On the left is the sample I completed. After all that complaining, I realized it looks better off the loom than I thought it would, and I’m pleased with it, wavy selvedges and all. I’ve started a new one, all wool, and it’s also nice but doesn’t have the crispness that the cotton added. I altered the design somewhat so the bottom and top will match a little more. I’m thinking I can do several of these as bookmarks.
Is it me? Is it the heddle? Or, is it the combination of materials? Probably a little of all three.
I started an ambitious band design, something I found in the files of the Yahoo group, Bands and Braids. This design wasn’t charted, so I put it into a grid. Turns out it has 68 picks for one complete design… that’s a lot! You can see where I started and stopped and started again. I chose cotton for the background threads and wool for the pattern threads, and I found I had a similar problem to the previous band I completed: the cotton is saggier than the pliable wool, and that leads to tension problems. Plus, the wooden double-slotted heddle I bought has some snags here and there which are doing a number on the warp and it’s fraying quite a bit. I’m not totally thrilled with the heddle, but I’m willing to sand down the slots, which should help; however, I’ve gone ahead and ordered two different sizes of double-slotted plastic heddles and a few other doo-dads from Stoorstalka.
I’m anxious to try an all-wool band and set the cotton aside for awhile. I like the lacy and light feeling it adds, so I’ll use it again when I’m more experienced.
I’m using my Glimakra Emilia rigid heddle loom as a stand-in tapestry loom, and it works great. The loom is a super star when it comes to tension–that thick, sturdy wood and metal pawls and ratchets make it possible. If I learn how to warp it better, I can see using this for tapestry weaving quite often. As it is, I started out perfectly with a warp wound on a warping board, but transferring over became very difficult, so I ended up snipping the ends and tying it on. My plan had been to try for a non-fringe selvedge. Oh, well… that’s how it goes.
I had started another project using greens and browns on this warp, but when I discovered wedge weave, I unwove the other project and started this. I’m now sticking with all greens, probably inspired by the ongoing WAL in Ravelry’s tapestry group. The first two months were monochromatic, and I wove a tiny tapestry in blues, but I was never happy with it. So now… greens! These are mostly needlepoint wool found at an antique store:
The warp is a four-ply Churro, and it’s spaced at about 5 epi:
The string heddles I rigged up proved to be helpful only when weaving that footer. I don’t think anyone trying something similar needs to go to the trouble if using a widely-spaced warp like this one. The day wore on, and at 10 p.m. I found myself still weaving. Wedge weave is really fun–and fast as far as a weft-faced weaving goes. Now, I’m at a difficult spot in deciding what to do with the pattern. I’d like to make the center area stand out somehow, and the easiest answer is to use a different set of greens. The hardest answer is to inset some type of tapestry design, but I’m not certain how that will work out. Best idea is to try one, and if it works, stick with it.
This little rag rug, woven on the Glimakra Emilia rigid heddle, will probably be a bath mat. I used carpet warp, sett at 5 epi, and some torn up sheets from a second-hand store.
