Handwoven recently published a pattern for making a shawl with Aunt Lydia's Bamboo. The big benefit of this yarn is that it is readily available at Michael's and Joann's and many other local craft stores and it is cheap, under $3 per 300 yd ball of yarn. I purchased 9 balls of white bamboo, hoping to weave two shawls on a single warp. The bamboo has a wonderful silky feel, however that results in several issues. The first is that it is hard to beat consistently, because the weft has a tendency to pack down too easily. The second issue also relates to it's slipperiness. Even after wet finishing, the warp and weft have a tendency to move around. This is exacerbated by the Huck Lace weave, which has some longer floats. And lastly, since the yarn did pack down more than I wanted, I ended up using more in the weft than I had planned. So when it was time to weave the second shawl, I did not have sufficient white bamboo to complete the shawl. At that time, I was 70 miles from the closest yarn store, so I used a black 8/2 rayon that I had in my stash for the weft in the second shawl.
The bamboo makes for a wonderfully drape-y fabric, which works as either a shawl or a scarf. The black and white shawl looks a little like the head gear of Yasser Arafat, a shemagh.
Date Finished August, 2013
Loom Baby Wolf
Weave Structure Huck Lace
Reed 15 epi, 10 dent reed
Warp Fiber bamboo
Count Crochet 10
Color White
Mfr Aunt Lydia's
Source Joann's
Warp Width in Reed 17 1/2"
Ends 262
Length 5 yds
Weft #1 - Same as warp
Weft #2 Fiber Rayon
Count 8/2
Color Black
Mfr
Source Earth Guild
Beat 50/50
Size 15" X 70" not counting 3" fringe
