LIMITED EDITION 4-Shaft, "Shalimar" Silk Scarf Weaving Kit
designed by Anu Bhatia

**Treenway Silks exclusive**

KIT:
Basketweave ground cloth using naturally golden organic Muga silk, with overshot boarders and overshot inlay motifs

The kit includes:
    1,138 yds ( 116g) of Carmelina (30/2 organic Muga silk)
       133 yds (22g) of Yuki (8/2 reeled Bombyx silk, aka "mulberry silk"), color #321 Teal Ocean
    Teal glass seed beads, size 6 or size 5, for fringe
    Detailed instructions with step-by-step photography, PLUS a YouTube video showing Anu weaving one of the motifs.

Anu suggests an 8 dent reed for your 4-shaft loom...you'll sley 4 ends per dent (32 EPI) for a total of 336 ends.  Widith in reed is approximately 10-3/8 inches.

Finished 100% silk scarf is 8.5 inches wide by 63 woven inches.  There's a 5.75 inch braided and beaded fringe on each end.

THE BACK STORY (yup, there's always a story!):
Anu was playing with inlay technique, inspired by traditional Kashmir shawls...we always think of as made from cashmere or wool...but they also made them using silk.

Anu and I were talking one day and Anu said she wanted to try an overshot boarder/inlay motif scarf using organic muga silk for the ground cloth.  Muga is so lovely--the silk worms create the golden color, and you can't match the glow of the color with dyes. I mentioned I had a lovely new color, #321 Teal Ocean, that I thought would be spectacular with Muga. 

One thing lead to another, and Anu graciously agreed to create a silk scarf design exclusively for Treenway Silks.  And wow, she surpassed all my expectations!!  But then, she always does :-)

Anu, creative soul that she is, created this using Carmelina (30/2 organic muga) for the ground cloth, in a basket-weave structure...something I would never have thought to do.  Anu had the option of using Carmela (15/2 organic muga) as plain weave for the ground cloth, but opted to go with the basket weave, which adds a subtle interest to the ground cloth. 

I think the two "skinnier" ends of Carmelina (vs one "fatter" end of Carmela) creates a smoother ground cloth, which makes the lovely Yuki yarn, used for the pattern weft for the overshot and the inlay motifs, be more prominent. Regardless of the theory behind the decisions, the outcome is stunning!

Scarf designed and woven by Anu Bhatia 
images 1-3 taken by Treenway Silks' photographer Thom Harrod;
image 4 (on mannequin) by Anu Bhatia