As weavers, we spend so. much. time on planning, preparing, then actually weaving a finished piece.
And it doesn’t stop there, because after all, a piece is not finished until it’s finished!
After choosing how we are going to finish our ends by either stitching, sewing or at least securing, we then come to…
THE WET FINISH!
But hey, it’s actually a pretty simple process and doesn’t take all that much time or effort. The really hard part is waiting for the piece to dry!
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I think it’s rather fitting then, that after all that hard work, we should finish off with as much love and care that we started with. That’s why I wanted to share my Gentle Soak Recipe with you today!
You can make it yourself, it’s economical as you only use a small portion for each woven piece, and best of all it feels luxurious to use – almost like a little treat to the weaver at the end of a project.
THE RECIPE
Dr Woods Baby Mild Castile Soap
Essential oil (optional) of your choice.
Glass bottle with a dispenser or glass cruet with stopper. I ordered some glass dispenser bottles, but when they got lost in the mail I ended up finding a cruet in a kitchen supplies store and used that instead.
THE METHOD
I pour the Castile soap into my 150ml (5oz) bottle until half full. To this I add my essential oil, approximately 15 drops depending on the strength of oil I’m using. I stir this around with a wooden skewer until I feel it’s well blended, then top up the rest of the bottle with more Castile soap, stirring again. Store with the lid in place.
Some essential oil blend suggestions:
There are so many lovely oils that can be used alone (you know how much I love the simplicity of lavender!)
Other oils that work beautifully as singles are peppermint, rose absolute and rose geranium.
If you want to try making some of your own blends, there are kits available where oils that go well together are sold in a pack. You can also buy already blended oils, taking the guess work out of it for you.
Oh, and if you don’t want to add your own oils, the Dr Woods Castile soaps also come in peppermint, lavender, and tea tree.
Don’t like essential oils? Just use the pure baby castile, which has no added scent on it’s own.
WHY DO I NEED TO WET FINISH?
Sometimes, removing a project from the loom and having a good look and feel of it for the first time can be a bit disappointing! It may feel stiff, rough, and look, well… a bit lacklustre!
Enter the magic of the wet finish!
Allowing the project to soak in warm water with a mild detergent enables all those lovely fibres you have spent so much time and care to weave take in the water, plumping them up to maximum level and allowing them to bloom. Then, as the fabric dries, all those fibres settle into their rightful place and live happily ever after.
If you cut your fabric when it is still in loom state (prior to wet finishing) you will notice a dramatic difference to cutting it afterwards. The threads will want to spring apart, they are not settled in place yet.
Wet finishing also causes your fabric to shrink slightly (how much depends on the fibre). This is another important step in the finishing process.
An interesting experiment is to photograph your before and after wet finished fabrics. The difference can be quite amazing!
HOW TO USE THE GENTLE SOAK TO WET FINISH
I have used this gentle soak recipe with both plant and animal fibres. I have made a video tutorial on the wet finishing process so that you can see how easy and non stressful it all is:
Here are the step by step instructions:
- Place a squirt (around 1 teaspoon per item) of the gentle soak liquid into a sink or container that you intend to wash the item in.
2. Run enough warm water into the sink or container to enable your item to be covered.
3. Place your item into the water, gently pressing to submerge. Continue gently pressing until the item takes on enough water to sink down.
4. Leave the item, without agitating for at least an hour.
5. Gently rinse the item in just warm water briefly.
6. Using a clean, folded towel, press the excess water out of your item.
7. Lay the item flat and in the shade until totally dry.
Now, there are exceptions to these rules, as mentioned in the video. For example, I wash cotton kitchen towels in a hot machine wash. Not all projects need to be dried flat – sometimes I will hang the piece depending on what it is. If I have a piece that may be misshapen by being hung, I will dry it flat.
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful to you.
Until next time…
Happy Weaving!
Hello Kelly,
Iām a new weaver and used your table loom online course. It was so helpful.
Iām just finishing the scarf project using bamboo. Would I still use 40 degree water to soak bamboo? Would you recommend hanging my scarf over a thick rod or laying it flat to dry?
There seems to be very little about wet finishing bamboo on line. Thank you
Hi Jane,
I’ve woven with bamboo a lot and a few different widths and brands. I treat them all the same for the wet finish – mild detergent with warm water, sit for an hour or so, rinse with clean water, use towels to press out excess water and lay flat to dry.
When I say lay flat, I do often sit my piece on top of a clothes drying rack and the ends will hang towards the ground. Never had any problems doing it this way š
Hi Kelly, I’m from St. Louis, Missouri & have just recently found you. I’m very excited! I’m new to rigid heddle weaving & am looking forward to learning from you! I’ve heard so many good things. I found you on the fb rigid heddle weaving page.
Thank you for sharing the information in this video. Even though it appears a simple process it was very helpful to see it done on the video to give me the confidence to do it myself.
You mentioned that you wash your cotton towels in hot water in the machine. Do you put them in the dryer as well or hang to dry?
I just dry the towels on the clothesline, I don’t have a dryer.
I love your blog but I especially love your you-tube videos. Now I am a member of your classes. They are wonderful and so very helpful.
Thank you Marion, it’s great to have you as part of the community!
Thank You Kelly for the great info. I enjoyed the video too.
I’m from Nova Scotia Canada ,I follow your blog and have watched your You Tube videos.
I weave exclusively on a Ridgid Heddle and have taken 3 courses locally.
I use your videos to learn new things and as reference to review techniques
I love reading your blog and even the interview which I had to translate.( Just made it more fun)
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.
Can’t wait for your next blog and video.
Thanks for your support Julie!
Hi Kelly, I enjoy your blog posts very much. They are always interesting and informative and are always presented in a concise and friendly way. Looking forward to the next one!
That is great to hear, thank you Gai!
Kelly,
Your blog is great and I am continually learning.
Thank you.
Nancy
Thank you Nancy.
Iām new to your classes and blog, but have to say I feel the blog is very beneficial. Especially for a new weaver like me. .
I very much like how you put links. Thatās extremely helpful because I can go directly to the site and get it ordered. Otherwise, Iād probably forget about it. I use Amazon all the time, so that was a plus.
When Iām ready to wet finish my first piece, I will definitely return to this post.
Thanks for your feedback and for being a reader Terri!
As a former blogger I appreciate the efforts you put into both your written posts and your video posts. Your information is always spot on. As a beginner Weaver I relied completely on your YouTube and your weaving school lessons. As I weave longer, I return often to check on a detail or two. Thank you for your contribution to education for the makers..
Thanks so much Sandi!
I gathered from your video that there isn’t really any suds from the Castile soap. Did not see the ringing. I have used a no rinse fiber wash for hand spun yarn. Would you need to rinse the Castile soap? I do enjoy your blogs as you seem to just talk about a subject and not go on and on.
No, not many suds, just a small amount. I do give a gentle rinse, that is all in the video demonstration if you’re interested.
Thanks, Kelly! Do you think there’s a lot of change in the fabric when using superwash wool? I’ve always hand washed these things, and I feel like it just doesn’t “settle” that much. Should I use the washing machine?
I do notice a significant change. I wouldn’t use the washing machine, one of my favourite superwash wool scarves went through the machine accidentally and hasn’t been the same since. It was quite roughed up and has pilled too.
Your blog posts and videos are always very informative.
Thank you Lise š
This is very helpful. Thank you!
You’re welcome š
Thanks Kelly – the information you offer has been very helpful to me.
I’m so glad, thank you!
Hi Kelly. I greatly enjoy your blogs and videos. Thank you!
Great to hear, thank you š
Hello from Provence, France, Kelly. Yes, indeed, I do enjoy your blog and your well-made YouTube videos.
In Provence, savon de Marseille is a favorite, gentle cleaning product, and it is often perfumed with essential oils. During her entire life of almost 100 years, my grandmother washed her waist-long hair with Castille soap and rainwater, and she had very silky hair.
I am, however, somewhat confused in that I have read other articles that claim that soap is detrimental to protein fibers and that mild detergents should be used. Dawn dishwashing detergent is frequently mentioned (which is not a available in our neck of the woods). Would you, please, elaborate on this. Thank you.
There will always be differing opinions on these things. I have seen Dawn mentioned often too, we don’t have it here either.
I only speak from personal experience from using soap with a variety of fibres that is has been beneficial, not detrimental. I consider this soap liquid as very mild, particularly as it is formulated for babies.
I love that your grandmother washed her long hair in that way ā¤
Thanks Kelly, yes I do read and enjoy the blogs.
I love using sunlight soap, I guess I could add some fragrant oil to that.
Glenda
Hello Kelly, its a pleasure to read your blog!
Thank you very much Irini, I appreciate it!
Thanks for your feedback Glenda š