Category: yardage

Caught by Surprise – in a Good Way

Karen

I’ve been published! The new issue of Handwoven magazine (January/February 2016) is out. Have you seen it? Sarah Jackson, the weaving editor, had noticed my blue dice weave pillows on Pinterest. When she contacted me to ask if I would consider submitting a project for the linen issue, I was caught by surprise. Who, me?! I simply enjoy weaving. I never thought about having something published. But here we are! The dice weave linen pillows project is in print. This is a milestone in my weaving journey; and an opportunity for which I am immensely grateful! (See the blue dice weave pillows in Invisible Zipper.)

Linen dice weave pillows. Karen Isenhower
Finished linen dice weave pillows are shipped off to Fort Collins, Colorado to meet the Handwoven editorial team.
Linen dice weave pillow project.
Linen issue of Handwoven has good information and interesting projects, including instructions for linen dice weave pillows.
Project in print!
In print!

We think everything is going according to our plans, and then we run into surprises. Even a good surprise involves challenges, stretching us out of our comfort zones. God is completely faithful. He has certainly been faithful to me. I find relief in knowing the Grand Weaver is overseeing the fabric of my life. What seems like a surprise to me is actually part of his carefully designed plan.

May you be caught in the act of making something good.

With gratitude,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Handwoven Skirt

Karen

I just crossed an item off my weaving bucket list! Make a ‘cello skirt from handwoven fabric. A ‘cello skirt must be long, and full, and pretty. And if I can wear boots with it, so much the better. A favorite tiered skirt that I made a couple years ago from commercial fabric became the pattern for designing the handwoven fabric for a new skirt. This project included weaving a printed design by stamping the warp on the loom before it was woven. (To see this project develop, check out Related Posts in the sidebar.)

Printed fabric collects on the cloth beam.
Printed fabric collects on the cloth beam. One last round of warping slats is seen on the back beam.

I needed five lengthwise tiers, so I planned it out so that each tier would have a different stamped pattern. This is light blue 8/2 cotton in plain weave, with a dense sett of 30 epi, making a medium-weight fabric. I softened the fabric as much as possible by washing and drying it on hot settings. By strategically placing selvedges at the top and at the bottom of the skirt, I was able to minimize thickness at the waist, and eliminate the need for a hem at the bottom. The finished tiered skirt is long, and full, and has a subtle pretty printed pattern that mildly resembles ikat. And this skirt is made for wearing with boots!

Printed fabric just off the loom - for making a 5-tiered skirt.
Just off the loom, cloth is rolled out on the floor. Five-tiered skirt was made from lengthwise rows of printed fabric.
Layout for handwoven tiered skirt.
Tiers are cut and raw edges serged. Each tier seam is sewn. Floor layout helps to plan placement of seams and printed patterns.
Grosgrain ribbon for elastic casing in handwoven skirt waistband, reducing bulk.
Bulk is reduced at elastic waistband by adding pretty grosgrain ribbon for the casing, right next to the handwoven fabric’s selvedge.
Warp-stamped fabric for skirt. Selvedge at bottom, so no hem needed.
Selvedge forms the bottom edge of skirt, so no hem is needed. Warp-stamped fabric appears as a subtle print.
Handwoven printed tiered skirt. Karen Isenhower
Happy ‘celllist.

May your heart be enriched with thankfulness.

Happy Thanks Giving,
Karen

Tools Day: Let There Be Light!

Karen

Sunshine coming through the windows is marvelous for weaving. But my eyes need extra light to see small details. This is noticeably true with errors that I mend on the loom and off the loom. I turn on extra lighting at other times, too–when threading fine threads, sleying the reed with fine or dark threads, counting picks per inch on woven cloth, and checking the treadling pattern in a fine weave, for example. And sometimes I turn on extra lighting for no other reason than it’s a cloudy day.

Tools:
OttLite Task Lamp with Swivel Base
Handheld lighted magnifier

Broken weft repair.
Pin marks the spot where I broke a thin weft thread, 30/2 cotton, with the temple.
Repairing broken thread requires task lighting.
Repair area is flooded with light from my portable OttLite.
Replacing broken weft thread.
Illuminated stitches are easily seen. A replacement length of weft is needle-woven in.
Oops. A few skips to fix in handwoven cloth.
Series of errant floats are discovered after this fabric is removed from the loom. At 30 ends per inch, my eyes strain to see where to weave the needle.
Lighting and magnification needed for fixing threads.
Needing more than the bright OttLite, I add magnification. Pairing the OttLite with the handheld lighted magnifier does the trick!
Magnified threads for handwoven repairs.
Lighted magnifier, reflecting the OttLite just overhead, balances perfectly on a small sewing basket. Now I can actually see the threads I am fixing.

To further reduce eye strain, I am considering other lighting options. Have you had success with task lighting? I’d love to hear about it. Share your experience and recommendations in the comments.

My Lighting Wish List:
Full spectrum floor lamp
Adjustable-arm magnifying task light to clamp on table or loom

May you see what you need to see.

With a bright outlook,
Karen

Warp Stamping Is Over

Karen

If I could do it over, I would put on a shorter warp for this experimental project. I enjoyed weaving plain weave, with the simplicity of one shuttle and one color. I did not enjoy, however, stopping every six inches to stamp the warp with paint. Clearly, I am not a paint person.

End of the warp is a happy sight!
Bare warp beam, with the end of the warp inches away from coming over the back beam for the final stretch of weaving.

You can guess that I was overjoyed to see the tie-on bar come over the back beam! That hope of finishing propelled me to the end. Of course, I still have work to do–fixing a few floats, wet finishing, and then sewing a tiered skirt. The root of my problem was not that this was long and slow. The root was my uncertainty. Isn’t that always the case? Is all this effort and mess going to be worth it? Will this fabric even work for the skirt I want to make?

Warp was stamped on the loom, using fabric paint, before it was woven.
Printed woven cloth, just off the loom, awaits finishing and sewing. The print was made by stamping the warp on the loom, using fabric paint, before it was woven.

When we are stumbling in the dark, we long for light. It can be discouraging when you are not sure where your decisions will take you. The light of God shines in the darkness, bringing hope. Hope dispels darkness. Much like the tie-on bar at the end of a long warp, when we see hope rounding the corner we know we can make it.

May your path be lit with hope.

By the way, if you are a paint person, I have a set of gently used hand-carved wooden stamps I will send to the first person in the continental U.S. who asks for them. Postage is on me!
Get in Touch to let me know you’d like them.
*UPDATE*
The stamps have been spoken for! Sandy O. is going to use them to experiment on her rigid heddle loom!

Happy plain weaving,
Karen

Tools Day: Hand-Carved Stamps

Karen

I need only a few simple shapes to stamp the warp. Fortunately, my woodcarver husband agreed to make the wooden stamps for me. Steve asked me to draw the shapes on white paper, and said he would take care of the rest. The result? Superb wooden stamps for making painted designs on the warp while it is on the loom.

Carving wooden stamps for warp stamping.

Carving wooden stamps for warp stamping.

Supplies for stamping the warp on the loom.

Stamped warp.

May you be the recipient of hand-crafted love.

Simply,
Karen