My weaving interest started in 1982 when I happened across a rigid heddle loom class by Lynn Tedder at Johnson Atelier in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I acquired a 32-inch Beka Rigid Heddle Loom and began weaving during snippets of time as I was being a full-time mommy to one, two, and then three little ones. One of my very first projects on that simple loom was a wool color gamp sampler. I wove full width for a length equal to two panels that I then hand-stitched together to make a small blanket. That little blanket got a lot of use and wear, and at some point I packed it away because some of the edges had become a little ragged over time.
In 2019 I finished one of my first warps on the drawloom–Tuna wool fabric in which I wove designs for a simple vest I would make for myself. I created the pattern for the vest, and after doing several muslins, I wanted to do a mockup in similar weight to the wool fabric from the drawloom. I dug out that old rigid heddle loom blanket! Perfect for this assignment as a mockup.
I made a mockup for the drawloom vest. I cut the mockup vest from a plain weave color gamp sampler blanket I wove on my 32″ Beka rigid heddle loom in 1982. The blanket was made from two panels hand-stitched together down the middle.Wool vest made in January 2020 from fabric woven on the drawloom.
Why not make that color gamp mockup into a wearable vest on its own? That is what I have finished this week. The pictures that follow tell the story.
I made the mockup vest with overlapped seams.I am using handwoven bands to cover the seams on the vest. This pretty band was woven a couple years ago on a small band heddle that Steve made for me.Double fold bias tape covers all the edges of the vest. First I stitch the tape to the edge of the vest, right sides together. You can see another handwoven band that I am using to cover the shoulder seams.Next, I fold the bias tape around the edge and to the inside, and “stitch in the ditch” to catch the edge of the bias tape on the inside of the vest.I found this two-part metal closure in my box of sewing odds and ends. It’s perfect for this vest. The thimble is one my grandmother used in her many hand-sewing projects.Simple closure for a simple vest.Sewing my handwoven label on the lower edge of the inside is the finishing touch.Rigid heddle blanket, now a wearable vest!
When I think about how the Lord allowed me to discover the joy of weaving on a simple little frame loom… And how He has allowed me to enjoy growing in these skills, and how I get to have the pleasure of weaving on a not-so-simple large drawloom… It reminds me of Psalm 16:11 “You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; at Your right hand are eternal pleasures.”
Happy to wear a remnant of my rigid heddle loom days!
Thanksgiving: Giving thanks to the Lord for allowing us to know the joy of walking in His path of life.
The last few months have been a season for me to put my focus on writing a book about prayer. This has been a season of less weaving than usual. Still, I find a way to get to the looms–a little here, a little there. It adds up. The nice thing about handweaving is that you have something to show for your efforts. Every little weft thread counts. Every day is a gift from the Lord, and every season is an opportunity to acknowledge Him. Thank you, Lord, for every season!
Here’s what I’ve been up to in this weaving season:
Eight different weft colors for this goose-eye twill. 7/2 Brage Wool.Cloth beam filling up.Standing back and enjoying the colors.Roadrunner on the drawloom. Cottolin and linen. Six groundshafts.Beginning the top half of the roadrunner pattern. Chart hangs for handy reference as I move up the chart, row by row.Roadrunner complete. Next chart to design is the Texas Longhorn. And three more critters after that.Curtain fabric, 24/2 cotton M’s and O’s.Cloth beam filling up.Take a step back and enjoy the process.
Every now and then I forget where I left off. This happens when I get interrupted when I am not quite finished with a sequence at the end of a weaving session, or when I get interrupted when I am just getting started back on the loom. Often, the interruptions are my own thoughts going in different directions. The only loss is a few dozen weft threads that get pulled out one by one, plus the time it takes to pull them out and weave the right ones back in. Everything is fixable.
Sometimes it is necessary to backtrack. I was at a pause in weaving. When I came back to it I forgot to put in the gray weft stripe. Pulled out more rows than I wish, then resumed weaving, starting with the gray stripe.No more troubles, just attentive weaving.Still several meters to go on these bathroom curtains! 24/2 cotton, M’s and O’s, gray stripe is 16/2 cotton
I have come to the unfortunate realization that I am probably short on blue weft yarn and green weft yarn. This project is using yarn from my excess, and the warp yarn was measured out just so. I miscalculated on the weft yarn. My solution is to space the blue and the green weft stripes further apart. If I still run out of either color I will finish with the colors I do have. I may end up liking it better that way. Everything is fixable.
Blue weft at the front edge makes a lovely contrast with the poppy and the pumpkin warp colors.Cart by the loom holds shuttles and yarn. You can see that I am using a 120 cm reed in a 70 cm loom. I can get away with it by having the loom in the corner of the room.Winter wool indoors and spring blooms outdoors. Brage wool for an autumn/winter cape. Goose-eye twill on four shafts.
I did not imagine that one of the single-unit draw cords on the drawloom could snap in two while I am putting it on the hook bar. But it happened! Now what? I’m able to finish the 6-thread unit by tying a knot and maneuvering threads this way and that way. This is not acceptable for weaving the rest of the warp, however, nor even for the rest of this napkin. I just so happen to have a fancy clip that Steve brought to me a couple weeks ago, saying, “I thought you might be able to use this somewhere.” It is the perfect temporary fix for this shortened draw cord. I will replace the broken draw cord before starting the next critter napkin (roadrunner). Everything is fixable.
Wild turkey is running with his head cut off for a few days. The single-unit draw cord that raises the threads at the turkey’s chin snapped when I put it on the hook bar. I finished the 6-thread unit for that chin by tying a knot in the end of the draw cord. I need to make a permanent fix, though, because the knot makes the draw cord just a little too short.As a temporary fix, I found a double caribiner clip that is just the right size to hold the draw cord. Before I start weaving the next critter, I will try to replace this broken draw cord with a new one.Wild Turkey – finished!Chart beside the loom shows my row-by-row plan for the image being woven.
Yesterday we enjoyed Easter, the day of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are lost without Him, suffering from our own errors, miscalculations, and brokenness. The Heavenly Father raised Jesus from the dead to prove to us that Jesus is Lord. Everything is fixable in Him.
Three looms are active right now. The drawloom has the napkin project, with a wild turkey on this one.
Wild turkey feet and legs weave up quickly. There are only a few single unit draw cords to pull at a time, plus one pattern shaft draw handle for the side borders.Wild turkey feathers require many more single unit draw cords. Even the borders at this place in the pattern are done with single units. The cast shadow on the loom from the bell that hangs in the window makes a funny face at this time of day. Could be a silly turkey face? 🙂
The Julia has the wool goose-eye twill fabric that I plan to use for making myself a simple winter cape. Next winter should be here soon enough.
Last but not the least at all is the GlimÃ¥kra Standard with curtains for our remodeled bathroom. This is a big project and I will be weaving on this for a while. M’s and O’s is enjoyable to weave. I like the counting for the squares and stripes, and the trading off of feet that this project gives me.
Armadillo, fox, porcupine, jackrabbit, and deer are leading the critter parade. The twelve napkins will include the most common, the most interesting, and the most unusual animals that visit our backyard here in Texas Hill Country. The white-tailed deer are the most common, by far.
Feet first. The white-tailed buck is taller than he is wide, so his feet touch the bottom border. Pulled single-unit draw cords are seen on the hook bar pegs above the beater.Just past the midway mark on this napkin, as seen on the measuring ribbon pinned on the side.Having a large chart beside the loom helps me keep track of each row as the weaving progresses. One pattern shaft draw handle is pulled, which forms the pattern on the side borders. The single unit draw cords form the center image.
This white-tailed buck is one that Steve photographed on our property. I use Affinity Designer on my computer to turn a photo into a silhouette that I can use for my drawloom chart. It is a thrill to see the image emerge in the threads on the loom. From animal in our yard, to photo, to graphic chart, to threads on the loom! The common is made extraordinary.
The draw handles are pulled for the checkerboard pattern that goes across the bottom and top borders of the napkin.Antlers of the buck reach nearly to the top border. Hem area is teal blue.Before the buck, there is the jackrabbit. And before the jackrabbit is the porcupine. And the fox and armadillo before that are in hibernation on the cloth beam.
Even more extraordinary is what our Lord Jesus does with a common human like you or me who puts faith in him. As you look at the threads on his loom, you begin to see that it is his image being woven in you.
