i've been weaving today, and finished off a short piece of shifu. i wanted to see how much shrinkage to anticipate. this piece measured 11 1/2 x 18 5/8 inches before washing. i washed it once with hot water and ivory detergent, rinsed and dried. once dry i noticed i'd pulled on the selvages so it was stretched to very different widths as it dried. this is good to know since pressing it out again with steam will probably affect the size. i just want to know how the lokta and cotton behave. the lokta is somewhat overspun, so there's naturally a lot of energy in the web.

the hand changed and the cotton warp "expanded" and fluffed. dried, the size is 9 3/4 x 17 3/8 inches. a substantial shrinkage. there is alot of energy in this piece, and i am wondering what i'll do with it next. i think i'll look around for some dye that needs to be used, there are dried flowers and bloodroot in the freezer, and black walnut dye in the mill.

i've always loved energetic fabric, and it looks like i've actually managed it in paper. of course my unintentional overspinning is the reason, but i'm going with it. i'm imagining printing letterpress on this, but i may have to iron it first. what if i dye, iron, print, then wash?

spun paper and inner slippery elm bark