Finished: Checkered Tweed Scarf

My very last woven scarf. So sad. Unless I get a loom of my very own for Christmas, that is. Yep...the loom I was borrowing and the loom I had rented (for size comparisons) had to go back to their rightful owners. And yep, it was hard to let those looms go. But my fingers are crossed that Santa will be good to me this Christmas!

Anyways, back to the scarf. I had finished weaving this up last week, but haven't been able to blog about it 'til now cause the Munchkin has been sick and taking dreadful antibiotics all week (antibiotics and babies/toddlers just do not mix!). This is my first real attempt at weaving a pattern. The last scarf was a trial in doing a pattern, but doesn't really count since I was using a variegated yarn that pretty much says what the "design" of the scarf will be.

For this scarf I used Cascade 220 Wool for the warp, using a charcoal grey and magenta in groups of 6 (sorry...I'm still new to the weaving lingo, so I have no idea what you would technically call this). Then I used Debbie Bliss Tweed for the weft. I hadn't realized it until after I had finished the weaving process that I was using 2 different types of DB tweed. The magenta was an aran weight and the charcoal was chunky. I could feel and see the difference between the 2, but didn't think anything of it as I find yarn can sometimes change a little during the dyeing process. It wasn't until I was entering the project details into Ravelry that I noticed that the yarn labels were different. Oh well.

To get the checkered design I had woven the weft in groups of 6. I experimented with different ways of how to switch the colors for a cleaner and better finish. I'm still not sure which method I like and prefer to use. I wish I had more time with the loom(s) to play around some more. I think towards the end of the scarf the method I was using by then was much nicer looking and didn't require bits of yarn ends to stick out in the back.

For some reason my tension in the warp, mainly the sides, were quite off. I thought I had tied them on über tight, but apparently I didn't. I'm not at all impressed with the left side of the scarf, as the warp became super duper loose compared to the rest. This caused the side of the scarf to look a little sloppy. I'm hoping that once I soak it that maybe it'll help to "fix" the issue and somehow even things out.

I had planned on doing a twisted fringe on this project, but after trying that technique on the last scarf, I decided to nix that idea and just go with the regular fringe that I've been doing on the others. Even if my technique was good enough, I think I would've skipped it anyways. I had made this scarf the entire width of the loom, which means there's a ton of yarn to twist up...I think if I went with the original plan my fingers would've fallen off by now and I still wouldn't have been finished the fringe!

Because I'm not so impressed with the sides of the scarf, I decided to not gift this project like I had originally planned. Not to mention I think I would have a hard time with letting this one go, with it being hot pink and all. So now I have to get my butt into gear and find a present to replace this project!

Ugh! How many days until Christmas?