The eleven foot scarf

One of my favorite customers had been wanting a very long scarf for a very long time, so I finally decided to make him one. He wanted it woven and in earth tones, and I promised it would be about nine feet long at least.

This took some doing, as I had to find a spot where there was enough space to warp my little heddle loom to that length. I decided to do it in my cabin, since there isn't all that much space in the room I rent in Berkeley. So I paced off about 12 of my size 9 feet and figured that would do it including the fringe.

I spun the warp yarn a thin two ply for extra strength, as I've had problems with my handspun fraying as it went through the reed. That took about six hours at least, as 12 feet of 2 ply warping for a 4 inch wide scarf is one heck of a lot of yarn. Once I got it on the loom, it went well though. No fraying at all.

I made the warp in undyed natural brown Romney wool, then dyed some thicker Corriedale for the contrasting weft colors in subtle greens and browns. About a week later, I took it off the loom and found it was about 11 feet long!

I called my customer and told him that it wrapped around my neck and hung down to my feet. He was completely thrilled to hear that, and very glad it wasn't just some kind of skimpy nine footer. He loved how it came out and has promised to send me a photo of himself (and maybe his girlfriend, too) wrapped up in this scarf. Definitely the longest scarf I've ever made!