July 14, 2001

Hi everyone!

The summer is flying by!  I can hardly believe we are in the middle of July except for the heat here in Mississippi.  Cool off with a project made in 100% tencel in either commercially dyed or hand dyed.  This issue features tencel in a new colorway, pictures and tips and techniques from Magda Aulik, Laura Fry, Marcy Petrini, Holly Redford - and me!  Hope these tips and comments answer some questions you may have had; nothing like tried and proven experience!

Best regards,
Margaret Pittman

In This Issue:

• Tencel tips and techniques
• New commercial colors in 10/2 Tencel
• New Colorway
• Shopping/Order Information

Tencel tips and techniques

From Magda Aulik

Tencel Lyocell is a cellulosic fiber derived from wood pulp from managed forests.  The fiber is produced with a non-toxic solvent with minimal environmental impact.  It has a wonderful luster, fluid drape and luscious hand.  Unlike rayon, it is extremely strong when wet.  A characteristic it shares with rayon is that it dyes beautifully.  Finishing can be done in the washing machine and dryer, or as appropriate for the textile.  Hard press with high heat and steam to enhance the suppleness and sheen.  Tips for weaving with Tencel:  Sett on the denser side; weave with consistent, but light tension and advance the warp frequently.

From Laura Fry

Having just cut a 10/2 Tencel warp off the loom yesterday, the following guidelines are fresh in my mind!  :)

Bear in mind that although Tencel is *very* strong, it has essentially zero elasticity.  Therefore, I recommend that the selvedge ends be doubled in the heddle, but sleyed the same as the rest of the warp.  If you don't, selvedge ends are almost guaranteed to break.  On my warp yesterday, I didn't do this, and instead tried everything I knew to weave it without the doubled ends.  After several yards, I gave up and simply doubled the ends that broke  (usually not the exact outside end, but the second, or third inside - go figure!)

If you are weaving plain weave, double the two outside ends; twills double the four outside ends on each side.

Use only sufficient tension to get a good shed.  Do *not* over tighten.

Advance *often* - at least every 1 to 1.5 inches, and keep your tension consistent when retightening after you advance.

Do not fill your bobbins full - keep the weight down so any drag on the weft will not pull on the selvedges causing them to stress and break.  (no elasticity, remember?)

Beat *once* on an open or closing shed, not a closed shed.

Do not make treadling errors so that you have to unweave. (ya, ya, I know!)

And when you take the cloth off the loom it will be stiff like cardboard. Do not panic!  Magic will happen in the water.  Being cellulose, the threads will swell up in the water and be even more stiff, but once you have hard pressed it dry, it will be soft, incredibly supple, and have a wonderful sheen.
 

From Marcy Petrini

These are some facts that Marcy looked up on Tencel A100, the kind that we use.  They are from Joyce Ann Smith, Ph.D., from the Ohio State Extension Fact Sheet.

Tencel, or lyocell as the generic name is, can fibrillate when machine washed and agitated. Fibrillating means that the fiber swells when wet and becomes hairy on the surface and then mats together. Marcy adds:  it almost  sounds like the felting equivalent for cellulose fibers.

The manufacturer can take advantage of fibrillation in the manufacturing of fabric, control the process and get a suedy feel and look. After that, the fabric has to be dried cleaned.  (Read on.  This does not apply to us.)

For cases when the manufacturer doesn't want fibrillation, or when they want the fabric (or yarn, in our case) to be washable, Tencel is treated with an enzyme to prevent it (the enzyme is similar to the enzyme that is found in some detergents to prevent hairy cotton). The prevention may not be complete, but the materials are machine washable, line dried, but may need to be tumbled in the dryer with a damp towel to restore the softness. The material can still have a suede look to it.

The third possibility, and the one of interest to us, is a chemical process developed by the manufacturer which stops the fibrillation all together. The resulting fabric/yarn is smooth and slick and, you guessed it, it's called Tencel A-100 non-fibrillating fiber. It can be machine washed and dried.  (This is the kind we are using.)

Marcy is knitting the 30/2/4 Tencel on Size 1 needles in Aster Purple.  We look forward to seeing the finished product!

From Holly Redford

Holly wove a shawl for her daughter, Kristen, using hand dyed 10/2 Tencel in a new colorway announced below.  She wove this as a surprise for Kristen who just got back from England on a People-to-People tour.  (See tour story link below.)  Holly used Laura Fry's tips on weaving and finishing and said that she didn't have a moment's trouble.  She sett the 10/2 at 32 EPI and threaded and wove in an extended, original 4-shaft twill.  She wound the different skeins off in opposite directions to shift the color throughout the shawl and added "surprise" dashes of fuchsia silk here and there in both warp and weft.  Kristen has emphatically stated that this shawl is *not* for sale! <g>  See the shawl at Inspiring Designs or Old Favorites.  You will understand why it is at Old Favorites in the announcement below.

From Margaret Pittman

I used Laura Fry's tips on my shawl as well and didn't have a moment's trouble.  The shawl was woven in an extended 4-shaft twill sett at 30 EPI from A Handweavers Pattern Book.  I am finding that around 30 EPI is dense enough for twill and so advise around 24 EPI for plain weave.  The warp is 10/2 Persian Red and Moroccan Blue and 30/2/4 Turf Green Tencel.  The weft is hand dyed 10/2 Tencel in What A Wonderful World colorway.   The pattern is somewhat lost with all the color but still has a wonderful drape, sheen and hand.  See the shawl at America the Beautiful Collection.

New commercial colors in 10/2 tencel

New colors being shipped that will be available in 8 oz. skeins for $16 are Purple Sage and Herb Green.  Black 10/2 is on backorder.  Check soon at What's New and Mill Dyed Yarns.

New Colorway

Got teenager?  Get Kristen's Jewels!  What's "old" yet new and bright all over?  Kristen's Jewels!  Kristen does a lot of the skeining and she decided awhile back that things needed to be brightened up just a little for her.  So, she created this new colorway and we are now offering it as one of our new colorways.  Take a look at the shawl woven from her colorway in 10/2 Tencel at Inspiring Designs or Old Favorites.

Colors in the new colorway include:  fuchsia, bright orange (hot with teenagers right now), purple, spring green, turquoise and citrus yellow.

Shopping/Contact Information

Yarn shipments are limited to the U.S. and Canada. If you live outside the U.S. or Canada and would like to place a pattern order, please inquire at Margaret@heritageyarns.com.

Visit Knitting Patterns and take a look around at the wide selection of downloadable patterns from HeartStrings.

Purchasing options:  by PayPal shopping cart, Visa, MasterCard, personal check or money order.

Margaret Pittman
Heritage Yarns
5875 Baxter Drive
Jackson, Mississippi  39211-3317 USA

Telephone - (601) 956-1478
Email - Margaret@heritageyarns.com
Fax - (601) 957-2963
Celebrating color in hand painted skeins and warps since 1994

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