Spinning for the Queenslander Scarf: Using Differential Shrinkage to Your Advantage

When I first learned about the principle of differential shrinkage, it was an accident. I’d inherited a stash of someone else’s mystery handspun. All the different yarns seemed like animal fibers, so I wove them together in a project with each yarn forming thick color-blocked stripes.

When I wet-finished the project, it became a rippled mess. My even selvedges turned wavy, and I was disappointed.

What happened? It turns out that each fiber has a different tendency to shrink. This concept is sometimes called differential shrinkage. While I first learned about it in a frustrating way, it has endless possibilities.

Later projects used silk and Merino blends to create an intentionally textured surface. Because silk does not shrink as much as Merino, the Merino will puff up around the silk fibers and create a bouclé effect. The higher the silk content, the more pronounced this effect will be.

Left: When this 85% Merino/15% silk fabric came off the loom,it was completely flat. Right: After washing, the Merino fulled slightly but the silk did not, creating a nubbly texture. Photos by Pamela K. Schultz

More Discoveries

I’d like to say that every project after my first discovery of differential shrinkage went perfectly. Of course, mistakes and surprises are part of the process. For a jacket made out of a 32 ounce (900 gram) gradient of handspun yarn, I knew that most skeins contained a blend of wool, alpaca, and silk.