weaving projects

Since going on my weaving course I have been busy experimenting with my small four-shaft table loom (with varying degrees of success).  Almost as soon as I got back,  I got my first warp properly wound and beamed on - a white herdwick wool and started playing with some luxury yarns - bamboo, recycled silk, and tweedy wool.

My first warp (3.5m) produced enough to make 2 or 3 cushions and an iphone holder (which has now sold, woo hoo!) though it took some nerve to actually cut it up to make something out of it!

Here is one of my cushions - currently for sale over at folksy

My next warp, I wanted to be charcoal grey, and to be used to make Christmas presents.  I struggled to find a yarn that was strong enough, so had the bright idea of using sock wool, which has nylon in it to make it more durable.  £20 later, I had some that looked the business.... wound it and attempted to get it onto the loom.

BIG mistake...

The wool was IMPOSSIBLE - after spending hours getting it into the raddle etc, beaming it on turned into a complete nightmare - the yarn had a lot of static in it, and worse still, the fibres rubbing together as they ran through the cross sticks made them stick together in big clumps.  After the second attempt I abandoned it, and turned my attention to another project.  I will go back to my original idea, but will probably use a mercerised cotton for the warp instead.

My latest project was to make a scarf using the tencel I bought earlier last year.  I got it all warped up - it moves through the cross sticks really easily - but again I had problems.  This time I had got one section of the warp tighter than the other, so the pattern took more easily in that section - but I got a 'sticky shed' (where the shed doesn't clear properly as the threads aren't tight enough).  I quickly abandoned my first twill pattern as this was happening underneath:

This is a mixed twill of 2/2, 1/3 and 3/1 and it was having difficulty with the 3/1 twill. 

So I decided to go for a broken 2/2 twill instead and got this pattern, which I rather like

This was fine, apart from the fact that the threads in the tightest part of the warp then began to snap... one by one.  Argh!

So, I decided to cut these two bits off and keep them as samples, and I am hoping that I can keep the warp on the loom, but just rewind it so that it has an even tension all the way across.  

I wet finished the samples and the cloth feels lovely - drapey and soft - so all being well I will one day be able to weave a lovely scarf out of it :-)

They both got a bit creased in my bag, but you get the general idea!

Next step is to get myself a better loom - I have my eye on an Ashford 8 shaft table loom, so I think I will wait until I get that to do my next warp.  Here's hoping!

Katie x

weaving workshop

This weekend I took the plunge and did something I have been wanting to do for ages and went on a weaving course with the lovely Margo Selby in her very posh studios in Bloomsbury, London.  I really enjoyed the course and learnt an awful lot about weaving and what works well together in terms of colour and texture.  It was also really nice to see what everyone else was creating - no two were alike :-)

The first day we experimented with different weave structures, on point threaded (wool) and straight threaded (bi-colour cotton) warps.

I started off on the wool warp and had a great time trying out different patterns and types of yarn for the weft

Here you can see lots of different structures - extra weft circles, a chequerboard formed by using a satin next to a twill, goose eye, rib, etc.  I fell in love with the colours!

In the afternoon it was time to switch to the much brighter cotton warp, in my case a yellow and red mix.  I found this really challenging as the first few stripes blended in too much with the warp colours.

You can just about see that the blue strip is a herringbone design... so, in theory are the two below it!

But I persevered and managed to weave a sample which I'm relatively happy with.  I much prefer the wool colour palette though.  In real life this is much more garish!

Day 2 was our chance to weave an item, and I decided to try and weave enough for a cushion, using the structures I had best liked from Day 1.  I chose a palette of blues, greens, reds, oranges and pinks in a mixture of wool, feltable wool and silk.

This is part way through

I didn't get much chance to take photos on day 2 as I was frantically trying to get my 14 inches woven by 4pm ;-) but here is my piece coming off the loom

And here is the finished piece!

The next part of the process was the scary bit - I needed to wet finish it and felt the long woollen floats of the circles so that they don't catch.  I made the cushion cover first to help stabilise the shape, then washed it with mild detergent in hot water, rubbing the woolly bits to help them felt.

And this is the finished result, which I am very happy with... now to get my own loom(s) set up... gulp!

Katie xx

folksy friday - weaving

It's been a while since I've done a Folksy Friday post, and as I'm set to do a weaving workshop this weekend I thought I might take weaving as a theme.

My own item is a herringbone tweed woven sleep pillow

Here are some treasures I found on Folksy

Handwoven silk cushion by Maxemilia

Handwoven notebook case by Sue Wright Handknits

Handwoven Rug by Agnis Smallwood

Handwoven Scarf by Studio Thirty8

Wonder what I will come home with this weekend???

October Folk Fest

This month's folksy listing club is the October Folk Fest - I haven't managed to list everyday so far, but have finished off a few knitted items: my cowl of course, some fairisle style leg warmers and some fun boho fingerless mitts

Here is a selection of nice things from the folk festers today:

Heart by Pants and Paper

Mistletoe by Court & Spark

Mummy by Mudmeddling

Earrings by Flo Nightingale

Bracelet by Mirribeads

Gift Tags by VintageDreams

Enjoy!

Katie x

Autumn Basketweave Cowl

My most recent knitting project has been to design a cosy cowl for those cool autumn days.  I chose autumnal coloured yarn and included a stripe across the centre.  I decided to go for shingle stitch to create the texture, which makes for a nice basket weave effect.

Here is the finished result: the buttons are vintage bone buttons with a lovely patina

Hope you like it!  I'm offering it for sale on folksy, but if you fancy having a go at knitting it yourself, you can download the pattern for FREE :-) on Ravelry

Keep toasty...
Katie x