What is Wet Finishing?

There were questions when I mentioned "wet finishing my hand woven fabric."  So, this post is dedicated to answering that question.  I should say that these instructions are for cotton and other cellulose (plant) fibers.

Once the threads/yarns have been woven,  they are still not considered cloth.  At this point we call it a "web" or "webbing."   In common everyday talk with non-weavers, I still call it fabric or cloth, even though technically it isn't yet. Wet finishing is the process that changes it from "web" to "cloth."

On the loom- it is still webbing.

 Wet finishing is a process of washing the newly made fabric so that the threads relax into one another becoming cloth.  It is the first time the woven threads have been exposed to water.  I personally just put the web into the washing machine with some laundry - the shirts and/or pants.  As I wash on warm, it works well.  A warm wash is what is suggested.  I leave it for the full cycle and retrieve the cloth when I am moving the other laundry to the dryer.  This cloth does NOT go into the dryer yet.

Next up is the ironing stage.  Ironing the wet cloth helps to somewhat align the selvedges. When I do it, I am pulling the selvedge edge straight as the edge gets ironed. My method is "both selvedges of a section first."  Then I press out the middle. And then I repeat pressing the selvedges, pulling them straight again. 

The next stage is  hanging the fabric to dry undisturbed. 

One length of fabric drying after being wet finished.

Once the cotton fabric has been made into a garment - or whatever- it can be washed and dried by machine like any other cotton article.

After doing all of that then the fabric is more cohesive and ready to use. It still requires special techniques for cutting so that it doesn't start to come apart.
 One technique for cutting handwoven fabric is to sew a line where you wish to cut and then sew another line approximately 1/8 of an inch outside that line. You then can cut between the two sewn lines without the fabric coming apart. 

For the armholes on my vest, I  used a different method.  I marked the armholes with masking tape and cut them. Then I took the pieces to the machine and sewed the line to stabilize it. I find that works far better for curved lines.

That was probably more than you really wanted to know.  But maybe someone will find this very helpful.  It is always good to share knowledge, don't you think?

 Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

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