Lynn Smetko – Opposites Attract

My goal was to create two coordinating scarves for my sister and brother-in-law, who are very different people but also similar in many ways. The colors were selected based on coats worn by the “giftees,” and while the warp is silk for its inherent beauty, the weft yarns contain yak and camel to provide warmth suitable for their Chicago winters. By using the same warp, threading and weft for both scarves I established a level of similarity; differentiation would come from patterning and fringe treatments.

In keeping with the scarves’ theme of “opposites attract,” many opposites and contrasts were built into the design:

Angles | Curves
Short trimmed fringe | Long twisted fringe
Undyed yarns | Dyed yarns
Quiet colors | Loud colors
Glamour yarns | Warmth yarns
Slippery-feel yarns | Wooly-feel yarns
Shiny yarns | Matte yarns

Other contrasting features were included in the draft:
An echoed advancing twill threading line, with one line flipped horizontally
Warp and weft yarns alternated in 1:1 ratios
Four-color doubleweave as the weave structure, with some areas woven as one layer and others as two layers

Despite all of the opposites and contrasts, the yarns, colors, threading, treadling (an echoed advancing twill line, with one line offset by half), and sizes maintain the desired “sameness”, rendering the scarves similar enough to be worn by a couple and recognized as a pair.

The final result of the opposites and similarities working together was a keepsake gift for a special pair. The bright warp colors muted by the neutral weft colors produced a sophisticated colorway. The areas of doubleweave provide pockets of additional insulation and warmth. The hand of the silk/camel/yak combination is drapey, soft and warm. Overall the scarves are attractive and functional, different but similar.

These scarves present two features in keeping with the show’s theme of “Innovation in Weaving.” First, the scarves provide warmth with atypical exotic-blend yarns, silk/yak and silk/camel, instead of typical all-wool or all-cashmere yarns. Second, the threading takes a typical echoed threading, two lines the same but offset by a certain number of shafts, and atypically flips one of the threading lines horizontally, thereby creating crossed and flipped images and interesting shadows.