The fabric turned out wonderfully after being fulled - soft and lush and beautiful. It also surprised me a lot.

It's a fourshaft twill, which means every thread goes over two and under two, staggered to give diagonal lines. In a fairly balanced weave with a similar amount of warps and wefts per cm, that should result in a fabric that looks the same on both sides.

Well, guess what this cloth does not do?


Look the same on front and back.

There you go. Be surprised along with me! (Probably has to do something with the spin direction in relation to the twill direction...)

The last of the fabrics for the project has arrived - a 2/2 twill woven from the same yarns as the previous plainweave fabric. It's now hanging out to dry after being fulled just like the others... and it's beautiful. Really, really beautiful.

Here's the cloth in its raw state:


And this is what it looked like after washing:


The last picture of the after-fulling state will have to wait for tomorrow when it's dry again - but I can already tell you that the fabric shows no tracking, hasn't shrunk a lot, and is really nice.

Here's a closeup of the threads after washing:


And tomorrow, it will go off to new adventures - cloth metamorphosis part two!

The third batch of cloth for the project is done, and it turned out just beautifully. Here's the cloth in its raw state:


After a little soak and a bit of a wash, it looked like this:


And then I took a little walk on it, and after about one hour, I had this end result:


I find it totally fascinating how the fabric changed - especially its hand, which went from stiff and coarse in the raw fabric to firm, but still somehow soft and fluffy in the fulled version. And I can't imagine a more beautiful tracking effect than the one apparent in the fulled fabric - it looks splendidly like diagonal lines even though it's plain weave throughout.

I forgot the most important thing about the sailcloth in yesterday's post... it has been cat-approved, as you can see in the picture!


The cat, of course, had to lie down on it when I placed it on the floor to measure out how much it has shrunk during fulling. Obviously it is acceptable as a catplace. (I'd cuddle into that cloth at any moment, too - it really feels wonderful, thick and warm though sturdy.)

Measurements, by the way, changed from 251 cm in length to 235 after washing to 230 after fulling; width shrunk from 52.5 straight off the loom to 48.5 after washing to 43 after fulling. It was relatively gentle fulling, I could have done more - but my sources say "lightly fulled" only.

Yesterday was, again, a beautiful day, so I went for a walk. For about an hour. In the bathroom.

You probably guessed it - my walk took place in warm water with a little soap and with the piece of sailcloth under my feet. Here are the results - first, the cloth straight off the loom:


and after having been washed once, gently,


which did not make too much of a difference, and finally after fulling by foot:


The comparison pictures are taken from the exact same spot (I stitched a marking angle with red thread into the cloth, you can just discern it in the upper right corner next to the frame thing). It's fascinating how the cloth changes by fulling, and it is not only the optics; it now feels somehow fuller and stronger yet with a soft, fluffy finish at the same time. It has shrunk a little, though not very much, and from my first rough counting it fits exactly in the approximate 5 to 4 threads per cm that it should.

So... whew. Second of three pieces of cloth done and finished, and just as it should be. Now it only needs to be cut into the pieces required by the museum and hemmed - nice work to do while sitting in the sunshine!

Today, a lovely green box came in the post - and inside was the sailcloth textile, fresh off the loom.

Here is a sneak peek at the cloth, in its raw state:


As it's a 2/1 twill, the two sides look differently thanks to the different colours of warp and weft.

The cloth is currently drying after a first wash, and then it will get its picture taken again, and after that... I will put my foot down. And again. And again... until it is slightly fulled.

Though I'll finish the rest of the spinning first, I think!

The emballage has been woven, and has come back to me, and it is wonderful. A thick, heavy cloth from thick, heavy two-ply yarns, it does feel like something trustworthy enough to pack valuable goods and protect them on long journeys.

Here's a picture of the cloth, raw off the loom:


The cloth is looking even better now after a nice wash to finish it, and it's currently hanging out to dry... and once it is dry, I can get the comparison photo for after the wash, and then set out to cut it into the required parts and secure the edges of the individual pieces.