Nifty Weave-It Idea
Have you seen this simple Weave-It loom idea made out of a book?
More information and templates here: http://craftsanity.com/2010/08/craftsanity-on-tv-making-weaving-looms-out-of-old-books/
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.
Two Harness Patterns
Last week, I was thinking that maybe, just maybe I'd get bored with a two-harness loom. I mean, using a rigid heddle + another heddle makes a three or four harness loom, which means patterns like twill are possible.
But with the Kessenich two-harness table loom, I'm kinda stuck with two harness. I had thought that meant plain weave, aka tabby.
So, I challenged myself to find some patterns and so I wandered over to Handweaving.net, clicked on the Draft Archives, clicked on search, and then asked for all the drafts with a minimum of two harnesses and a maximum of two harnesses. Guess how many results I had? 772.
Even if many of these are simply repeats of log cabin or stripes, I bet you anything I can find enough to keep myself busy with only two harnesses!