I’ve been fascinated with deflected doubleweave structure for quite some time. The structure looked so complicated that I was worried that it was a little too much over my head. After watching a few online tutorials, I started gaining confidence. This would be my third project using the DDW structure, and with each project, I’m feeling much more comfortable. This time I wanted to use JaggerSpun Zephyr which is a blend of wool and silk. It’s incredibly soft. I decided to weave cowls instead of scarves and wanted to experiment with different lengths.
I wound a 5 yard warp with 176 ends. I decided on a sett of 20 epi. The warp was 17.6 inches in the reed. I used a rosepath threading with 4 ends for each block. Blocks A (1212) and C (5656) were threaded using the blue yarn and Blocks B and D using the teal yarn.
For the first cowl, I wove 38 inches using Tromp as Writ. After wet finishing, the project shrunk to 34 1/2 inches. The hem was not included in this measurement. This project shrunk 3.5 inches. Here’s a look at cowl number one.
For the second cowl I first repeated DABA for the first half of the scarf and a different pattern of repeated blocks for the second half (oops- sorry I didn’t record that). I wove this cowl 45 inches in length. After wet finishing the cowl measured 41 inches in length.
I experimented different blocks for the third cowl. For bit I wove blocks DCDC, then DCB D ABCA. This cowl was fun to weave. It’s amazing all the different patterns you can get with the same tie up. I wove 40 1/2 inches and, after wet finishing, it measured 37 1/2 inches.
I was able to weave 4 cowls from this 5 yard warp. The fourth cowl was 43 inches woven TAW (same as cowl 1). It measured 39 inches after wet finishing.
I actually really like these cowls. In terms of length, I liked cowl 3 the best so I think that’s what I’ll aim for in the future. Unfortunately the Zephyr is no longer commercially available so I’ll have to find a substitute yarn. The sett of 20 epi was fine, but I’m thinking that 18 epi may be a better choice. Thanks to my daughter, Lizzie, for modeling!
