warp today, and dye it over the weekend.  Once I have the warp dyed and drying, I’ll turn my attention back to the qiviut scarf – at only 60″ long I’m pretty sure I can weave it up in less than a day.