Category: band loom

Smiles and Linen Band Weaving

Karen

This is linen singles; so, yes, I did have a few broken warp ends. Despite that, I think linen makes the very best band weaving experience. Linen holds its shape. Linen feels good in the hand. Linen looks good. The finished band looks good. That makes me glad.

Linen band woven on band loom.
Band loom creation of 16/1 linen in unbleached, golden bleached, and pure blue. Unbleached 16/1 linen weft. Photo credit: Steve Isenhower
Linen band from linen singles.
Photo credit: Steve Isenhower

Real joy lasts through broken warp ends and all, and is not deterred by temporary heartaches and setbacks. To tell the truth, I wasn’t happy when warp ends broke. Especially the one that broke two times in a row. If I look for that spot now, I may be able to find it, but I doubt you could. I think joy is the thing that takes a bigger look at what is happening, and is able to see the finished version. If I can step into that insight when I am in the middle of a problem, I am better off.

Band loom woven band. Karen Isenhower
Photo credit: Steve Isenhower
Woven on Glimakra band loom. Linen singles. Karen Isenhower
Photo credit: Steve Isenhower

Live joyously. That is my goal. The Lord makes me glad in His presence. That is the joy that sustains us through big occasions and little mishaps. There is joy where the Lord is. That is where I want to be. I am eager to start another linen band, if only to practice repairing broken warp ends…with a smile.

Linen singles woven band.
Photo credit: Steve Isenhower

(This linen band is my contribution to the “Way Out West Weavers” basket that will be up for bid at Warp Speed Ahead! Contemporary Handweavers of Texas Convention in Austin this summer. If you are the highest bidder on our basket, this band, as well as other very fine items, will be yours.)

May your face be a picture of gladness.

With Joy,
Karen

Weaving in the Comfort Zone

Karen

I like the comfortable feeling of weaving familiar things. Especially rag rugs and narrow bands. I also like to push my limits, doing projects that have new things for me to learn. The problem is, sometimes I am afraid of getting in over my head.

Linen singles for a woven band.
Loose warp chain with eight yards (7.3 m) of 16/1 linen for a narrow band.
Threading band loom.
Threading the band loom, with the threading sequence taped to the wall.
Glimakra band loom threaded with 16/1 linen for narrow band.
Linen threads show their personality.

If I’m not careful, I let the fear of failure keep me from trying. Decisions get put on hold. The big loom waits empty. Meanwhile, I stay in my comfortable zone. This new narrow linen band is that comfortable place for me. There is nothing wrong with enjoying this familiarity, letting the band practically weave itself. But at some point, I will have to step out of the boat, so to speak, and attempt the “impossible” things.

Linen band weaving on Glimakra two-treadle band loom.
Is there anything better than linen for band weaving? This is pleasure weaving. Glimåkra two-treadle band loom.

It has been told that Jesus walked on water. As the account goes, when Peter saw Jesus walk on water, he believed that Jesus could enable him to do the impossible, too. It’s not easy to walk on water. Just ask Peter; he faltered after just a few steps. But he tried! When we face insurmountable challenges, after sitting comfortably for a while, we need to try taking a few steps out on the water. Like Peter experienced, the hand of Jesus will be right there when we falter.

May you have courage to step into your next challenge.

Happy weaving,
Karen

My Wide Little Warp

Karen

I wanted to make a video for you, showing how I weave on the band loom. Unfortunately, I put on a wider warp than usual. My small hands can barely weave this wider band, putting me to the test. It is slow and sloppy as I struggle to make progress. Finally, though, the end is in sight! So much for pointing out common errors in band weaving. Ha.

Glimakra band loom weaving, using 12/6 cotton rug warp.
Band loom shuttle is carried through the warp with the left hand, and the right hand uses a tool, called a band knife, to beat in the weft. 1 3/4 inches / 5.5 cm is just wide enough that sending the shuttle through with one (small) hand is pretty tricky.

My difficulty in weaving this will show up in the finished piece. The main problem is lack of consistency. Some stretches are embarrassingly uneven and may not be usable. If I want to show someone else how to weave a wider band, I need to work on my own technique. I better get it right before I try to demo this for anyone else.

It is a virtue to correct your own mistakes before pointing out the faults of others. How easy it is to notice someone else’s “blind spot.” I wonder if sometimes we are seeing our own flaw, but we don’t recognize it until we see it on someone else. The next time I am tempted to highlight someone else’s mistake, I want to remember what it took to weave this band, errors and all.

May you always give, and receive, the benefit of the doubt.

P.S. I do have another video in the making. I’ll show you next week.
P.P.S. I will do a video on band weaving. Eventually.

Love,
Karen

Trash the Warp or Try Again?

Karen

This band was giving me fits! First, the 12/6 cotton (rug warp) is a little heavy for a band. Secondly, I created tension problems by adding two green stripes of 22/2 cottolin. Thirdly, a wider band like this is unwieldy to weave with my small hands. Fourth, I goofed in the threading. And, lastly, I couldn’t see the goof in my threading because I was pulling the weft too tight. Nothing was going right.

How NOT to weave on the band loom.
How NOT to weave on the band loom.

Cut it off and throw the whole thing away. It’s only three yards. Hold on… I don’t want to give up that easily. Yes, cut off the woven mess. But why not correct the threading and at least try weaving a little bit? As it turns out, the threading error had contributed to most of the problems. Times like this remind me to carefully examine what I am doing.

Weaving a sturdy strap on Glimakra band loom.
After making threading corrections, adjusting my beat and how tightly to pull the weft, the true pattern emerges. At 1 3/4″ / 4.5cm, it will be the right width for a nice sturdy strap–a shoulder strap for a bag, or a guitar strap, perhaps.

Examine everything. Hold on to what is good; and abandon evil. We need to practice the good, even when the good seems difficult and we want to take the easy way out. Repeat the good; don’t let the good slip away. And you will find yourself making progress in the right direction.

May you not give up too easily.

P.S. Many of you have shared my Twisting Fringe on the Loom tutorial video! Thank you!!
In answer to your requests about my finishing process for the wool blanket, including the fringe, look for a series of short videos in my Quiet Friday post at the end of this week!

(If you have not signed up to receive my posts by email, now is a good time. Sign up at Follow Along on the right sidebar.)

Learning,
Karen

Tools Day: Tapestry Weaving in Flight

Karen

This is how a weaver enjoys a long haul flight. I keep my hands busy. A direct flight from Houston to Tokyo takes about fourteen hours. And then five more hours to Manila. Add layover time, and you have almost a full day of travel. I have been wanting to try the exercises in Kathe Todd-Hooker‘s Tapestry 101. So that is how I spent my travel time to and from The Philippines on our recent visit there. I followed advice I received from Teresa Loveless when I was at Weaving Southwest in New Mexico, to warp my little tapestry loom at a sett of 8 epi, using rug wool for weft. The coarse sett made the weaving easy to see and work with, even in the dim lighting of the airplane. (This is in contrast to last year’s travel tapestry using embroidery floss.) I kept the samplers small, so I could finish by the end of the trip. I ended up with two mini samplers.

Traveling with portable tapestry loom.
Ready to travel with all tapestry weaving supplies in a soft bag that is easy to slip into my flight carry on bag.

Tools:
– Travel-size tapestry loom (with tensioning device, and counter sunk rare earth magnets for holding tapestry needle)
– Warp thread (12/6 cotton seine twine), wound on a couple five-inch quills
– Wool rug yarn assortment (Jason Collingwood Rug Wool, and Borgs 25/1 Mattgarn), wound on five-inch quills
– Blunt tapestry needles (have extras in case you drop one in the dark)
– Travel snips (make sure they meet TSA regulations) on a neck strap (hand woven, of course)
– Clip-on book light (with paper napkin or thin cloth to diffuse the light, and extra batteries)
– Tape measure
– Small clips (you never know when you might need one, like to clip a napkin over the book light)
– Sewing thread and sewing needle (for stitching slits, which I did not do)
– Tapestry resource book (like Tapestry 101, by Kathe Todd-Hooker)
– Bag to hold everything (and a couple small pouches within to keep things organized)

Mini tapestry sampler.
First mini sampler was almost finished by the time we arrived in Manila.
Green tea cake roll in Tokyo.
Green tea cake roll was a yummy snack at Narita International Airport in Tokyo on the trip home. Maybe this should be a future color scheme for a weaving project?
Weaving on the airplane.
Weaving in the dark. The Starbucks napkin that I saved from Houston came in handy as a light diffuser around the too-bright reading light when other passengers were sleeping.
Mini tapestry sampler.
Second mini sampler was almost finished by the time we arrived back home in Houston.
Mini tapestry samplers.
Mini tapestry samplers show a compact view of the passage of time.

May you find something for your hands to do.

Merry Weaving,
Karen