This past weekend, Jeane and I were talking about sampling. Both why it’s important and why I, personally, have such trouble doing it. When working on the shirt last year, the benefit of sampling was absolutely clear. I’d never have come up with the final fabric had I skipped that step, and I ended up with a garment that pleases me to no end. Keeping that in mind, why do I still struggle with sampling? After thinking hard about it, I settled on the fact that it’s really, really time consuming. And it means a lot of time and effort to get, well, a scrap of cloth. That’s a tiny bit less appealing than going straight to a project – or minimizing the amount of sampling that I do. That realization hatched another Crazy Idea for this coming year. Lynn, you are also a bit responsible for this. Your thought of working toward, and building, a sample book got me to wonder if we can’t all work together on this sampling thing. As each of us works on a garment, or project, I’d like to toss out the idea that we *all* sample for it and then exchange what we’ve got. For example, if I want to do something in wool, but don’t know about sett, I could hand off two sample setts while I do the third. I’d even be willing to wind/send a warp if that’d make the process go more quickly. Then we’d each weave off our portion, cut and finish and send to the other two. That way, we’d get a wide variety of samples, at different setts, and help to build out our respective sample books. Jeane even said that she’d be up for joining in. So there’s my next crazy idea. And, I’m totally in for helping you two with sampling as well. Thoughts?
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Hmmmm….no. Sorry, but no. First, I’m trying really hard not to commit to making things, even samples, for others. Second, I want to wander if my weaving, not be well-behaved and sample certain yarns at certain setts, yadda yadda. Third, I suspect that even if I sampled the same yarn at the setts you specified, including the width in reed and the ppi, something would prove to be different from when you sample to the same specifications, such that when you went to weave yardage based on my sample, it wouldn’t turn out the same for you. In other words, I think your plan wouldn’t work. Sorry, dear!
That said (I feel guilty), talk to me some more about why you don’t like sampling. Are you so product-driven that you can’t stand the process part of sampling? I’m thinking that if you sample a few standard yarns (like Harrisville Shetland or the Jaggerspun yarns, for example) now, you’ll know forever (or at least until you use a different loom or a different width in reed or a different weave structure) how that yarn responds at different setts. Plus, you could combine that exploration with looking at color interactions or how different finishing techniques change the final cloth. Also, you do know you don’t have to put one a different warp for every sett you want to sample, right? If not, do this: Let’s say you want to weave a yarn at three setts, 16, 20, and 24. Put on a 5-yard or so warp wide enough for eight inches wide at 24 epi (192 ends, therefore), but sett it at 16 epi(which works out to 12 inches in the reed). Weave 18 inches or so at 16 epi. Leave a few inches and cut off that first sample. Resley and retie on at 20 epi (9.6 inches wide); weave a sample and cut off. Ditto for 24 epi. Got that? Now cut the samples in half warp-wise. Keep one side of each as the unwashed sample, and wash the other sides.
If you want to multiply the number of samples you get from one warp, widen it, add colors to the warp and weft, and cut the sample in thirds or fourths, so you can try different finishing techniques.
Don’t feel guilty if the idea doesn’t speak to you. I understand that completely – and one of the reasons I like working with others is that when I hear, “no”, it gets me to stop and think about why I want to do something. Perhaps it’s a bit of tempering against the “White Hot Enthusiasm” that Sarah speaks of.
And yes, I’m really, really goal-oriented. I’ve learned that over the past 40+ years. Until now, samples never were a goal in and of themselves; so perhaps I need to find a way to get over that hurdle as well.
When I did the sample for the shirt fabric, I absolutely followed the method you laid out – which included putting on a warp that was long enough for me to cut and resley for each of the setts I was after. In that particular case, two. And, I even build the sample out of two different warps so that I could, in theory, get even more out of it.
Just wait ’till you see what I’m up to today …