Alpaca Scarf
With the weaving sticks, I wove this scarf using two strands. It's rather luxurious but I'm still getting used to the look. I also don't know the best way to finish the ends.
Category: Finished Object
Kitchen Towels, Maybe
These two kitchen towels will maybe, maybe not become kitchen towels. I like them, it's just that they're square and rather thick. Perhaps they'll make a nice kitty blanket for the summer… We'll see.
I spotted a $1 sale on Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn and bought a bunch just for fun. I've never had much luck making actual household items, and so I figured even my plan of dish towels didn't work out, they'd probably be useful.
I used the Glimakra Emilia and the 8 dent heddle. Just in case you're wondering, two skeins, 240 yards, is exactly the amount you need to warp 60" on this size loom with this size heddle. However, buy three! You should actually warp 70" or even a little longer to make a real towel.
For the weft I chose a striped green, extremely light. I think my camera is set to overexpose because I haven't taken a decent picture lately. They aren't quite as light as the picture shows, but the stripes are gradual. I like the variegated patterns better for towels so next time!
Off the loom, each measured 18" x 20", but then, after washing, the always-shrinking cotton ended up at 16.5" x 16". Yes, they are now shorter than wide.
This experiment led me to immediately warp the Emilia with another batch of cotton. My plan this time is for a bathmat.
Plarn Tote
Plarn = plastic bags cut into strips and used as yarn. Plarn is fun, and it's green!
I used the 10 dent heddle on the Kessenich two-harness loom, warping every other slot–70 ends total –with white crochet cotton for the warp, bought for a quarter at a thrift store. I probably used about ten cents worth. Then, I cut ten plastic sacks into strips, using a tutorial I viewed on Youtube. The red handle is some acrylic I spool knitted on a little crank knitter. So, all in all, my weaving cost me about fifty cents. Ritzy!
I wove 20 inches but now wish I would have taken the time for another five to ten, because although this little tote is cute, it's not really useful. It's probably just big enough for a few DVDs or one or two books. I don't plan on lining it, but I am planning on another plarn tote, this time bigger.
It Weaves! My First Kessenich Project
I took an old warp I had cut off the Glimakra Emilia after abandoning a project awhile back, and I put it on my new-to-me Kessenich two harness table loom. I don't actually know how to warp a table loom, but I made a guess (and checked in a book). It wasn't picture perfect but somehow it worked. The back beam was messy and tangled, I started too far over to the right, and yet it all wove up very nicely.
I returned to my stash of vintage embroidery floss for the weft, using 20 tiny skeins of blues. It created a striped effect. Personally, I don't know if I would have gone out of my way for a multicolored warp and striped weft, but it all came together, and now I have a 10" x 35" piece of woven fabric. It may end up being something someday (a pillow… a bag…), but for now I'll call it a sample and leave it at that.
It took four hours to warp and weave this. The loom isn't very big, and yet it's tall enough on a table to have to stand and weave, something I used to like to do with the Emilia until I put it on a stand. I loved using the loom. It could be 40 or 50 years old, but it works wonderfully. I can't wait for the next project.