First SE/machine washed roving

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heartofdarkness
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First SE/machine washed roving

Post by heartofdarkness » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:30 pm

Having realised that DEs didn't work for me, I got some more roving and decided to give SEs a go, as per Miasma's tutorial. They've only gone through the machine once so far, on a 40 degree wool wash.

The ends are a bit nubby as I cut the wool instead of tearing it, and the burgundy ones didn't hold their twist as tightly as the black and green ones, but that aside, is there anything else I can do to improve them, or is it just a case of putting them through the machine a few more times?

Sorry the pics aren't the best quality, my camera's not that great :(

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MrsEss
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Re: First SE/machine washed roving

Post by MrsEss » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:35 pm

How solid do they feel? I know everyone's machine is different, but mine go stupidly hard (:P) on a 40 degree wash...I do a wool wash a good 3 or 4 times.
They're looking good, it looks like the line is really visable from where you've made your SE's though. To combat this, you'll need a felting needle.
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heartofdarkness
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Re: First SE/machine washed roving

Post by heartofdarkness » Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:59 pm

They're still really soft and fluffy, particularly the burgundy ones with their loosened twists. I have the feeling they're going to need to be machined a good few more times.

I'll have to find some felting needles to buy now then; will I need to fix the lines before they go in the wash again, or can they be done easily once the dreads are more solid? I don't know anything about using felting needles :|

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Re: First SE/machine washed roving

Post by MrsEss » Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:23 pm

A few more washes should help get rid of the lines. Felting needles can be bought on ebay & various other craft type places. They are a long needle with barbed ends, you just stab through the roving repeatedly & it helps to knit the fibres together disguising the crack
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heartofdarkness
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Re: First SE/machine washed roving

Post by heartofdarkness » Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:52 pm

Cool, cheers for the help :) I'll put them through the machine a few more times and then take some more pics.

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heartofdarkness
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Re: First SE/machine washed roving

Post by heartofdarkness » Sat Oct 09, 2010 3:39 pm

Okay, I am getting seriously frustrated now.

The dreads in the pics shown above are currently going through an 8th 40 degree wool wash. At this point in time they are only just starting to harden, and can still be torn with a slight struggle :(

I'm finding that my main problem is loosening twists. I twisted the raw wool up good and tight to form the dread, but when I came to unclamp the looped part, the twist directly underneath the loop loosened slightly, as did some of the middle (I think you can see in the pics where this has happened). This is resulting in the loosened parts coming out of the machine slightly puffed up in comparison to the rest, which repeated twisting and felting has failed to fix, and these parts are barely felting up at all :( I tried holding the base of the loop when I attempted a new one, and although this helped keep the twist nice and tight at the top, it resulted in me somehow losing the hole in the loop :(

I hope what I've just written makes sense :| Is there any way at all to keep the entire twist nice and tight when removing the twisted wool from the clamp, that doesn't spoil the loop in the process? :(

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