An Interesting Experiment (Not for the Faint of Heart!)

[KD Burke]

Okay...the left of the frame is the original cloth. The right is the washed/shrunk stuff. The color change? Did I not mention the dye?



Over 54 inches the shrinkage was about 4", or less than 10%.

A remarkable difference in the hand, though.

[tundramanq]

Fascinating!
The black dye really spread around and muted the rest of the tartan from the hot water.
The fuzzing from the beating blurred the pattern a lot.

[figheadair]

In the image I see it is rotated by 90 degrees and shows the original cloth at the top. Whilst cloth will shrink when abused in the way described I'm surprised by the description of it being coarser. My experience is that the reverse is true and that the washed cloth, whilst denser, will have a raised knap and softer feel whilst at the same time having a stiffer handle.

[KD Burke]

I suppose that's what comes of a novice treading into expert territory! "Coarse" may not have been the best choice of words. You've described the result exactly!

I'm very pleased win the way my little project turned out, actually. I intended this to be a sort of hard use car blanket, of the sort used for spreading picnics, etc. It would certainly serve that purpose, but it is also very warm, wind resistant, and pleasant to the touch.

Aside from the issue of expense, I could see fabric of this sort being used for a variety of purposes.