The rhythmic and meditative process of weaving is a great way to end a long day, and our new Margins Scarf is the perfect project to come home to. Making it will put you in a happy place, and in the end, you will have a beautiful scarf, made by you!

Margins Scarf | Purl Soho

Don’t be overwhelmed by weaving’s machinery and set up. It’s all a lot easier than you may think, and the amazement you’ll feel when fabric grows before your very eyes will make the small hurdle of learning very worth it!  Start with Schacht Spindle Co’s tabletop Cricket Loom. A wonderful first loom, it is functional, compact, and beautifully engineered.

Margins Scarf | Purl Soho

Weaving’s joys are always deepened by using really gorgeous yarns. For our Margins Scarf, we warped on with our new Cattail Silk and used our classic Line Weight for the weft. Beautiful fibers and a spare and lovely design, this is a project that welcomes you home for a happy night of weaving! -Jake

Margins Scarf | Purl Soho

Materials

Margins Scarf | Purl Soho

  • To make your own Margins Scarf you will need…
    • Warp Yarn A: 1 skein of Purl Soho’s Cattail Silk, 100% silk. We used Porcelain White.
    • Warp Yarn B: 1 skein of Cattail Silk. We used Wild Mulberry.
    • Weft Yarn: 2 skeins of Purl Soho’s Line Weight, 100% merino wool. We used Heirloom White.
  • Schacht Spindle Co’s 15-inch Cricket Loom
  • 15-inch, 12 dent Cricket Reed

We also found these tools from Schacht Spindle Co helpful. They aren’t necessary, but they do make the weaving go a bit faster!…

Structure

Weft Faced Plain Weave

Warp

Warp Length: 96 inches (includes 18 inches of loom waste)

Warp Ends: 156

Width in Reed: 13 inches

Ends Per Inch (E.P.I.): 14 E.P.I

Picks Per Inch (P.P.I.): 20 P.P.I.

Size

Finished Dimensions, On the Loom: 13 inches x 76 inches long with a 1-inch fringe

Finished Dimensions, Blocked: 10 3/4 inches x 74 inches long with a 1-inch of fringe

Note

The fabric of this scarf is a Weft Faced Plain Weave, which means there are more Picks Per Inch (think “rows”) than there are Ends Per Inch (think “columns”). In this case, the resulting density is slight but adds softness and drape to the fabric. To achieve the pattern’s 20 Picks Per Inch, be sure to lightly beat each weft strand twice.

Pattern

Warp The Loom

Set up the warping peg 96 inches from the back of the loom. Note that, at this point, the back of the loom is clamped to the far edge of the table and so is the side farther away from the warping peg.

With a 12-dent reed in place and using Warp Yarn A, begin threading the heddle by pulling the first loop of yarn through the 5th slat from the right end of the reed.

Working from right to left, thread Warp Yarn A through the next 6 slats. Cut yarn.

Warp Yarn B Step: Tie Warp Yarn B to the back apron bar and thread it through the next slat in the reed. Cut yarn and tie it to the back apron bar.

Tie Warp Yarn A to the back apron bar and thread it through the next 3 slats. Cut yarn and tie it to the back apron bar.

Repeat the Warp Yarn B Step.

Tie Warp Yarn A to the back apron bar and thread it through the next 57 slats. Cut yarn and tie it to the back apron bar.

Repeat the Warp Yarn B Step.

Tie Warp Yarn A to the back apron bar and thread it through the next 8 slats. Cut yarn and tie it to the back apron bar.

You should have a total of 78 slats threaded and 156 total warp threads, with 2 Warp Yarn B threads in slats number 8, 12, and 70 from the right.

Finish the warp according to the Cricket Loom instructions, transferring one strand from each slot to the hole to the right.

Tie on the warp to the front apron bar. Try to waste as little yarn as possible for the tie on, but do make sure the warp is secure.

Weave

Wind both of the shuttles with the Weft Yarn.

With scrap yarn, or using the Weft Yarn doubled, weave a couple of inches until the warp threads are evenly spread out.

Beginning with the reed in the up position, pass the shuttle with Yarn A through the shed from left to right, leaving a 36-inch tail (which you will use at the end for finishing).

Continuing with the Weft Yarn, weave in weft faced plain weave for 76 inches, beating each weft twice.

Cut the Weft Yarn, leaving a 36-inch tail for finishing.

Finish

For a complete how-to on this step, visit our Finishing with Hemstitch Tutorial.

Use the 36-inch tails to finish each end of the scarf with a hemstitch.

Make the hemstitch around groups of 4 warp ends across the width of the scarf.

Cut the fringe 1 inch from the end of the weaving.

Weave in the hemstitch tails and gently hand wash your finished scarf in cold water, laying it flat to dry.

Margins Scarf | Purl Soho