Valley Yarns #109 Olive Ovals Scarf

Valley Yarns Olive Ovals Scarf

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Olive Ovals Scarf is a woven accessory designed by Elisabeth Hill that showcases the elegant interplay of color and texture. This finished scarf measures 9 1/2" wide by 75" long plus fringe, making it a substantial and versatile piece suitable for various styling occasions. The design celebrates the natural softness and subtle sheen of luxury fiber blends, combining rich olive tones with cooler grey-teal and pacific hues to create a sophisticated striped and patterned aesthetic.

Weaving Structure and Techniques

This scarf employs the Turned M's & O's weaving structure, a classic technique known for creating distinctive horizontal bars of color combined with elegant curved elements. This structure is particularly valued for its visual interest and the dynamic way it displays color transitions. The Turned M's & O's pattern is woven on a 4-shaft loom using just 1 shuttle, making it an efficient and manageable project despite its sophisticated appearance. The scarf features a striped technique throughout, with carefully planned color sequences in the warp and weft that build the final design.

The weaving process begins with a border pattern in Greyed Teal, created using hemstitching in groups of 4 doubled ends across 2 picks. This border provides structural integrity and a finished edge. The main pattern then repeats 29 times in Olive, followed by a single pattern balance repeat, creating the rhythmic visual structure characteristic of Turned M's & O's.

Loom Setup and Threading

The scarf is woven on a 4-shaft loom at minimum, set at 12 epi (ends per inch) using a 12-dent reed. The warp consists of 121 threads plus 2 floating selvedges, creating a finished width of 9 1/2" in the reed (10" before finishing). The threading follows a specific heddle distribution across the four shafts: Shaft 1 receives 36 heddles, Shaft 2 receives 30 heddles, Shaft 3 receives 25 heddles, and Shaft 4 receives 30 heddles. Two floating selvedges in Pacific yarn are placed in separate dents and weighted over the back of the loom to maintain consistent edge tension throughout weaving.

Yarns and Materials

The scarf is woven entirely with Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk, a luxury yarn blend composed of 80% Alpaca and 20% Silk with a yardage of 3472 yards per pound. This fiber combination provides exceptional softness, natural luster, and drape—qualities that make the finished scarf both beautiful and pleasant to wear.

The warp is constructed using three colors in the following quantities: Olive (304 yards), Pacific (353 yards), and Grey Teal (312 yards). All warp yarns are used doubled, meaning two strands are threaded through each heddle and reed dent simultaneously, effectively doubling the visual weight and durability of the piece. The total warp length is 4 yards, with an additional 8" left unwoven for fringe.

The weft also uses Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk in two colors: Olive (710 yards) and Grey Teal (73 yards). Like the warp, all weft yarns are used doubled. The predominance of Olive in the weft reflects the color emphasis in the finished design, while the Grey Teal accents in the border create visual definition and frame the main pattern area.

Equipment Required

• 4-shaft weaving loom (minimum)
• 1 shuttle
• 2 bobbins for weft management
• 12-dent reed
• Heddles for 4-shaft threading

This pattern demonstrates how a single-shuttle approach combined with thoughtful color placement and the elegant Turned M's & O's structure can produce a sophisticated, gallery-quality finished textile from luxury fibers.