Category: Vintage

Crazy Daisy Winder

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This winter I ventured outside of loom knitting by first purchasing a cheap, plastic potholder loom and then, after a few disasterous attempts at making my own, a professionally-made 4" square loom from Hazel Rose. With the potholder loom, I made a potholder (gasp!) and also a scarf. With the Hazel Rose 4" multiloom, I made several squares with different yarns, but then became focused and made a hat from the 1936 Weave-It pattern book. I also made several dolls.

Along the way, I discovered this cool, retro plastic loom in a thrift store, the 4" Wonder Weave! I liked it so much that my  husband and I made a video, which is nearing 6,000 hits on Youtube. I know that isn't a huge number, but considering I didn't think it would have 100 hits, it's pretty remarkable.

The idea of looms got me dreaming enough that my Christmas present was a 2' triloom from Hideaway Homestead. It's lovely, and it works like a charm. Within just a few days, I made a shawl!

So, that all led into my new interest–flower looms. The first time I saw flower looms, I yawned and turned away. But then… I just became interested, all at once. Much to my surprise I realized I owned one–the small flower loom Knifty Knitter. (So that's why the pegs come out!) And then, while walking through an antique store yesterday, I saw this interesting little box marked Crazy Daisy Winder. It was $.10. Yes, that's ten cents… a dime. The small, round brass disc has a knob in the center that, when twisted, makes 12 tiny metal rods come out. Those little spikes hold your yarn/thread/metal while you wind on your "petals." Then, you secure the center with a series of clever stitches (the backstitch), and viola! You have a flower. A second twist of the knob, the metal spikes disappear, and the flower comes off the loom. Pretty nifty. From what I can find out, these tiny flower looms were made in the 1940's.

Because my box and loom were missing instructions, my first attempts are pretty sad, so I'll share them with you another day. In the meantime, I've I discovered many wonderful sites dedicated to flower looms. Here are a few:

Coming soon: A Winter Recap (those felted mittens, a really floppy hat, a real picture of my shawl, and a slanted cupcake.)

Categories: Loom Knitting Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

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Wind-powered knitting machine

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You can find the strangest things on youtube, like this video of a knitting machine powered by a windmill:

wind knitting machine

 

And this old-fashioned sock knitting machine. It's mesmerizing to watch. (Okay, it's mesmerizing to watch if you like watching vintage sock knitting machines.)

Gearhart Sock Knitting Machine

Current project: I'm making a cowl on the yellow Knifty Knitter loom. I started it by using the pattern found at the Ben Franklin site, but after about 15 rows, I decided I didn't like the look of the plain e-wrap stitch. I was using just one strand of a Cascade wool in blue, and it was looking very ladder-ish. So, I frogged it all and began again, this time using the mock crochet stitch (instructions here). It's a very easy and pretty way to vary your loom knitting.

Categories: Loom Knitting Resources Vintage

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Woven Hat from 1936 Weave-It Book

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  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
image from www.flickr.com

 I finished this hat a few weeks ago–on election night, in fact. Since this was my first finished Weave-it (Weavette, Wonder Weave) pattern, I'm going to cut myself some slack. Also, I was listening to election results while I sewed it up, so that may help explain why I misjudged the need to stitch the rim of the hat correctly. I was so excited about the election! Plus, stitching all those little squares together is very tiring. As a result, the rim/hem of this hat isn't matched up very well. It's a little bit crooked. Nonetheless, this is a very cool retro hat. It looks good on people who wear cool, retro hairstyles, like a Louise Brooks bob.

It doesn't look very good on me, but that's beside the point. Who cares! I made my first real Weave-it pattern!

These thirteen squares practically flew off my Wonder Weave loom. Good thing I had cats around to point out when I almost missed a row…

..and it's a real good thing the cats were there to keep the squares on the table. Those little squares have a way of flying off the table at the oddest times. But not with these cats on duty.

Categories: Finished Object Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

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Woven Dolls

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image from www.flickr.com 

When I saw this posting and instructions on the eLoomanator's blog, I knew I had to try to make these two dolls using just one 4" woven square apiece. Barbara Giguere created these dolls using her 4" Weave-it loom. I made mine with the Wonder Weave, which also creates a 4" square.

I selected three colors of Dale of Norway/Falk 100% wool and threaded the loom with the neutral beige. I used the same color to weave six rows for the head. I then swapped to my second color, wove six more rows, and finally swapped to my third color, weaving six more rows. Once off the loom, it's pretty straightforward to finish the dolls. Simply sew up the back to make a tube, use the extra yarn to draw in the neck and stuff, then gather the top. Stuff the body, tighten the waist and sew the feet. I liked how Barbara stitched in some arms and on the boy doll, some legs, so I followed the same idea.

Doll hair is still difficult for me. I don't quite know how to stitch it so it covers the head and yet can't be pulled off by a child. These two dolls have hair, but it's pretty loose–one good tug and it'll come off. I'll need to research hair for future dolls.

These two dolls are just four inches high. Aren't they sweet?

Categories: Finished Object Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

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