Take a short stroll through our home and you will see and touch linen in all its superb versatility. Linen warp and weft speaks of elegance. Yet, this natural fiber is right at home with ordinary daily living. Linen, oh, how it sings!
I am thrilled to be dressing the Julia now with 16/2 linen on eight shafts. We will have another linen highlight to grace our home—a table runner for our dining room table.
It is a happy day when new tubes of Bockens 16/2 line linen arrive at the door.Winding two threads together at a time on the warping reel.Dividing the warp into three bouts makes it easier to spread and beam the warp with even tension across the warp.Golden bleached linen is a gorgeous backdrop for the olive center section and contrasting midnight blue borders.
Is there anything more vibrant than the sheen of linen saturated with color? And, have you noticed that plain unbleached linen is anything but plain? Linen fills both ends of the spectrum—glowing exuberant color and natural wrinkled humility. Linen, oh, how it sings! There’s always room for more music in the home.
My grandma made a pattern on brown paper for a neck pillow. I suppose she found the pattern in a magazine or newspaper decades ago. I am using my copy of her pattern to make my own neck pillow. Maybe someday my pillow will be as worn and wobbly as Grandma’s well-loved neck pillow that I remember.
My version of Grandma’s neck pillow.
Looking through my pile of handwoven scraps I find the piece of fabric that had been hanging as a Roman shade on the back door of our previous home. This two-block twill in cotton and linen was my first 8-shaft project on my floor loom. Good memories! The fabric, softened and slightly faded through daily use, is perfect for the comfy neck pillow I’m imagining. (Unlike Grandma’s pillow, I’m making this one with a removable cover so it can be easily laundered.)
Roman shade from my first 8-shaft weaving project. I wove the linen draw cord on my two-treadleband loom.
Instructions for Constructing a Handwoven Neck Pillow
Supplies:
Cotton muslin, pre-washed
Handwoven fabric, pre-washed
Cluster Fluff, or other cluster fill or polyester fiberfill
7” invisible zipper
Sewing machine
Invisible zipper foot
Sewing thread
Hand-sewing needle
Iron
Sleeve board for pressing, optional
Steps:
Cut four pillow pattern pieces from the muslin.
Sew two of the muslin pieces together, right sides together. Press seams open.
Sew the other two muslin pieces together, right sides together. Press seams open.
Sew the two parts together, right sides together, leaving a 4-inch opening for turning and stuffing. Press seams open using a sleeve board.
Turn the pillow right side out.
Stuff with Cluster Fluff, starting at the furthest end from the opening. Fill to desired fullness.
Hand stitch the opening closed.
Cut four pillow pattern pieces from the handwoven fabric.
Serge or zigzag the fabric edges. Press flat.
Insert invisible zipper between two of the pieces.
Invisible zipper is sewn into place between two of the panels.
Complete the seams at both ends of the zipper. Press seams open.
Sew the two other pieces together, right sides together. Press seams open.
Open zipper, and sew the two parts together, right sides together. Press seams open using a sleeve board.
Turn the pillow case right side out.
Push the muslin pillow into the pillow case. Close the zipper.
Inner pillow and outer cover are made from the same pattern to make it a snug fit.Fabric is 16/2 cotton warp and 16/1 linen weft.
Take a nap in your favorite chair with the pillow behind your neck.
If you would like a pdf copy of my grandma’s neck pillow pattern, please click HERE to send me an email request. I will be happy to send the pattern to you.
It took me seven years of study, practice, and mistakes to complete this rigorous Swedish weaving curriculum! You have been with me through much of it right here. I’m talking about The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell. I made it through the book, sequentially, page by page, warp by warp. 43 warps in all! Remember the blue 12-shaftdouble-weave blanket I had on the loom in June? That is the final project in the book.
Double-weave wool fabric is ready for wet finishing, where it will be transformed into a soft, cozy blanket.
In the short video below, each completed project is presented in order in our Texas hill country home. Watch to the end to see the blue blanket in all its finished glory.
For nitty-gritty details, check out The Big Book of Weaving tab at the top of the page.
Getting lost and absorbed in the whole process of weaving.
V. Favorite project: Old-Fashioned Weaving / Monksbelt (at 4:46 in the video)
Are we determined students of heavenly things? Oh, to know God’s will! Study what’s written, don’t lose heart, eyes on the prize, no option besides completion through Jesus Christ. One life dedicated to know him. Day by day, warp by warp, the Grand Weaver teaches us. We can know God’s will.
The color is rich, the drape is fluid, and the pattern in the lustrous cloth is eye-catching. “Kuvikas to taqueté” was not an easy project. Eight shafts, double treadling, and double-bobbin shuttles with slick 8/2 Tencel weft. But the fabric is incredible!
Thanks to a unusual tie-up, two treadles are pressed simultaneously, something I had not thought possible for a countermarch loom. I started with kuvikas (summer and winter), which has tabbypicks between the pattern picks. The dark teal 8/2 cotton tabby weft and the bright teal Tencel pattern weft produce a tone-on-tone effect for the square and stripe patterns. These two pieces will become the front and back of a throw pillow.
Kuvikas panel 1 complete. I always use red thread for a cutting line between pieces, so there is no accidental cutting in the wrong place.
I then changed the treadle tie-up to switch from kuvikas to taqueté. The taqueté has no tabby weft. The teal and cream Tencel weft threads lay back-to-back, producing a double-faced fabric. This piece is being used as a table runner.
Stripes in kuvikas, and then square pattern in taqueté after changing the treadletie-up.
Finished kuvikas glistens in the sunlight.
Enjoy the little slideshow video I made for you that follows the process from three lovely aquamarine warp chains to fabric glistening in the sun on a Texas hill country table.
May you finish something that is not easy.
Happy Weaving, Karen
Do you remember my Handwoven Thick and Thin Towels (that appeared on the cover of Handwoven), and my Black and White Towels (These Sensational Towels)? I will be teaching a workshop on that thick and thin technique at Shoppes at Fleece ‘N Flax in beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas August 24 – 26, 2017. You’re welcome to join us! I’d love to see you there! Contact the shop at the number below if you are interested.
The first time I wove fabric that required a doubled weft I did not use a double-bobbin shuttle. I didn’t own one. I used a regular boat shuttle and sent it across twice, going around the outer warpend. Those first thick and thin towels came out beautifully. So I know it can be done.
The first time I used a double-bobbin shuttle I wondered if it was worth it. It was awkward and clumsy in my hands. Since that rocky introduction a few years ago, I have woven many meters with my double-bobbin shuttles. They have become cherished tools and efficient accomplices to some of my favorite fabric-making endeavors!
Tips for Weaving with a Double-Bobbin Shuttle (and a short video demonstration)
Practice. Make sure you allow extra warp length for practicing. You will probably need it at first. Have fun and laugh, and refrain from throwing the shuttle across the room.
Winding Equal Bobbins. Wind the first quill. Lay it close to the bobbin winder where you can see it easily. As you wind the second quill, attempt to match it in size to the first one. (Winding two quills with equal amounts of thread is no small challenge.)
Visibility of the first wound quill is key for judging how much thread to wind on the second quill.
Knowing when to stop is the trick. The ideal is for both quills to become empty at the same time. This only happens in your dreams. But sometimes you can get pretty close.
Sending the Shuttle. Sending the double-bobbin shuttle through the shed is the same as sending a regular boat shuttle across. The best release is done with a flick of the forefinger so the shuttle speeds across. Then, the doubled weft naturally snugs the selvedge, and the two threads are neatly aligned across the shed. With a slower, more timid shuttle send-off, the quills unwind unequally.
Holding the shuttle palm up, the forefinger launches the shuttle to glide quickly through the shed.
Timid or sluggish shuttle send-off lays unequal lengths of threads in the shed.
Deliberate send-off of the shuttle helps the threads to lay across the shed in equal lengths.
Receiving the Shuttle. Receiving the shuttle can be the awkward and clumsy part at first. Especially if you are trying to practice a quicker send-off. I catch the shuttle as for any boat shuttle, palm up. And then, if needed, I fold my two bottom fingers around the threads, guiding them to fall equally across the shed.
After catching the shuttle, I gently close my fingers around the two threads, as needed, to guide them to fall evenly across the warp.
Weave. Enjoy the process.
Shuttle shadows.
May your practice produce perfection. (Well, maybe not perfection, but at least improvement.)
