Category: rag rug

Rosepath Whispers

Karen

This fifth rag rug on the warp has the same classic rosepath design as the others. This rug, however, has rosepath as a whispered hint instead of the usual bold statement. Colorful beauty? Yes. Yet, it’s quiet. Restful.

*Rosepath Whispers* rag rug.
Hints of rosepath pattern.
Rosepath Whispers rag rug.
Design plan sits nearby for reference as I weave.

The rosepath pattern is fully present, but soft-spoken. In the pattern areas, there is only slight contrast between the pattern weft and ground weave weft. The print fabric that is used for some of the pattern weft leaves spots of color, which also helps to blend the pattern into the background. The hint of a pattern makes you take a second look to see what is really there.

Winnie the Pooh is going into this rag rug.
Winnie the Pooh fabric is used for some of the ground weave weft.
Texture from rosepath pattern.
Texture of the raised rosepath pattern is clearly seen from the edge.

A restful person is like that, making us want to take a second look to see what’s behind that demeanor. Rest is a form of trust. Trusting God’s grace means believing that God will give us what we need. And that brings rest, the kind that is on the inside. Deep inside, where the pattern of grace is fully present, our being is transformed. And whatever is on the inside will show on the outside. Colorful beauty? Yes; and quiet, too. Restful.

May you be restful on the inside.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tried and True: Use a Boat Shuttle for Rag Weaving

Karen

Wind very narrow fabric strips on quills and put them in a boat shuttle. It’s efficient. It’s faster to wind a quill than to load fabric on a ski shuttle. Plus, I like the advantage of sending a boat shuttle across rather than a ski shuttle. This rag rug on the drawloom has fabric strips that are only one centimeter (~3/8”) wide, instead of the usual two-centimeter-wide (~3/4”) strips for an ordinary rag rug. Grab your boat shuttle and pay attention to a few simple tips. Your very narrow fabric strips will be woven up in no time.

Tips for Using a Boat Shuttle to Weave Very Narrow Fabric Strips

  • Use fabric that has minimal fraying at the edges. Trim off any long threads. Loose dangling threads that are long enough to wind themselves on the quill will make you wish you had used a ski shuttle.
  • Wind the fabric with the right side down. Then, when the quill unrolls, the right side will be facing up.
Winding quills with narrow fabric strips. Rag rug on the drawloom.
Swedish bobbin winder is clamped to the side of the loom. A five-yard fabric strip is wound onto a quill. The right side of the fabric is against the quill.
  • Handle the wound quill as little as possible to prevent fraying the fabric edges. Simply wrap the tail end of the fabric strip around the filled quill. Do not wrap the end into a slip knot around the quill because the fabric will fray as you release the knot.
Winding narrow fabric strips on quills for drawloom rag rug.
One long fabric strip per quill. Fabric is cut 1 cm (3/8″) wide.
Fabric-wound quills ready for weaving drawloom rag rug.
One fabric-filled quill covers a little more than one unit of weaving (4 picks). I keep a dozen filled quills in the basket on my loom bench so I can keep weaving as long as possible.
  • Unwind enough weft for the pick before you throw the shuttle. Pull the weft out straight from the quill. When a quill unwinds in the shed, the weft comes off at an angle. And as such, if there are any loose threads at the edges of the fabric strips, the threads will wind themselves on the quill and bind it up. And you will wish you had used a ski shuttle.
Folke Samuelson Damask Shuttle - drawloom rag rug!
Folke Samuelson Damask Shuttle has a low profile, well-suited for the smaller sheds of the drawloom. Fabric is unrolled from the shuttle prior to the next pick.
Design is "Trasmatta Snöfall" ("Snowfall Rag Rug") by Kerstin Åsling-Sundberg, from Damast, Horlags AB Vavhasten
Drawloom rag rug is well underway. Single unit drawcords are pulled and held in place on the pegs above the beater. Design is Trasmatta Snöfall (Snowfall Rag Rug) by Kerstin Åsling-Sundberg, from Damast, edited by Lillemor Johansson.

May your hands enjoy their work.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Weaving Ideas – Year in Review Video

Karen

Everything starts with an idea. And some of those ideas become tangible expressions of dreams come true. Who knew that a simple idea in 2012 would lead to a seven-year exploration of weaving through The Big Book of Weaving? (See Weaving through The Big Book.) Who knew that weaving on a drawloom in 2016 at Homestead Fiber Crafts would plant the idea of weaving on a drawloom of my own? (see Quiet Friday: Day at the Drawloom.) And who knew that an idea in 2013 to write about my weaving journey, calling it Warped for Good, would bring friends like you to come and enjoy the journey with me? For these things and so much more, I am truly grateful.

Siblings Tapestry is 3 cm away from completion!
Siblings Tapestry is three centimeters away from completion.
Drawloom rag rug - single-unit.
Single-unit drawloom rag rug is ten centimeters into testing everything–draw cords, sheds, shuttles. After a few more adjustments the actual rag rug weaving will commence.

Your ideas are priceless. That’s because you are priceless. You were made in God’s image, with the ability to imagine wonderful intricacies through creative thinking. In fact, you began as God’s idea. As we walk with him, we become the tangible expression of his dream come true.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit here with me to reminisce over the past weaving year.

May this year bring your best ideas ever.

For you,
Karen

Single-Unit Boldness

Karen

Doing something bold is a dramatic way to end the year. I have added 200 single-unit draw cords to the drawloom. The bold thing is that I am using lanyard clips. This changes the usual process of setting up the draw cords, so I’m making some of it up as I go.

First, I sleyed the cords through the single-unit reed (used for spacing the draw cords). Next, I put a one-inch lanyard clip on every lift heddle. Now, one at a time, in order, I attach a lift heddle to a pattern unit, and then clip the lift heddle to the draw cord. Repeat 200 times. (I picked up the clever tip about lanyard clips online from Su Butler, who has, admittedly, a different type of drawloom setup than what I have.)

When this drawloom rag rug project is finished, I should be able to unclip the draw cords from the pattern units, leave the draw cords in place on the loom, and start fresh for the next project. Progress through the new year will reveal whether this bold action is a good idea…or not.

Journey in Pictures:

Setting up single-unit draw cords.
Setting up single-unit draw cords.
Setting up single-unit draw cords on the drawloom.
Getting set up for the drawloom.
Lift heddles and lanyard clips.
Lift heddles for the single-unit drawloom.
Attaching lift heddles to single-unit draw cords.
Single-unit reed is sleyed.
Lanyard clips on the drawloom. Process pics.
Placing the single-unit reed on the drawloom.
Pattern heddles in position. Drawloom process pics.
Setting up single-unit draw cords.
Drawloom almost ready for weaving! Process pics.

May you take a bold step into the new year.

In with the new,
Karen

Looms Quietly Waiting

Karen

Merry Christmas Eve to you. Looms are quietly waiting to resume their rhythm. Meanwhile, songs of joy and hope fill the air because the Savior of the world is born.

Pictorial tapestry on Glimakra Standard loom. Only 6 cm remaining.
1. The Standard
Pictorial tapestry, with only 6 centimeters of the cartoon remaining.
Rosepath rag rug completed on the Glimakra Ideal loom.
2. The Ideal
Second rosepath rag rug completed. Two short rugs yet to be woven on this warp.
Wool handwoven scarves.
3. The Little Loom
First of two scarves is started. I am using the Stardust draft by Mona Nielsen, published in Happy Weaving, from Vävmagasinet, but with yarn and colors of my choosing.
Drawloom getting set up for weaving rag rugs with single unit drawloom.
4. The Drawloom
Warp is threaded and tied-on. Single-unit draw cords have been prepared. Next step: Attaching draw cords to pattern units. And then, tie up treadles and start weaving!

May your night be silent and holy, calm and bright.

Happy Holy-days,
Karen