Tag: weaving

Doni’s Deli bag fabric

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It's been over two months since I warped my Emilia and started weaving the fabric for a bag like the one at Doni’s Deli. Why two months? Well, I made some beginner mistakes, which I don't have to list, but the main one was I chose sock yarn for both the warp and weft. With a 12 dent heddle I probably would have been okay, but I only have a 10 dent heddle, and it took a gazillion rows and hours (at least!) to finish the fabric, which measures 100".

Now for washing, hemming, sewing… Later. For now, I'm content to watch it come off the loom a couple dozen times. (Note, this short video is uploaded to Flickr):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29158529@N03/4929649306/

When I neared the end, I ran out of my main sock yarn and also my patience, so I dedicated the final few inches to experimenting with the clasped weft technique. If you're interested, there's a short tutorial available here, and lots of lovely examples posted on blogs.

claspedweft
claspedweft

 

Categories: Glimakra Emilia Rigid Heddle Loom Weaving

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An update from the home office

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Home office
Home office

I actually did organize my office… and then it got messy again… and then it was so hot I didn't want to weave… But now it's a lovely 75 degrees and I was inspired to tidy it up. I bought an shelf organizer thing from Target and have found it a good place to store yarn and supplies. It's a little bit cluttered but I don't mind in the least. I like having my chicken pincushion, all my Weave-Its, and yarn handy. Speaking of yarn, that's all of it, with two of the square bins also about half-full. I've never purchased yarn for yarn's sake–I tend to buy it for projects and use it up. The bins are full of small amounts left over. Any full skein was purchased for a project that never materialized. Now that I have a loom, though, I think a little differently, and I can see myself purchasing ahead of time.

Recent thrift finds
Recent thrift finds
I found a goldmine of discarded library books on weaving and needlework. There were nearly 30 of them! Happy me! I particularly enjoy the older weaving books like The Joy of Handweaving, Your Rugs, and Weaving Tricks. I found myself with not one, but two copies of Visual Instructional Macrame by Joan Michaels Paque. I did get a little enthusiastic in grabbing up these old books.
Also new-to-me the past few weeks, a homemade rake loom. It's a really lovely loom with close-to-small gauge pegs. The pegs are places in a staggered pattern that I haven't quite figured out. It's missing a few pegs but I think it will do nicely as a dishcloth loom. I also snagged a $1 deal, an EZEE knitter, used for fine panel knitting, with an unfinished project on it. 

Categories: Home Resources Vintage Weaving

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Woven jacket + Saori method

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This weekend, I watched the Bollywood film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, and I couldn't take my eyes off the woven jacket worn by actor Amitabh Bachchan. You'll see what I mean if you watch the video. A little research revealed it was created by fashion designer Aki Narula, and the jacket is several pieces of shawls and durries sown together to create "an explosion of color":

"Jhoom" – Song – JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM

It reminds me of some of the weavings I've been seeing on Ravelry, inspired by the Sarori method.  (Here are some Google images.) Saori is a free-style method of weaving that produces brightly-colored, highly varied fabric. There's also a loom company from Japan called Saori. It's very inspiring! However, I have to admit that the first time I saw this type of weaving, my reaction was, "Gee, that's a little messy." 🙂

Categories: Weaving

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Weave-It rug loom video

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The Weave-It Rug Loom is one of my favorite little looms. Awhile back, I was lucky enough to find this one at an antique store along with a plastic 4" Weave-It. The Rug Loom is a little bigger at 5" square and it has fewer pegs, but you wrap it exactly the same as the smaller loom. It was meant for using bulky, or a "rug" weight of yarn, and most of the patterns I've seen from the old booklets are for afghans or stuffed toys.
I like my Weave-It Rug Loom so much that I had to make a video. Hope you enjoy it!
Weave-It Rug Loom

Categories: Tutorials Vintage Weave-It Loom

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