Valley Yarns #87 XOXO Baby Blanket

Valley Yarns XOXO Baby Blanket

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns XOXO Baby Blanket is a woven textile designed by Elisabeth Hill, created using a deflected doubleweave structure that produces a soft, dimensional fabric ideal for infants. The finished blanket measures 29.25" x 45.5" after washing and hemming, making it an appropriately sized baby blanket with visual interest created through the interplay of floating layers and deflected yarn elements.

Weaving Structure and Technique

Primary Technique: Deflected Doubleweave is the core weaving structure used in this project. This advanced technique creates fun dots and dimensional floating layers within the fabric, enhancing the natural softness of the cotton yarn. The deflected doubleweave method allows the warp and weft yarns to shift and create textural variations that are both visually appealing and tactilely pleasant.

The design employs a lace-like quality through the strategic use of color changes and the doubleweave structure, which creates openness and visual lightness appropriate for a baby blanket. The floating layers characteristic of doubleweave add depth without creating excessive weight.

Equipment Requirements

• 8-shaft loom with 36" weaving width capacity
• 3 shuttles for managing multiple yarn colors
• 4 bobbins for winding yarn
• 10-dent reed (threaded 2/dent) or alternative reed options (8-dent reed threaded 2-3, or 12-dent reed threaded 1-2-2)

Warp and Weft Specifications

Warp Setup: The warp consists of 688 ends wound to a length of 3 yards, set at 20 epi (ends per inch). The width in reed measures 34.4", which narrows to the finished width of 29.25" after washing and hemming. The warp is threaded according to a specific color order that corresponds to threading blocks, making it easier to identify and correct threading errors during the dressing process.

Warp Yarn Composition: Valley Yarns 6/2 Unmercerized Cotton (100% cotton, 2520 yards per pound) is used for the warp in three coordinating colors:

• Banana: 372 yards
• Jade: 1116 yards
• Lilac: 576 yards

Weft Yarn Composition: The weft also uses Valley Yarns 6/2 Unmercerized Cotton (100% cotton, 2520 yards per pound) in the same three colors, with quantities tailored to the weaving pattern:

• Banana: 210 yards
• Jade: 632 yards
• Lilac: 322 yards

Additionally, 10/2 cotton totaling 42 yards is used for the inside hems to avoid bulk in the finished edges.

Heddle Distribution and Threading

The 8-shaft loom requires specific heddle counts on each shaft to properly execute the deflected doubleweave structure:

• Shafts 1 & 2: 90 heddles each
• Shafts 3 & 4: 186 heddles each
• Shafts 5 & 6: 62 heddles each
• Shafts 7 & 8: 6 heddles each

Weaving Process and Treadling

The weaving begins with a ½" plain weave section using 10/2 cotton to create stable hems that prevent bulk. The weaver then follows the treadling draft for a 57" repeat section, maintaining the color changes by either carrying them up the selvedge edge or cutting and tucking ends as colors transition. The blanket finishes with 6 picks of Lilac for color balance, followed by another ½" of plain weave in 10/2 cotton to complete the opposite hem.

Materials and Yarn Characteristics

Valley Yarns 6/2 Unmercerized Cotton is the primary material throughout this project. The 6/2 weight provides an appropriate thickness for creating definition in the deflected doubleweave structure while maintaining the softness essential for a baby blanket. The unmercerized finish