Handwoven baby blankets are for cuddling babies. It is a pleasure to weave a baby blanket for a dear friend’s first grandchild. As long as I’m dressing the loom, it makes sense to weave more than one. So the second baby blanket is for cuddling my own grand-babies when they come to visit.
Double weave baby blankets unrolled from the cloth beam, ready to be cut off.Double weave top and bottom layers are stitched together by hand at the hems. Contrasting thread is used for a decorative embroidered look.Whipstitch in contrasting thread.Blankets are triple washed for softness. Ready to touch baby’s skin.Double weave has reverse pattern on the back.Same warp, different weft.Meet Julian, my friend’s new grandson, wrapped in love.Meet Benjamin, our newest grandson, wrapped in love. (Resting on his great-great-grandmother’s quilt.)
A resting baby is a picture of hope. Hope for the next feeding, hope in the mother’s tender love, hope in the father’s secure arms. No arrogance, no illusion of grandeur. Just quiet rest. Hope in the Lord looks like this. Hope for today, the future, and forever. My soul is at rest—in complete rest and trust. Like a resting baby in his mother’s arms. Like a baby wrapped in a blanket woven especially for him.
There is a unique and special weaving place I have been privileged to enjoy on a few occasions. Homestead Fiber Crafts in Waco, Texas. You can immerse yourself in weaving there, in a setting that is entirely peaceful and pleasant. A rare find. And the people there are an important part of the treasure. Plus, tea and fresh biscotti from the bakery. And sometimes, homemade chocolate chip cookies, too.
(Don’t miss my little slideshow at the end of this post. Watch all the way to the end to see my favorite side of the finished piece.)
Last year, I heard about Fiber Crafts’ Weaving Extravaganza, where looms are dressed for various projects and you can reserve a loom for the day (or half day). And their big, beautiful drawloom was included. Sign me up! I wove a towel with chicks and “EGGS.” Sure, there are some pattern mistakes. But that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of this learning experience.
Last year’s drawloom piece.
Now, this week I am at the drawloom again, relishing every moment. A black warp sets the stage for elegance, and I choose a poinsettia pattern that has been drawn on a piece of graph paper. Red and blue linen weft become brilliant in the black warp. I learn how easy it is to make an error in the pattern. And how hard it is to undo an error. But skill comes with practice. Finally, on my fifth (and sixth, and seventh) row of poinsettias, I complete the pattern without errors. And, the pattern mistakes on those first four rows only serve to prove the adage, “Practice makes perfect.”
Here’s a short Instagram clip of the sights and sounds of sitting at the drawloom in a room with other active weaving looms.
Myrehed combination drawloom frame.Other drawloom towel examples hang on the wall beside my friend Elisabeth. She is weaving a beautiful cotton waffle weave towel on a Glimåkra Julia loom.
This double-weave cotton baby blanket has sunshine yellow for the bottom layer, and aquamarine for the upper layer. The selvedges are delightfully dotted with specks of the sunshine yellow as the two wefts interlock at the sides.
Second baby blanket on this warp. First blanket used aquamarine weft for the bottom layer. This blanket has aquamarine weft for the top layer.
Weaving with two shuttles always requires extra attention to know which shuttle goes where. And with double weave, especially, I need to know where to set a shuttle down, which shuttle goes across first, which thread goes over or under the other thread, etc. Consistency matters because the proper arrangement of weft threads at the selvedge will appropriately “stitch” the two layers closed. And the final result here is a cohesive baby blanket with decorative edges. Besides looking pretty, the carefully-placed weft threads hold the edges together.
View of cloth under the breast beam reveals the bottom layer of this two-layer cloth.Sunshine yellow weft thread creates a decorative stitch at the selvedge.
Love is like that, too. Love holds people together. It stitches our loose edges into a cohesive fabric. It makes us into something that can work together instead of going our own way as separate pieces. Love from you refreshes the hearts of others and puts a delightful decorative edge on all your relationships.
May all those who encounter you know what it is like to be loved.
Another magical experience at the loom! Double weave lets you weave two separate layers of fabric simultaneously. And then, the top and bottom layers can switch places in defined blocks. I don’t know who thought this up, but they were brilliant!
Cotton baby blanket for a dear friend’s first grandchild. This friend is amazed at the weaving process, and says that this woven fabric looks calming. Careful arrangement of the two shuttles ensures that the double-weaveselvedges are woven closed.
The hard part was tying up the treadles. For a countermarch, working with eight shafts requires a more delicate balance under the loom. For a while, I was concerned that I might not get more than two decent sheds on this. But after several adjustments, I finally got a great shed with every treadle! Someone who looks at the final cloth will never know the effort that took place behind the scenes. But they may wonder at the amazement of handwoven cloth. Or not. (You’ve probably met someone who is not duly impressed with handwoven goods.)
Long stripes in the middle of the baby blanket. I added dashed lines at the ends of the stripes for added detail interest.Beginning sample reaches the cloth beam. Sample area at the beginning of the warp was used to test weft colors and to practice getting the appropriate weft density.
What do we see as ordinary that, truth be known, is full of wonder? One person may interpret an unusual event as an amazing sign from God. Another person experiences the same event and considers it nothing more than happenstance. If I say I won’t believe until I see evidence, I will never find evidence that satisfies me …even if I come face-to-face with a miracle. Keep the wonder. When you see handwoven cloth, let the work of the Maker’s hands bring wonder and awe. And know there are significant hidden details that are beyond our grasp.
Is there a better picture of optimism than a warp chain? Especially warp chains that are sitting on the loom bench ready to become something! Anticipation electrifies the weaving space because fabric-making is about to happen!
Four bouts of 12/6 cotton rug warp for spaced rep rag rugs. The warp is eight meters long.
The Glimåkra Ideal is getting dressed for weaving rag rugs. Hooray! And the Glimåkra Standard is getting dressed for double weave baby blankets. I keep a regular cycle of weaving, cutting off, and starting over.
Three bouts of 8/2 cotton for double weave baby blankets, gifts for friends. The warp is three meters long.
Dress the loom. Weave a sample. Plan the next project and order supplies. Weave what’s on the loom to the finish line. Cut off. Do the finishing work. Wind the warp for the next project, and put the warp chain(s) on the loom bench. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Every beginning has an end. Every warp. Every life. And even every day comes to an end. What will I make of that warp? This life? This day? Our life is a mere shadow, fading quickly. To honor our Grand Weaver, we want to value every day we’ve been given. And when our hope and trust is in Him, we know the fabric he is weaving will last forever.
