• I developed and delivered a workshop for rigid heddle weaving for the Central Ohio Weaver’s Guild. As a part of that I’ve developed a book on rigid heddle weaving — it’s close to completion. A sample of the book can be downloaded and you can sign up for updates. https://leanpub.com/rigid-heddle/
• What started out as a plain weave color study has grown out of all imagination! The book(s) were very much an edge case for leanpub, so I bit the bullet, learned and developed my own workflow for writing books and created my own publishing house called Weft of the Moon!
• Weft of the Moon‘s first book is almost ready for publication. It consists of 7800 patterns; a sample and WIF files can be downloaded.
• I have a contest running for Plainweave Permutations — the prize is a copy of Mary Blacks The New Key to Weaving.

All of this doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon Woven Threads, just that I’m branching out!

I was leafing through it and it jumped out at me. Granted, it was in the context of the Weaving Today Galleries, but still…

You can see my writeup in their gallery here

Here it is on the loom; I’m not quite done weaving it yet. At this point, the pattern is not too evident; I think that it needs washing and fulling in order to be more evident.

Cotton Chenile with a Cotton/Rayon mix

I’ve noticed a few things in the process of weaving. With multiple shots in a single shed, it’s really hard to keep it balanced. I’m hoping that washing will help. I also think that I need a closer sett than I would otherwise — that will help compensate for the weft shots being closer.

I’ll post a picture once it’s finished, but it is still a very interesting design!

Tonight I put it on a frame loom to weave as a cowl in one piece — no sewing.  I’d woven a Moebius strip that way 2 winters ago, as a trial/proof of concept.  From that experiment, I found that the plain pvc was way too slippery; I added the curlers after.  The curlers help hold the yarn in place, however when advancing it, they don’t stay in place as well as I might like. Also, it being a loop, differences in width will likely be very noticeable — I need a “small” temple.

My main complaints about the sari yarn for warp are that it’s really thin in places; I’m afraid it will break.  Also the yarn has clumpy bits — granted, they add character, but it still makes it more difficult to use as warp.  And the stray fibers like to stick together.  A lot; it can be really hard getting a decent shed.

As of now, it’s about halfway woven — in about 2 hours.  I can’t complain about that.  I can’t tell as yet how warm it will be; I expect fairly, but I don’t know.  Still an interesting experiment. I’m glad to have worked with some sari yarn — I’ve got a good bit more (already coloured and it looks like a much finer spinning, albeit a bit more stray threads coming from it) which I plan to use to make a coat for my daughter by Winter Solstice.

• Materials
• Design
• Preparation — before weaving
• Weaving
• Finishing
• Preparation for Sale
• Shipping
• Tools
• Learning

I envision this series to be educational in nature, and hopefully will stir some debate — I would love to hear other people’s opinions on the topic.  Obviously, I am speaking from my own experience and research; others will have their own beliefs on the matter.

Why???

I’m writing this, in part, for my own understanding.  Without identifying and elaborating on the process and costs of weaving, then it is difficult to justify, to myself and others the true cost of handwovens.

For the basis of this series, I am going to go through the process of creating, from scratch a ruana. A ruana is a poncho like garment which is open in the front and often worn as a wrap.

The finished scarf

Here’s what the “boyfriend” scarf looks like.

I think it turned out pretty fabulous!  And I have enough yarn left for one more…

Making the Knitters Jealous

Occasionally I’ll go into a yarn shop to show them something I’ve woven with yarns from their shop. It’s fun to see the look on their face when I say “Oh, I knocked this out this morning….”  They’re trying real hard not to grumble.

Projects like that make the ones where I spend 15-20 hours preparation *before* I even start weaving feel so much better.

Now, when living with a knitter, well, showing them up like that might not be such a good idea….

• Single Ply yarn is not as elastic as plied yarn
• If using it for the warp, spread it out a little more than you might otherwise.\
• There are less issues with using it as weft.
• It tends to be a bit more “sticky”.
• Be careful of the tension; it is easy to break.

Take The Boyfriend Scarf, for instance.  It’s a quick and simple 2 shaft project which looks quite nice.  However, the name leaves something to be desired.  Just like the Woven His and Hers Scarves With One Warp — I think the “his” version would be better for my daughter, Thea (you can see her wearing it here).  Why do they feel the need to add a gender specific stigma to the design?  Am I warping the frail sensibilities of my daughter by having her wear the “his” scarf? No, not really.

Aside from the unfortunate names, they are interesting patterns which are easily woven on two shafts and designed for rigid heddle looms.

I went rooting through my stash and came across a very nice Alpaca/Tencel yarn from Classic Elite Yarns, called Miracle.  Unfortunately it is discontinued, so I’ll make the most of what I have of it — I didn’t realize it was discontinued until just now. All the more reason to savor it. It is a little “fuzzy” in the warp; it’s visible where the heddle moves up and down the warp.  However, it is wonderfully soft and silky feeling. This will be a very nice scarf once it’s finished.

"Boyfriend" scarf on the loom

I wove a couple of pieces for Halloween — they didn’t turn out as long as I’d thought they should, I think they shrunk some in washing. The design was based on Woven His and Hers Scarves With One Warp. These were on the same warp; the warp is Cascade 220 orange and Patton‘s classic merino in black.  The weft is Aade Lõng 8/1 black lilac doubled.

Also, I wove another scarf in Plymouth Yarn’s Boku. I knew it would be a quick weave — and it was – 4 hrs start to finish, with a 5 epi sett; it’s a nice, loose weave, which I fulled a little bit to make it fluffy.  I listed it on Etsy, then posted to Facebook, and fifteen minutes later it had a new home!