I have been enjoying the colour and design that a turned taquette weave structure can bring. I used a 4 shaft pattern and opened the sett to 21, this allows all three colours to mingle and create a lovely palate. I will post a draft and there are two sets of tea towels that I have woven. I used 12 different colours for the gold, pink, red towels and 8 different colours for the purple, raspberry, gold tea towels. A great way to use stash.
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Lime Tea Towels and the Math involved
Posted on September 22, 2013 by kathy Now reposted Feb. 6, 2017. My next tea towel project came from a book “Favorite Scandinavian Projects to Weave” by Tina Ingells. On page 61 is a lovely Lime Hand Towel designed by Brigetta Johansson. In her project she used 12/1 linen with an EPI ( ends per inch ) of 35. She used 786 threads to produce a 20.5″ width in her towels. I wanted a wider towel and I needed to use some of my stash. So many things to think about. I used 2/10 organic natural cotton and 2/8 lime green cotton. I had to adjust the pattern and use a different EPI. I used 25 EPI and 626 threads to give me a 25″ towel. There was a lot of math involved. So I wanted to show non weavers what might be involved. I developed an equation to show you how much thought is put into a project even when it is written out for you in a book. 70 + 6 (3(6 +2 ) + 6 + 46) + 3( 6+2 ) + 6 + 70= 626 Both 70 and 46 need to be divisible by 8 + 6 extra threads , so 64 +6 and 40 +6 . The total number has to give me a tea towel width of 25 “ which is wider than the project in the book. So I had to play around with either less green stripes or less white blocks. I chose less threads in the white blocks. The green 6s’ in the equation represent the green stripes. Then I had to figure out how many heddles I needed for each of the 4 shafts and then divide this in half and move them over to start my threading. Before all this starts you need to figure out how much yardage you want and add loom waste at each end plus account for shrinkage usually about 10 to 15%. I'm going to use this same equation and weave some Red and Grey tea towels. I wanted to add the information I found regarding the set up of some older countermarch looms, in particular the one that I have. I had set my Finlandia loom up for a 4 shaft countermarch loom and proceeded to weave with it. It worked fine with the lams parallel. See instructions: Varpapuu Loom When I added the other 4 shafts to make it 8 shaft functional, well I had problems. The shed was not opening with my tie up. So back to the internet, search and I found some more information about these older looms. I wanted to post this info. This document was very helpful. VARPAPUU Counter Marche Loom .Thank you Madelyn.
Of course not all countermarch looms are equal. I have been taking lessons with Jane Stafford and her studio has the Louet "Spring" looms. These are a parallel countermarch loom. As well, this loom has a floating front beam, so the warp will always be a uniform tension, which is helpful for even weaving. I think the Spring is a really well designed loom, it is unlikely any owners would part with this loom, so you won't see used "Springs" for sale very often. It's hard to think about Christmas when it is October, but for those who sign up for Craft Fair tables over the next two months, it is a necessary evil. I am very happy to be finished all projects, made business cards and labels for my goods, and they are packed into plastic bins ready to go. I usually buy a table for the "Pender Island Christmas Fair". My mother in-law was the organizer for many years, and at 81 years of age gave it up, but she still knits and has a table of lovely hand knit socks, mitts and hats. I will have my tea towels, knitted dolls and various other small items. I usually have some inexpensive little things for children to buy for themselves or for gifts. This year I made up a few little round pouches to keep ear buds, charging cords for cell phones or small change. The pouch has a ring for keys. I happened across this idea from a Pinterest e-mail and thought it would be an easy project to do, and I will also use up some of my left over material.
I have been knitting dolls for the last month. The pattern comes from a book called "Knitted Dolls" by Arne and Carlos. Its a great book with lots of ideas and it inspired me to get creative. I modified some of the patterns, but what I love about these dolls are the knitted eyes. You can make them for toddlers because there are no buttons to choke on. I do have small buttons on the jumpers, but the sweaters are button free. The doll also has a tee and shorts or leggings knitted as the body. The book has lots of designer clothing and the illustrations are adorable. You knit the doll in the round and stuff it as you go along. I joined a group of weavers from the Victoria Weavers' and Spinners' Guild. They call the group the " 4 shaft study group". I was so excited to join this group, as there are some very experienced weavers and very lovely ladies in it. We meet once a month and rotate homes. The latest group study weave structure was Crackle Weave. It was not on my radar and I had not tried it. Well I picked out a draft from M. Davisons' book and grabbed some colours in my stash and the rest...... well it is on this PDF file. You are welcome to print out if you would like. There will be a display of weaving and "sheep to shawl" demonstration at the annual Saanichton Fair over the Labour Day weekend, so if you are in Victoria do come out a say "Hi" to the group!
Crackle Weave Study This a a sample of a rag rug I want to weave. I wanted to see how the colours play in this variation of a 4 shaft M's and O's weave structure. I used 8/8 cotton warp in yellow and black, set at 8 EPI and I used various cotton from sheets and quilt cotton ripped up in 1/2 inch strips. The draft does not show the thicker weft but I found 9 shots of cotton rag, gave me a square. Now to do a bigger version for a rug. * A few things that I learned with this yellow and grey rug, is that when you are using cotton sheets of different weights and different fibre content, such as cotton/ polyester, it would be better to intermingle the strips so that when you wash the carpet, it will fell more evenly. There was one yellow sheet (all cotton), but thicker and higher thread count and it did not shrink in width as much as the other yellow (cotton/poly) sheet did. I would probably do a strip of each alternately the next time and see how that worked. My first Rag Rug on my "new to Me" Finlandia Loom. This rag rug is 32 inches by 50 inches long. I used 1 inch rags and Linen warp set at 8 EPI. I also used a temple to keep the rug from drawing in. It's a slow process but worth it in the end. I am not sure what caused the curve near the end of the rag rug, maybe it was, I did not have even tension on my warp while I was dressing the loom.
* Any ideas out there would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to weave a series of scarves for a Christmas Fair. I am using an organic cotton warp and either spun silk or tussah silk weft. They are three colours with one or several stripes in a plain weave. This has been a good refresher for me, as I haven't woven for awhile. To create perfect selvedges there is a technique I learned from Jane Stafford. After weaving on a counterbalance, a countermarch and jack loom, I have to say it is not as easy to weave like this on a jack loom. Throw your shuttle and hold your thread on the bobbin taunt, beat with an open shed, then change your treadle. If you are weaving a scarf and want a fabric that drapes, open your weave structure and look at and make sure you have an open weave, holes (that are square). The edge you create is a tighter weave structure and will hold your fabric together. When you wash the fabric the holes will disappear as the threads fall into place. I am using 2/8 organic cotton and 2/20 tussah silk at 17 EPI. Jane recommends 16 EPI, but my reed won't accommodate this, so 17 is as close as I can get. Processes are underway to weave some cotton rag rugs. It started with an idea. Then I asked friends for old sheets to rip up into 1 inch strips and off to the Thrift shops to acquire more sheets in various colours. My loom is narrow 28 inches, so I made plans to rent a large loom at Leolas Studio. (Check out her new website). THEN I received our Guilds' Newsletter and there was a 60 inch Finnish loom for sale. I phoned and bought it sight unseen. I hope all the parts are there. I have to assemble it! I am really excited to start weaving rag rugs. I have been dyeing white sheets in colours that I need and I will probably end up buying some pattern quilting cotton for some accent. It will probably take about 3 queen size sheets to weave a rug about 42 inches by 50 inches, but it is a rough guess at this point. I will have a better idea when I get started. I have measured all the strips I tore, so I can calculate after I weave a few inches.
I will post some photos and drafts when I am done. Up cycle and Re purpose are new terms to me. Well, there were times in my life where I would take an old towel and turn it into paint rags, but I am really enjoying all the ideas and creations that have been made with old clothing. I particularly like the coats or jackets created from several old sweaters and basically patch worked together. I have also seen blankets sewn together with square patches of old sweaters. I just found and bought a thick wool sweater from Peru. I threw it in the washer and dryer to felt it and now I am cutting out tea cozy covers.
I have a friend that tie dyes articles of clothing and sells them at a Saturday market. She wanted some consistency in ladies dresses, so bought a pattern for a summer dress size XS to XXL. She goes to the second hand stores around town and buys up queen and king size white cotton sheets. I then cut and sew the dresses for her using the pattern. The transformation is great. I have joined Pinterest and am scrolling through and pinning many things, weaving, dolls, recipes etc. I don't think I will have enough time to do it all, but it is fun to explore ideas from around the world. It's an interesting path we are traveling, as we forge ahead in technology, but still keep those old world values and ideas going. |
Love to weave.
Love to go walking,esp. at the beach. Love my kids and dog. Love music. Love retirement. Archives
June 2019
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