I need some advice and to know if anyone has ever encountered this. I have woven with chenille a few times but never before used the machine to wet-finish, just a little steam. I tried it this time, because I wanted to give this as a gift and "do it right". The result was desolating! I made sure the water was just warm and set the machine on delicate, only let it agitate a little, then checked and found that the whole project had shrunk to the size of a door mat! Has this ever happened to anyone else? Su, if you read this, I have followed your book for every project, to the extent that I can, and I reviewed it this morning after this devestating failure. I know you say in your book that Rayon doesn't shrink but only retracts yet it retracted 50%? I make sure not to measure or wind my warp under tension, never let it sit under tension on the loom and weave with as little tension as possible to get a clean shed. My weft is 8/2 Tencel, the chenille was around 900yds/lb and I sett it at 12 epi (which was recommended by the shop and I've always used before) and was purchased in a skein after space-dying; I bought it from my reputable local shop and its something they always carry. No one else I've talked to has used a machine wet-finish, though.
I have now blocked it back to about 57" but I was disenhearted to read that this will probably cause the threads to simply break later. Is there any salvaging this shawl? It was just plain weave but I put a lot of work into the fringe (braided and beaded) and it was supposed to be a gift for my mother-in-law.
Thanks for any help.
Nan E.