creativity | My first weaving project.

Current Mood: accomplished

My first weaving project.

I started weaving on a new rigid heddle loom I got for the holidays. My first project was a scarf, as recommended by everyone.

This is the resulting scarf:

And here is the background of the project:

I used handdyed yarn for the warp (Knitpicks Strolll "bare", dyed with food coloring.) Just the red/pink skein:

The weft yarn is 2-ply handspun corriedale (fiber dyed by Spunky Eclectic for the May 2008 fiber club shipment, spun in Sept 2008, yarn named "Rose Rot"):

This is how it looked in progress. The paper underneath the loom is the standard 8.5x11, placed for scale.

Now I am attempting to form the 8" by 48" strip of woolly fabric into a bag. I have seen the Doni's Deli bag, bags from placemats, and come up with a theoretical diagram myself. But I am having a lot of trouble envisioning how it would work. There is not a really good way to just keep it as a scarf because the corriedale yarn is extremely harsh after weaving (not like corriedale is especially nice anyway. I have no idea why it got popular since it is the same price as something better. My opinion, obviously.) I wrote a whole post talking about this, but I have interfacing, lining fabric, a sewing machine, and someone with sewing skills who can help me. (The sewing machine scares me.)

So, since no one else has posted anything here yet, let me say that I will gratefully accept any and all praise. I realize this is not the polished work of a professional weaver. I realize it's effing pink. But I think it came out completely awesome and it would be great to hear from people who agree with that.

However, if you have practical suggestions on either the weaving, the process of the weaving (which was horrid and so unenjoyable that I am considering selling my loom), or on how to actually build a bag from a tiny piece of fabric.

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I like the greens (looks like green, anyway) coming in amidst the pink hues. Congratulations on attempting and completing something in a new-to-you type of craft.

Thank you!

Under the cut is a picture of the original fiber before spinning that I used for the weft (the cross-ways yarns). In that, you can clearly see the green, so your eye is good! The green got a little muted by the all-pink warp yarn. But that might be a good thing; I thought the yarn was really unattractive by itself because of the wild swings in color.

I saw the under-the-cut photos, too, but on my phone everything is small....

That scarf *is* awesome! An impressive first effort! Your beat looks nice and even, and your selvedges are very good for a beginner. Well done! You should be proud. *g*

Sorry the process wasn't enjoyable, but I urge you to try at least one more warp before you get serious about selling your loom. You have plenty of experience handling yarn (judging from your photostream). Because of that, I am guessing that the weaving-specific skills needed to make warping and weaving fun will develop quickly. Remember your first skein of handspun? (Mine was lumpy and wildly overspun, but oh, I was so proud of it!) Or the first time you tried to, say, do a skein of Navajo three-ply? Weaving is like that; once you get the muscle memory it becomes a breeze.

As for the bag, I think that the method used for the placemat (with the box bottom) will work very well for shaping the body (leaving out the fussy tabs she uses for her handles). Then you can split the remainder of the fabric in half lengthwise, join it end to end, line it and have a nice long strap, which you can sew to the short sides of the bag body and have a nifty shoulder bag, without wasting a single square inch of your precious handspun/handwoven. If you have trouble picturing what I'm describing, let me know and I'll hunt up some images to illustrate what I mean.

Thank you for the praise and the encouragement!! :-) *smiles hugely* My husband said, "That's, um, pink. Is it supposed to be pink? *touches it* And doesn't your knitting usually turn out softer than this?" I was so ready to share with someone who has a clue!

((I love the scarf in your icon!))

Sorry your first yarn was lumpy! Mine wasn't lumpy but it did fall apart. My spinning failure was in Andean plying, and yes I do get what you're trying to say.

A lot of my problems with the loom come from my struggles to deal with the texsolv cord assembly part. I had serious issues with that stuff. I burned my thumb and set the instructions on fire while singing the ends to prevent fraying. So some of my attitude problem comes from the part I never have to do again.

I have an Emilia. It sits at a strange angle. If you do not sit it at that angle, the ratchets chew into your table. The instructions do not warn against this, despite having a diagram of tying a slip knot. (I kind of expected more detail on their specific information, or at least a comparable level of detail, but no, it just says "clamp the loom to the surface" it doesn't say where the clamp goes or to pull the front edge of the loom off the table so the ratchets can turn freely.) Luckily I'd put down padding, so only that got ruined.

I know thousands of people have diagrams and instructions for that flat-bottom method, but that description made sense to me. Finally.

I like your idea of splitting off the strap part from the bag body and reattaching it, better than my idea. Because your method will make a good top hemmed edge a lot easier.

LOL I know what you mean re: your husband's reaction. It definitely takes some of the fun out of it if you have to explain why your work is so awesome.

If your first yarn fell apart, it sounds like we started at opposite ends of the spectrum! I was all about overspinning, so I got yarn that was rock hard and gnarly - although that overtwist came in handy once I learned to ply!

Ah, yep, burning yourself during setup must've sucked. Thank goodness you don't have to mess with the texsolv again! It *is* odd that they weren't more specific about how to position the loom on the table. Sounds like a case of instructions written by someone who'd been weaving so long that they forgot what it's like to be a beginner. Glimakra is a great brand, though - you'll get many years out of that loom, I'm sure.

I had another thought on the bag; simpler to sew. Make the long strap as I described before, but when assembling the bag, use it as the sides. In other words, the fabric of the bag body would form a deep, square-bottomed U-shape, and the strap would be attached a the bottom of the U, with the body sewn to the edges of the strap. That way you could let the fringe on the end of the strap hang down below the bag, if you wanted. You'd get a bag with a larger capacity and a shorter strap. Just an idea. *g*

I had a really hard time getting the single to hold in the beginning of my spinning, but plying was a cakewalk. Thankfully no one ever told me "plying is hard". (That's a peeve. Never tell someone something is hard or lo! it will be.)

I kind of like your first yarn; it's at least a good color! I made some very solid yarn early on in my spinning.... I just used it this summer to make hotpads. They're awesome and actually work to insulate hands.

____

The shorter strap might be a good thing, and keeping the current width definitely would be helpful.

____

Is there a polite way to send Glimakra a copy of their instructions with suggestions? To me it seems really rude for me to do that, but the instructions were so lacking in important information it was almost mocking. "Neener Neener! You can't return this expensive item and we're going to laugh at you trying to use it. Box contains remote-access video camera, please point toward user during assembly process for best YouTube footage."

I like weaving pretty well, and the actual weaving part went okay. But it definitely needs a time-out and to live in its box for a while until my thumb doesn't ache to look at it.

I share your peeve! "X is hard to do" is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I put off learning herringbone stitch for years because the instructions I read talked about how tricky it was. Once I tried it, I found that it was no such thing. So yeah.

~~~~~~~~~

That skein is Coopworth - a deliciously lustrous breed - and the batt of layered blue/purple was so gorgeous that I just HAD to have it. So I bought it - and a drop spindle - and was promptly hooked on spinning. *g*

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Oh, I'm sure Glimakra would appreciate feedback on the instructions! If I was in your shoes, I'd write the revisions/suggestions, and a cover letter, right away - letting out all the frustration of the experience while your memory of the details is sharp. And then (this is KEY), I'd put it aside for at least a month, until I'd calmed down and gained some perspective, at which point I'd edit the documents to make them a tad more diplomatic, if no less forceful. ;) I'd lead with some positive feedback about what you DO like, and perhaps a picture of your scarf, and then hit them with the suggestions. I wouldn't be surprised if you got a positive response; they'd be fools not to see the value in customer input.

You're sure you didn't want to make your own post to the group so more people could see your spinning? Or something else?

Oh, I plan to! Haven't decided yet what to post about. My focus is on beadwork these days so that's a candidate, but I've got a couple of weaving projects languishing on looms, so perhaps I could post about one of them in an attempt to get it rolling again. Must ponder...

Any of those things sound really interesting, I can see why you'd find it hard to choose. (And I'm glad you took it as a friendly nudging.)

I think it's pretty good! I like weaving but only have cardboard looms to do it on. Handmade looms can make for wonky fabric sometimes. xD

You're really brave to get started like that. I made my first spindle, and I thought all spindles were terrible and I needed a wheel! But handmade knitting needles can be superior to what is sold in stores. Sorry the loom you made didn't work out like that.

And thanks!

Cardboard looms aren't that bad, really. The only problem is sometimes they bend a bit so the tension can get a bit wacky. I want to learn to spin someday, too.

:D

Any chance you'd want to post in the group about making your cardboard looms or the results you've made? Or something else?

I'll see if I can find some better cardboard and try another, with photos. Most of my other crafty things that have been photographed are a year or two old at this point, though. *g*

Then you've surely come to the right place to be inspired to do more in 2011 then!

No pressure. I did say lurkers were welcome, and commenters are really appreciated. (They're what make for a successful group.)

aaah I've made stuff, just haven't put it online.

I don't mind, if I don't find craftser scary, I don't find this place scary. XD

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My first weaving project.

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