Chenille and Cotton Scarf

Probably like many people, I like the feel of soft and luxurious chenille. I have a purple scarf I wove up last year made with rayon chenille for both warp and weft. It has a nice weight and drape to it, but I don't have as much yardage on one of my chenille cones of yarn as I do with the 8/2 cotton I use.

A couple years ago, I saw an advertisement in Handwoven's magazine about a bath towel using chenille and cotton (weft and warp respectively). The idea stuck, so I ended up trying it out on a smaller scale.

Rayon Chenille and Cotton Cones
The rayon chenille has 1450 yards/pound while the 8/2 cotton has 3300 yards/pound. The colors are respectively, Spruce and Teal. The chenille runs about $10 per pound and the 8/2 cotton at $8 per pound at Daft Dames in Akron NY, my local yarn store.

Chenille is one of those yarns that needs to be woven securely in that there are now loose strands. Once going through the wash, the chenille will lose the fuzzy part that makes the chenille, leaving you with the thin ground strands. The ladies at Daft Dames suggested around 16 ends per inch (epi), but I weave it at 12.5 epi on my rigid heddle loom and it remains secure. Anything looser than 12.5 should be avoided, however.
Scarf after one wash
The finished scarf has a nice hand, but is lighter than the full chenille scarf. It also has less luster than the full chenille, but it remains a lovely scarf.

Full Rayon Chenille (left) and Cotton and Rayon Chenille (right)
I liked the end product of the cotton and rayon chenille because it gives a nice thick scarf with nice hand, and a little cheaper than a full chenille scarf.

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