Photo above: the two 65 Roses Butterflies silk scarves that Robin created with her one-of-a-kind 65 Roses Butterflies kit. Each kit is a unique color combination. In the photo gallery below are additional photos of Robin's two scarves, plus a few of the color choices available. CLICK HERE to see all of the 65 Roses Butterflies color choices
LIMITED EDITION 4-Shaft, 65 Roses Silk Scarves Weaving Kit
CLICK HERE to view these kits--each kit is a one-of-a-kind color combination.
Robin Wilton has designed and woven many things for Treenway Silks. For this new 65 Roses scarves kit, she's really outdone herself!
Treenway Silks donates a minimum of 10% of sales of the 65 Roses Silk Scarves Kit in honor of Andrea's angels to help find a cure for CF (see "65 Roses back story" below) During June, we happliy double our donation.
THE CHALLENGE:
I asked Robin if she could create a 2 skeins = 2 scarves draft featuring a skein of hand-painted 65 Roses (variegated) Lixue silk yarn.
Lixue is 100% Bombyx reeled silk. It's a beautiful silk yarn, but we've never used it in a kit before!
Lixue is a very smooth and strong fine cord. The twist gives a unique look to the yarn when viewed up close (see detail photo in photo gallery below). I wanted a weave structure that would "show off" the Lixue silk yarn and the hand-painted colors.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS:
Robin used a variation of M's and O's. This produces about 1/2" weft floats, so you can really appreciate the texture of the silk and see the variegated colors. **word of caution...be careful with your jewelry while wearing this scarf...earrings, bracelets and large rings can grab onto the weft floats.
To make the skein of variegated Lixue go further, Robin creatively alternated Lixue with Kiku (our most popular silk yarn) in the warp.
Lixue can be a bit stretchy, but pairing it with Kiku balanced out any stretch. Plus, the ultra-smooth Lixue next to Kiku, made beaming the warp (front-to-back) very easy.
Robin wove the first scarf with Lixue, weaving until running out of silk (no waste!!) see photo gallery below
The second scarf is woven with Kiku, until running out of warp see photo gallery below. The solid color weft floats make this a "quieter" companion to the first scarf.
I absolutely love what Robin has created!
*THE KIT: DETAILS* CLICK HERE to see the choices
Robin's scarves are gorgeous! Each silk yarn kit has a unique pair of colors. Some of the variegated colorways have high contrast--this can be either a range of values (like Robin's) or a wide range of colors. Some of the variegated colors are more subtle.
This draft is sett at 24 EPI and woven at 24 PPI. No floating selvage is needed. Each scarf is a single-shuttle weave.
Your Limited Edition "65 Roses" 2-Scarves Kit makes two scarves and includes:
--Color PDF of the instructions emailed to you (plus a black & white printed copy included with your yarns)
--"Tips and Tricks" handout for handling a hand-dyed skein
--821 yds (91g) of Lixue (Bombyx reeled silk, fine cord), variegated colorway (different in each kit)
--839 yds (76g) of Kiku (20/2 Bombyx silk, aka 'mulberry' silk), coordinating hand-dyed solid color (different in each kit)
All silk yarns are hand-painted (variegated) and hand-dyed (solid color) in Colorado.
***Lixue can be a bit more challenging to wind than Kiku. If you'd like us to wind it onto a cone, CLICK HERE and select "Lixue" from the drop down box. You can also use the link to order Kiku wound onto a cone.
Each scarf is approximately 7 inches by 60 inches, plus 6" of fringe (before twisting).
65 ROSES BACK STORY:
Over 20 years ago, Susie Rider and I worked together while she was pregnant with her first child, Andrea. When Andrea was about 4.5 years old, her "failure to thrive" was finally diagnosed as cystic fibrosis (CF), an incurable disease.
What inspires me to support Andrea's angels is Susie channeled her grief and pain over Andrea's diagnosis into fighting for a cure. Susie organized Andrea's angels (Aa) and has been tirelessly raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for a cure ever since!!
You don't realize it, but you also "know" Susie, too, as she designed the Treenway Silks logo and she designs all our print ads and other graphic needs.
Treenway Silks began designing "65 Roses" ribbon colors in 2017. Over the years, we've expanded 65 Roses to include threads, yarns and weaving kits.
The "65 Roses" story dates back to 1965 when an observant 4-year-old, hearing the name of his disease for the first time, pronounced cystic fibrosis as "65 Roses." Today, "65 Roses" is a term often used by young children with cystic fibrosis to pronounce the name of their disease.
Scarf designed and woven by Robin Wilton for Treenway Silks.
