Sometime this spring Suzy Brown in New Zealand posted about these little looms she designed to help you weave a no sew pouch. Suzy Brown is the creative behind FiberyGoodness.com and Tiny Studio Creative Life magazine. She posts amazing content on Facebook and YouTube.
I was intrigued and decided to order the full Fiberygoodness Pouch Loom Set. I thought the pouches would be a fun portable project. The little looms landed in Canada in early July. I was impressed by how beautiful they were.
Set of little pouch looms
A little while later I opened the instructions and decided to give the largest little loom a try. I also dug out this fabulous Leclerc tapestry comb that I purchased in a guild destash and it was very handy for packing down the weaving. (A hair pick or small comb would be a more affordable alternative.) The provided instructions were excellent and I soon had the loom warped and was weaving away with some random handspun from my stash.
Loom and instructions
Starting to weave
Weaving the base
I changed colours randomly and really enjoyed watching the woven pouch grow before my eyes. As you weave the main portion of the pouch you are working continuous rounds weaving a row on the front of the loom, flipping and then doing a row on the back of the loom, and repeating. After the main body of the pouch is woven, you flip the loom and weave the flap by working back and forth for the remaining length of the warp. It was a bit tricky to pack in the last few rows at the top of the flap.
Weaving the middle
Main part of pouch woven
Weaving the flap
Once the pouch was woven it was time to try and pry the weaving off the loom. I remember being a bit stressed about that but I did manage it successfully. The warp threads look a bit messy but overall I was very pleased with my little pouch.
Pouch off the loom
Pouch off the loom with flap folded down
Eventually I picked up the pouch and added a quick crochet border around the top of the pouch and flap. The crochet covers the loose warp threads and neatens up the pouch a tiny bit.
Crochet edging on pouch
Crochet edging on pouch (close up view)
I am now trying to decide on a closure for the pouch. I am considering a magnetic snap that gets sewn down or a button which means I would need a button loop. Hmm… it is hard to decide.
I was hoping that the pouch would fit my cell phone but it turns out that my phone (Samsung Galaxy A53) is a bit too big. Drat! So I guess this pouch is going to be an eye glass case, which means I won’t be putting a strap on it.
I’m afraid that the series of heatwaves we’ve been (and still are) experiencing have had much the same effect on me as the Covid Lock Downs. I have pretty much lost my mojo again though not quite in the same way. Every time the weather cools down a bit I have managed to think about and sometimes even start a project, only for it to be abandoned as soon as the next heatwave starts. I now cannot see my work table for various piles of project “stuff” in various stages of progress.
Also I haven’t managed to do much about preparing for this post, so I’ve once again picked some topics from my list of things to write about which are in fact mainly “historic”.
Many moons ago back, in the 70s, when macramé was first in vogue and long before I became interested in spinning let alone before I found felting, I was obsessed with string and knots.
Amongst the patterns I came across was one for a lampshade. Do any of you remember the Marshall Cavendish series of monthly craft magazines “Golden Hands” covering several different crafts, which could be collected into 4 (I think – possibly 6) annual volumes? I loved them and made lots of things from their patterns.
I did think that I found the macramé pattern I had followed for the lampshade in one of the Golden Hands Magazines, but Mr Google has been unable to find it, so it may have been in some other magazine – possibly “Women”, “Women’s Own” or “Women’s Realm” (that was in the days before they started emulating “Hello Magazine” and the like🤢).
As it was so long ago that I made the lampshade I can only show you what it looks like now. It was made from dishcloth cotton and made directly on a lampshade frame. I lined the shade with red satin type fabric and gave it to my mother for one of her birthdays.
Macramé lampshade 1
Macramé lampshade 2
Macramé lampshade3
Macramé lampshade 4
During my “macramé period” I started to make small free standing sculptures using just clove hitches, rather than mixing knots like flat or square knots. Then my niece became pregnant with her first child so I thought I’d have a go at making a macramé rattle for the baby. As it would need to be washable, I chose to use nylon curtain/blind cord and one of the indoor balls (the plastic lightweight sort with lots of holes in) with a couple of brass bells inside for the inner body. I did not have a pattern to follow (by then I preferred to make my own designs rather than copy someone else’s).
By changing the direction of some of the clove hitches I was able to give the rattle a face. Here is the only picture I have of the rattle, which my husband took for me before I sent it off to my niece.
Unacknowledged macramé rattle
My niece had another child a few years later, but I’m afraid that, as I have had no confirmation of receipt of the rattle (even now, although I know it was received) let alone any thanks, I stopped sending even cards to her!
Around the same time as I made these pieces, I made a crochet cotton macramé Dorothy bag, using a stuffed oval ball shaped thingy as the base to work on. I added pearl beads and lined the bag with pink fabric and used it as a sample for a wedding accessory (back in the days when a couple of friends and I were making crocheted wedding “favours” and sold quite a lot of them – that must have been getting on for 50 years ago), but I wasn’t asked to make another one and I didn’t sell the original. I still have it somewhere.
Dorothy Bag – big enough for a bride’s handkerchief
Back in 2012 I was doing bits of tapestry weaving and to be honest I was getting bored with it – it was taking too long and I wanted to get on to something more interesting. I had decided to weave the word “Exchange” but I can’t remember why now. It may be because I liked the monogram EX that I was using. The “e” was in black and the “x” was in bright red. The background was to be a strong green. The rest of the word was to be in black, but in outline only. I managed to complete the monogram before I decided to do something different, which was to felt the rest. I felted green merino fibres over both sides of the cotton warps with the work still on the loom. This made the “fabric” quite tough so that it kept its shape. I then needle felted the “change” in lower case. I did actually exhibit it at The Exchange when we had one of our several exhibitions in their Café/Gallery. The bear with the felted tapestry in the featured image was made by a friend, who makes bears for adults, and bought for my birthday by my husband.
My felted tapestry woven Exchange
I did think that I might get some people commenting on the coincidence with The Exchange’s name but no-one seemed to notice, or couldn’t be bothered!
Back in early 2022 I told you about a couple of door stops which I had made, one of which was named Yoda by my husband.
During the making of Yoda I made what I now know to have been a construction error. Because I was concerned that if he had been picked up by his head it might come off, I placed a strong loop made from the hem of a towel behind his head to be used as a handle. This resulted in him becoming very tatty around the head. Every time he was picked up by the handle it rubbed the back of his head and his ears and the fibres began to come away. In addition his head was beginning to get droopy, as you can see from the way he is peering around the bathroom door.
Peeping Yoda looking the worse for wear
Thus he needed what my late brother in law used to call a “Warranty Job” (he used to make all sorts of parts for traction and railway engines for others as well as himself and now and then someone would ask him if he could effect some repairs).
As is my wont it was some time before I finally got round to doing Yoda’s warranty job.
I hadn’t been happy with the shape of his head, it was a bit flat at the back. For this reason as well as his tatty appearance I removed his head as well as the handle. I moved the handle to the middle of his back so that it would balance him when he was picked up and it didn’t rub against any part of his head or body.
Next I moved on to his head. I didn’t have any more fibres of the right colour to match his body so had to blend some to match. Then I started to cut away the rubbed fibres from his head and add more of the new. I rounded out the back of his head a bit more and thickened up his ears. I still had some of the correct pinky-grey fibres which I had used for his face so I tidied up his face too.
Tatty Yoda 1
Tatty Yoda from the back. See the fibres pulling off and the handle in the wrong place?
Blending the reds to get the right shade
Warranty job in progress – moving the handle
Warranty job – just about to start on the head
Warranty job in progress – a new face
I decided to add yellow slightly opened eyes just to show that he was really awake. This is him now.
Finished Warranty Job – Yoda back at his post
That’s the lot for this post, hopefully by the time my next one is due I will have got my mojo back again and have something new to show you. In the mean time here’s a real smiley cat. I do wonder what’s going through his mind – any ideas?
This is my Boy (originally named Radius by his previous owners). He really is a smiley cat.
This summer I am volunteering at Camp Judy Layne in Kentucky for a week. I grew up in Kentucky and went to CJL Girl Scout camp every summer for years. Girl Scouts and this camp made me who I am and I have many fond memories and friends from more than 45 years ago. I will be helping with arts and crafts and also teaching wet felting to the campers. In preparation, I decided I needed to make some friendship bracelets to give away. Here is the tutorial that I found on Instagram for “Jellyfish” bracelets (Kumihimo).
Kumihimo means gathered threads and was historically used for samurai armor ties. The round ones that are made with this technique are kakugumi. The seven color bracelets are considered lucky and ward off misfortune. Mainly, I wanted something simple and easy to make.
I started with some wool yarn that I had in my stash and made a few bracelets. But I thought they were a bit too “hairy” and might be itchy for some people to wear. Suddenly, I remembered the embroidery threads that I got from my mom. There were a bunch of #3 perle cotton threads that I rarely use in my stitching/embroidery. She had already cut most of them into lengths and I found that I could make two bracelets from the cut lengths.
The nice thing about the Instagram tutorial was that the disc used was made from cardboard and was simple to create. There are Kumihimo discs that you can purchase with more slits and you can create more intricate patterns, but this was something that can be reproduced to teach the girls at camp.
Here’s the top of the circle once the threads are “loaded”. If you put similar colors together as shown above when you start, the pattern is different than if you randomly place the colors.
And here’s why it’s called a jellyfish bracelet. It definitely looks like a jellyfish when you’re making it. The directions are quite easy and it is a simple pattern. The bracelet slowly developing is quite satisfying to see.
Here are my finished bracelets so far. You can see the “fatter” ones on the right are the wool yarn bracelets. I think I will use small rubber bands to connect them although I will also look into a sliding square knot closure. But I was supposed to leave long ends for that type of closure which I didn’t do.
Here’s the difference in the patterns using this method. The bracelet on the left is loaded with the orange threads together and the blue threads together. The one on the right is random blue and orange mixed when loading. I have been making these at night while watching television. Not sure how many I will get finished but it’s been a relaxing activity.
Here’s the square knot closure for the bracelets. The bracelet needs to be long enough to easily slide over the hand for this to work correctly. The video I viewed used long lengths of extra thread for the closure but I had already cut off those ends. I will use this type of sliding closure for the longer bracelets and use a small rubber band for the shorter ones.
Sitting here, collapsed in an exhausted heap in front of my computer I find myself wondering if organising a group exhibition is a bit like giving birth? All the weeks of late nights, stress and anxiety are quickly forgotten the day the exhibition opens and 6 months later you’re thinking… “Shall we have another one?”
The Auckland Felters 2026 exhibition is now in the final stages of labour, and this time we have a midwife (curator) helping us with the delivery. Working with a curator (Matthew) and his installation team has been a new experience for me. In some ways it’s a relief, not worrying about which pieces look good together or figuring out how to hang some of the less conventional creations but the flip side is that we have little control over which pieces get selected and how they are presented. For a control freak, this is very unnerving! 🙂
A new piece for the exhibition
I have been working on a new piece for the exhibition and inviting the readers of my monthly emails to guess what it might be. There were some interesting responses but none were correct. Can you do any better? This is the first image I shared:
Thank you so much for all the poppies!
We have been blown away by the wonderful response to our call for help with making felted poppies. Clare Hocking had the wonderful idea of creating an ANZAC day commemorative installation to fundraise for the Returned Soldiers Association in New Zealand. We all thought her idea was especially touching given that our exhibition open day will be on 25th April (ANZAC Day). The response from felt-makers all around the world and the lovely stories and letters that accompanied many of the poppies has been heart-warming. Sarah and Clare have been hard at work, assembling the 285 poppies into an installation with some felted “barbed wire” made by Jaq Spirrett.
Sorting the poppies by size and colour – the purple ones are in remembrance of the animals who have served in our defence forces. Can you see your poppy(ies)?Sarah and Clare starting hang the poppies on invisible threads.Clare planning how the felted barbed wire will be entwined through the poppies.
What did you guess my exhibition piece might be?
This is the second photo from my newsletters, it’s not too late to change your guess… 😉
Unexpected Benefits from the Poppy Appeal
One of the groups who sent a batch of poppies was Les Hookeuses du Bor’de’lo, from Canada and one of their members, Janice Goguen, reached out to say she was planning to visit Auckland and could we recommend any fibre-related events / activities?
She was in luck (and as it turned out so were we 🙂 )! Auckland Fun Felters were meeting the weekend she would be visiting our fair city and she was warmly welcomed to spend the day with us. We had a wonderful time hosting Janice and she very generously shared her knowledge of Canadian rug hooking. A few of us are already germinating ideas of how to combine rug-hooking with felting… 🙂
Janice demonstrating the rug-hooking technique
The Big Reveal
I confess this piece still isn’t quite finished and I need to get a move on because we start hanging the exhibition a week on Tuesday but this is the last photo in the series….
I hope you can tell what it is now? 🙂 Were your earlier guesses correct?
This piece was made from LOTS of felt ropes and strips of commercial felt that I dyed in several batches because they wouldn’t all fit in my 30L tea urn. This was my first attempt to work in this way and I really was making it up as I went along, trying to create the form of the fish over the more structured woven background. This is definitely one of those pieces that I am enjoying more now that it is finished! 🙂
My next post will be about the exhibition and contain more information about the “In Remembrance” installation, stay tuned!
Back in April 2002, before I became infected by felt and was still interested in woven tapestry, I plucked up courage and attended a Tapestry Weaving Course run by professional tapestry weaver Bobbie Cox. If you live in or near Rochester in Kent you may have seen some of her work as there are four of her tapestries adorning the Lady Chapel in Rochester Cathedral. My report of the workshop was published in the March 2003 edition of The Journal for Weavers Spinners & Dyers. I have reproduced it here. I’m afraid that there weren’t any photographs for me to show you as I didn’t own a camera at that time. I have tried to produce the sketches that I made and you will see why I say that I can’t draw, except with a felting needle!
Lady Chapel, Rochester Cathedral – Bobbie Cox Tapestries
“Peter Tavy, Two Coats Colder than Tavistock”
“And I wish I had known before I went! Still this only related to the weather and was in contrast to the warmth of the welcome from the inhabitants of Peter Tavy when I joined 16 others on an ‘overflow’ course on Design & Tapestry Weaving given by Bobbie Cox at Peter Tavy Village Hall (formerly the school) in the second week in April 2002 (the original course had had such a long waiting list that Bobbie had arranged an additional one).
“Our first task was to explore the village taking in textures, colours and atmosphere, making notes, taking wax rubbings and collecting samples.
“On returning to the hall we discussed what we had found and then Bobbie told us that our theme for the course would be ‘windows’. She showed us slides of photographs she had taken from the inside looking out, outside looking in, of misted window glass, and raindrops, of reflections and shadows. She reminded us that windows are the eyes of a building and can be looking at us whilst we are looking at them. (I’ll never regard a window in the same way again!) Then she sent us out around the village again to ‘collect’ windows. The villagers were (with one unpleasant exception) very tolerant of the students gazing at their properties in a very odd way, even the overwintering inhabitants of the sole remaining farm’s cowshed.
Wax rubbings of various surfaces
A rough (very) of a church window showing diamond panes.
Another rough sketch – a slit window in the cow barn from the outside
A sketch showing a slit window of the cow barn – from the inside
“The students were of mixed ability, from complete beginners (three of us – one of whom was our ‘token man’ Peter) to the quite advanced. Bobbie showed us three ways of warping our frames, how to decide on the set of the warp and how to spread the warps appropriately. She gave us advice and encouragement and showed us some of her many sample pieces to illustrate her points and her tips.
“After a picnic lunch beside the River Tavy, it was back to work – perfecting our designs with paint and pencil. (I stayed up till 11.30 getting mine done.)
My idea of how to depict a view through a diamond paned window – not used in the end as too complicated
My final painted design for the window tapestry
“Next day Bobbie set up an Indigo vat – in the back of her car! (Well it was very cold out and much warmer inside the car which was standing in the sun, indigo vats need to be kept warm.)
“We all took turns to dip various yarns and fibres, re-dipping and over dyeing some coloured yarns for various periods during that day and also leaving some in the vat over-night. In between times we started the actual weaving of our tapestries, all the time receiving tips and advice from Bobbie.
“She advised us to watch out for shrinkage or ‘waisting’ – the tapestry pulling in at the sides as the weaving progresses. It is unlikely that this will be the result of poor selvedges, but more likely to be because the use of several different yarns in one pic, or ending one or more kelim slits in a single pic. Bobbie’s suggestion was that we should insert a number of ‘guy ropes’ by sewing one end of a spare piece of warp thread near the edge of the tapestry (but not too close to it) and tying the ends to the sides of the frame. If this is done on both sides of the tapestry, the tension will help to prevent the waisting. (I wondered what the purists would think of this, but if it’s good enough for Bobbie Cox it’s good enough for me.)
“Day 3; and after removing the yarns which had rested in the dye vat over-night, some of us tried some more in what was thought just to be the exhaust of the indigo. In fact there was still quite a bit of life there and we dipped several skeins each.
“As the sun was still shining, we decided that we would lay out on the playground the yarns which had been dried over-night so that Bobbie and those students with cameras could photograph them. It was then that we received some exuberant visitors. They were some of the inhabitants of the cowshed on their way through the village to alternative accommodation. They were moving at high speed in all directions, frantically followed by the farmer. Bobbie saw off the ones which had decided to see what the activity was at the Village Hall. I understand that they were eventually rounded up and led of to their new abode, having left liberal donations for the rose garden in the streets.
“Before lunch, delivered to the Village Hall by Jill, the Peter Tavy Sandwich Lady, some of the students accompanied Bobbie on a walk up to Dartmoor. Some of us, not having sufficient warm clothing, decided to stay and work on.
“During the day Bobbie showed us some more slides of windows and also some of her own work. However the highlight of the day was a visit to Bobbie’s own studio. She was not working on anything at the moment, being very much involved in the administration of her touring exhibition ‘Woven Water’. She did have two of the larger pieces from this Exhibition, ‘Spring’ and ‘Autumn’, which she hung along with some other pieces for us to see, including a recently completed commission – a large tapestry inspired by the beach at Blakeney Point in Norfolk entitled ‘Tidelines, a Woven Memory of Blakeney’. Also on display were picture boards showing the inspiration and development of that design and some of the Woven Water tapestries as well as some smaller samples and bundles of wefts tied and dyed. Bobbie explained the mechanics of her large high warp loom and how she works on it.
“The next day – our last – was Sunday. Now we were all working hard trying to get as much weaving done as possible before our visitors arrived. At Bobbie’s suggestion we had all asked our bed and breakfast hosts to morning coffee and to see what we had been doing during our stay. This is apparently a feature of Bobbie’s courses and many villagers visit regularly. The noise level rose dramatically as the visitors wandered around and chatted.
“Bobbie did manage to fit in a few more tips for us though:
“1 Don’t be in too much of a hurry to cut the work off the loom, live with it for a while in case you subsequently decide that you want to add to it or make some changes. It won’t be possible after it’s off the loom.
“2 Ends of yarns are usually left hanging at the back of the work, unless it is to be viewed from both sides. Don’t cut them too close to the weaving or they will start to work through to the right side.
“3 Darn in yarn ends which are near the selvedge or kelim slits.
“4 When you darn in, slide the needle up or down the warp thread, not across the warps – it might show.
“5 Consider the mechanics you will use to hang the finished tapestry (although this should have been thought out at the design stage). You may need to weave further pics in the heading, for instance if you will be incorporating a metal (preferably stainless) rod or a wooden slat.
“6 Weighting the bottom of the weaving will help it to hang better.
“7 Steam press the work on the reverse side – using a cloth and pressing lightly.
“At three o’clock we started to pack up and then display our work and our design drawings so that they could all be looked at and photographed. It was amazing what diverse designs had been achieved. We had all learned something, particularly we three beginners. Bobbie had encouraged us to try our own ideas and allowed us to make our own mistakes, lessons being better learned by trial and error than by example.
“By the time that we finished at about four, we were all very tired by very happy. One usually finds on a course like this that there is one person who spoils things for the others, but it had been noted that our group was particularly lucky in that we were not “blessed” with the student who wanted to grab all the tutor’s time, or the one who wanted to be the centre of everyone’s attention (boring or noisy or both), or the hypochondriac. We all had a great time – thank you Bobbie.
“PS If you attend another of Bobbie’s courses in Peter Tavy, better diet before you go – the food in the local pubs is marvellous – so’s the beer!”
Window Tapestry – still on the loom I’m afraid and I don’t think it ever progressed any further.
A couple of weeks later I attended another tapestry workshop run by another professional but I’ll save my report of that one for another day.
I have a confession to make… I seem to be falling behind on my fringe twisting duties. It is a bit of a tedious job and requires sitting at the table and focusing on the task. In the winter I find our kitchen quite cold, and so I have been putting off working on fringes.
Three pieces of weaving needing fringe twisting
Recently another weaver was talking about how much they loved their electric fringe twister. I had a look on Amazon and ended up ordering a Lacis fringe twisting tool. It was about $45 Canadian.
Electric fringe twister out of the box
The tool uses two AA batteries. There are two modes and you select them by pushing the button to the 1 or 2 position. The 1 position rotates each black spindle and twists each cord separately. The 2 position rotates the entire head and twists all the strands together. I found a short video showing these two actions online here.
Before I could get started, I needed to prepare the piece of weaving. I selected one of the pieces of weaving and folded it in half, lining up both ends. I add a heavy book to the weaving to help keep the pieces aligned. Next I use an open toothed comb (I think it is from the pet shop in the cat/dog tools) to untangle the warp strands. Once the strands are combed out you can see that the length of warp left on each side is not the same. I trim the warp threads so that both ends will have fringes of the same length.
Messy warp threads on the weaving
Combing out the warp threads
Combing out the warp threads
Trimming the warp threads
Warp threads trimmed and ready for twisting
Once the warp threads are trimmed, I move the book and reposition the weaving so there is only a single end of the weaving on the table. The book is re-positioned to weight things down and I am ready to try out the electric fringe twister.
Depressing the bottom of the black spindles opens a hook at the end and I am easily able to position a bundle of threads on the spindle. I repeat this for each of the four spindles. Then I move the button to position 1 and add twist to the strands. Once there is enough twist, I remove two adjacent bundles from the fringe twister, tie a knot on the end, and then let them twist together. This is then repeated for the other two bundles attached to the fringe twister. Yeah! The first two pieces of twisted fringe are done.
Opening the hook on the fringe twister
Four bundles of warp threads ready to be twisted
First 2 strands twisted
Next I repeated this across the width of the weaving. When that was complete, I went back and gently trimmed the ends of each piece of fringe to tidy them up. (Before trimming they look a bit ratty because the warp threads are different lengths.) I rotated the weaving and repeated all these steps on the other end of the weaving.
Fringes twisted on first end of the weaving
All strands twisted and trimmed
Fringes twisted and trimmed on the second end of the weaving
It took me 30 minutes to complete the fringe twisting and trimming on the second end of the piece of weaving. I do think the electric fringe twister is slightly faster than manual fringe twisting. And it is easier on your hands as you are doing fewer repetitive movements. So those are both very positive things. (I did get faster and my last piece of weaving it was about 35 minutes to twist both edges and do the trimming.)
On the cons side of things… I found the fringe twister motor noise to be a bit annoying as it seems very loud. I also found that because the unit is round, that it rocks on the table. This makes it more challenging to attach the warp bundles to the black spindles. More importantly, a few times when I hit the switch nothing happened. I had to shake the unit to get the power to come on. (I guess the batteries are loose, so the power connection is flaky.) It is very disappointing that a brand new unit does not function well.
After trying the electric fringe twister for the first time I give it an 8/10 rating overall. The first night I twisted the fringe on one first piece of weaving and started work on a second piece before calling it a night. On the next day I finished up the fringe on pieces two and three. And I sewed a tag on the one piece that is shawl length. The other two pieces are longer and should eventually get turned into a sewn garment of some kind. Here they are all laid out together. Next up for all of them is wet finishing.
Three pieces of weaving with twisted fringe completed.
In the very early part of the 1980’s I was able to take a short workshop on tablet weaving. my original goal was to figure out how to make a starting border for a warp-weighted loom. after a bit more research I realized I could make an Icelandic variant of the loom and skip the tablet woven starting border.
In the meantime, I had figured out the basics well enough to teach some of my friends how to set up and weave a band. One of those friends got very inspired by the technique and ran with it, quickly surpassed my level of skill!
Tablet weaving creates a strong band or strap by using cards to manipulate the warp threads. most often the cards have 4 holes one in each corner. Although other shapes and number of holes are available to weave with too.
When I learned to use them, each card was threaded one at a time to create the pattern you wanted to weave. there is a second way to set them up for a particular type of pickup that is much faster.
Today I was lucky to get a spot in the first running of a workshop on double-faced tablet weaving. The description: Learn the basics of double-faced tablet weaving which allows you complete freedom to weave letters or icons on your handwoven bands for leashes, bag handles, bookmarks, luggage tags, etc. In this course you will learn:
(1) how to make a circular warp with your tablets to get you started weaving super fast
(2) how to manipulate tablets to make your designs, and
(3) how to create your own designs on paper or using tablet weaving computer software.
I had watched YouTube and read instructions on speed warping all your tablets at the same time (this does not work for all tablet woven patterns, but when it does it is worth it). Instead of the slow process of threading each card separately, in this case, we used an inkle loom to crate the warping pathway. This particular pick-up pattern requires 2 colours in adjacent holes. Holding the entire pack of cards in one hand and keeping the tension consistent, the warp is wound, dropping one (and only one) card each time you pass the front peg. It would be a bit easier if you had just one more hand but, with a little practice, you can do this on your own. In the workshop, we worked in pairs to wind the warp. It took about 15 minutes to wind 24 cards.
1.1) Holding the tablets in one hand while keeping the tension and winding the warp.
1.2) Dropping a card and continuing to wind the warp
1.3) This type of weaving requires 4 cones of yarn, 2 of each of the 2 colours. the warp is wound directly from the cones, through the tablets then onto the loom
Threading requires one bobbin or spool per hole, so in this picture 2 white spools and 2 black spools, since all are being wound at the same time.
2.1 the threads from the first tablet are tied to the threads from the last tablet
Just like an inkle loom the warp from the first card is tied to the warp from the last card, making a fixed-length warp. The tension bar will allow the tension to be adjusted as the weaving proceeds and the warp shortens.
Once we had the cards and warp wound, it was time to adjust the cards. There are two options or card orientation called S and Z depending on whether the threads are going through the holes front to back or back to front. Looking down on the card one looks like an S shape the other looks like a Z. This is not the easiest for me since the dyslexia makes both look very similar. We were to alternate S/Z/S/Z… once that was accomplished we rotated the cards so one colour was in the 2 holes closest to us and the other colour was in the two holes farther from us.
3.1 organizing the thread direction and colour positions
Now was the tricky part. Tablets can turn in 2 directions to get the colour you want to turn up on the top, either forward (away from you) or backwards (towards you). Depending on the pattern you may be turning some in one direction and some in another. Oh and if you are not yet confused enough, the border cards always turn forward (away from you!!!)
Just to add a bit more confusion, each line of the diagram requires 2 quarter turns with a weft thread at each quarter turn. Now I’m sure that’s is as clear as mud!
We practised having one colour on top and then switched to having the other colour on the top surface.
4) Practice weaving, changing which colour is on top.
Ok, this is very brain-taxing and not quite the same as what I vaguely remember from the mid-1980s. Good thing it’s time for lunch!
We had Haggis in filo pastry, very Yummy! (it was Robbie Burns Day!) and there were 2 birthdays so we also had black forest cake for dessert!
5) the Birthday Girls!
After Lunch she had us try to make a stripe in the background colour, well that didn’t quite go as I expected.
6)the vertical stipe did not quite go as planned. But it was interesting.
I restarted the weaving and prepared to try to weave my first letter. It seemed to have started ok…. but quickly went downhill in a couple of blocks! The lower part of my J did not meet the vertical part….. ok I miss counted the boxes!!! I think my brain is done for the day. I have left my inkle loom at the studio, and hope to work on it again Monday. I actually have a few floor inkle looms, this is just the latest one I have acquired (it’s missing a few pegs but worked well for tablet weaving).
I won’t show you the mess I made of the J but here is a helpful tip, the giant pin holds my tablets from shifting and getting out of order. It lets you stop weaving or move the loom around.
7) The giant pin holds the tables so they won’t turn or get out of order
Each student had a chart with the letters of their name.
So why would a felter possibly like to try this? How about straps for a bag, or purse with your name, or maybe what the bag should be holding?
8.1-8.2) Joslyn’s band went very well! (her J looks like a letter!!!)
This was a fun workshop but I think I need a nap before I try to conquer the letter J a second time. Joslyn did a fabulous job, I will try to emulate her band.
Hi All It seems I forgot I had to post today so I am late. I am reposting a post showing some of the past Holiday Exchange Cards that we have done. I did remove the links to sign up for this exchange.
Hi all, for those who may not know we also run an interactive forum for felting and fiber folks. It’s a great place to share your work, ask questions and help each other out. http://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/
Each year we have a holiday exchange. You make a small felted postcard or similar size card with some felt on it.
Here’s the timeline:
October 4-Nov 9: people sign up
November 10 partners are announced.
November: Make your card, contact your partner for an address
December 1: Mail your card
Here are some of the cards from our past exchange, there has been lots of variety.
I have a few reusable shopping bags made from a light polyester fabric. I love these bags since they fold into nice integrated pockets, fit nicely into my purse, and when unfolded they hold a lot of stuff. I have 5 or 6 of these bags that I use all the time.
One of my bags got a hole. Since I love the bags so much I wanted to repair it. My first attempt at a repair was functional, but not very attractive. I mended the bag with black thread and managed to stabilize the hole. But it looked terrible. I
Foldable shopping bags with black mended hole
Black mended hole
I got the idea that one of those patch looms would be helpful. So I ordered one. My loom has 14 hooks and this is the contents of the kit. The loom, some elastics, a very long and sharp needle, and a long hook.
Darning loom kit
Next I watched some videos so I could understand how to use the loom. There are 2 methods for warping.
Individual warps – This method uses individual threads for each pair of warp threads. This allows you to create stripes in the warp. But it also leaves you with lots of tails to sew in. This video provides an overview.
Continuous warp – This method uses a single thread to warp the loom. It is tacked into the base fabric as you go and there are only 2 tails to deal with when the weaving is completed. This video provides an overview.
I opted to use the continuous warp method because I didn’t want to have to deal with sewing in so many ends when I was done. I stretched my fabric over the wooden disk and then setup the loom. Then I started warping using some white embroidery floss. You will noticed that I did not use all the hooks on the loom. I used enough hooks to ensure that my patch was larger than my previous repair.
Setting up the loom near the mended hole
Warping the loom
Warp completed
With the warping completed, it was time to start weaving. I selected an orange embroidery thread and started. As you rotate the hooks on the loom the warp threads change so that you are going over/under different threads. After weaving a row I used a comb to push down the weft. (If you don’t have a small comb I suggest a dinner fork could be pressed into service for this job.)
Starting to weave
Weaving in progress
Pushing down the weft using a comb
To start the next row, you then flip the hooks from left to right (or right to left) to change the shed. You also need to tack the weft thread into the fabric you are patching before threading the needle though the shed to create your next row.
I found sewing down the thread before starting the row to be difficult, especially as my weft rows got closer to the loom because the working surface was so small. When threading the needle through the shed the videos also suggest that you push the needle through the loom eye end first. I tried using the needle both ways and agreed that the eye first direction was easier because the pointed end of the needle would sometimes get stuck on a warp thread.
Getting ready to weave the next row by sewing into the fabric at the edge of the patch
Weaving continues
Weaving the last row of the patch
I continued weaving until my patch was completed and there was no more room for weft rows. I then removed the hook portion of the loom and set it aside. But I left the fabric stretched over the wooden disc. At this point my patch is really a small pocket on my fabric. Next I carefully sewed down each of the loops at the top of the warp threads and secured the top of the patch to the base fabric.
After taking off the loom, the patch is a pocket at this point.
After sewing down the top seam of the woven patch
It was now time to turn my attention to the inside of the project. I sewed in the tails and then trimmed them. (No photos. My work is passable but not really photogenic.) And here is my completed patch. It blends in nicely with the bag and I’m sure that it will help to strengthen my earlier repair.
Final patch detail view
Final patch overall view
Because I had my sewing stuff out, I also did a bit of mending on the attached pouch of another one of my bags. The pouch fabric had shredded 🙁 These photos show the pouch before I attempted to mend it.
Torn pouch flap
Torn pouch flap edge
Again, I used some white embroidery thread and mended across the ripped area. It was challenging to create a repair that would not lead to further shredding of the fabric. I also wanted to avoid bunching the fabric so that the pocket would continue to function properly. My final repair is not the prettiest. But I think it will work.
After mending torn pouch flap
Pouch flap mend after folding the bag up
I am happy with my new patch. The patch looks cute, it is not too bulky and I think it is stronger than my previous repair.
The mending loom worked OK. Flipping the hooks from side to side was harder than I expected. (I am not sure if that is my fault or because I have a cheap knock off loom.) I also feel that the working surface was a bit small. As a result I went ahead and ordered a larger loom. I will be ready for next time I need to apply a patch.
Do you have some mending that needs to be done? If so I encourage you to tackle it. There is a great sense of accomplishment when something goes from the mending pile to being back into service.
As some of you know this year has been the 75th Anniversary of the OVWSG. One of the events has been a monthly destash for guild members. This is beneficial for members on so many levels. Those with too much can clear out, while those who want to experiment can have the opportunity to try new products. I’m in the later group. One of our most talented weavers was clearing out a huge quantity of singles from a very reputable firm, in colours that I loved. I pounced on them.
The intention is make a rouana or serape. I’m starting with a piece that is 45″ wide by 90″ long and will work on finishing edges after it is woven and fulled. The piece will get thicker and narrower, I hope.
The pattern is a basic twill in one inch stripes, very simple and hopefully showing the great colours.
The loom I’m using is not my own. We are very fortunate to have access to rental equipment at our Guild and for a very reasonable cost we can use the equipment there. So I opted to rent one of the Guild’s looms for three months. This will force me to leave the house to finish this project. Setting some goals and discipline is a good thing in the winter, right?
Warping the loom is slow going because I lost the cross on one section. This is very disappointing and will be problematic as the threads are wound onto the back of the loom. It’s not insurmountable, just annoying.
I am going to have to be very careful here, but I think I fixed the problem on the next few sections with some small innovations.
The bamboo skewers are wrapped on either side of the cross and I can pick the threads from alternate sides to stop them from getting tangled. This was a real time and sanity saver. Dressing a loom is a series of steps. Each one needs to be done with an element of care and thought. From the initial calculations and colour selection, to fiber choices and use of end product, then threading the pattern, tie-up, treadling, and finally weaving. It all takes a bit of thought some more than others. So for now I have left the colour selection and fiber choice to a very talented member of the Guild, the pattern is mine, the end product will be a rouana or serape in a twill. It has been measured and threaded through the reed, next it must be threaded through all the heddles, tied onto the back beam, wound on, tied onto the front beam and I’ll be ready to go.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, next step, will be threading through heddles, all 450 or so. Heddles are those silver wires on the right. Wish me luck. I have three months to finish this, so I’m good.
1.1) Holding the tablets in one hand while keeping the tension and winding the warp.
1.2) Dropping a card and continuing to wind the warp
1.3) This type of weaving requires 4 cones of yarn, 2 of each of the 2 colours. the warp is wound directly from the cones, through the tablets then onto the loom
2.1 the threads from the first tablet are tied to the threads from the last tablet
3.1 organizing the thread direction and colour positions
4) Practice weaving, changing which colour is on top.
5) the Birthday Girls!
6)the vertical stipe did not quite go as planned. But it was interesting.
7) The giant pin holds the tables so they won’t turn or get out of order
8.1-8.2) Joslyn’s band went very well! (her J looks like a letter!!!)
