Tag: cotton

Linen Is Never Boring

Karen

Simplicity, purity, new. It’s invigorating to start something fresh. Weaving this delicate cloth in neutral colors is calming, but not boring. The linen sheen makes it spectacular. This is the delightful texture of M’s and O’s on a cotton warp, with linen weft. Peer across the cloth at a lower angle and you will see the linen’s pearlescent glory embedded in the woven texture.

Weaving M's and O's with linen weft.
Structure of M’s and O’s puts interesting texture in the fabric. The texture will be intensified after the fabric is cut from the loom and wet finished.

Even though weaving seems like magic at this stage, it has been preceded by a lot of planning, precision, and patient work. This new creation is refreshing because it’s everything I had imagined it would be. And the linen is doing as expected–making the fabric “glow.”

Handwoven towel in M's and O's with linen weft.
One-shuttle weaving for most of the towel makes this a relaxing weave. You can see that the treadling pattern alternates between two blocks. (The camera doesn’t catch the linen’s sheen like the human eye does. Wish you were here to see it!)
Handwoven towel in M's and O's.
Towel has reached the midway point.

The best creation is what happens inside of you. There is hope for all those who long for a fresh start. The dusty and worn threads are replaced with a new warp. Cut my selfish ways off the loom, Lord. All the preparations have been done by the Grand Weaver that enable weaving to begin. Create a clean heart in me, Lord. Let my life glow with the linen of your Spirit woven through my soul.

May you be refreshed.

Love,
Karen

~They’re back~ Towel Kits ~

By request, I have put the towel kits back in my shop! The River Stripe Towel Set, Pre-Wound Warp and Instructional Kit, for $150 per kit, is now listed again in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop. Happy weaving!

Keep Threading Those Heddles

Karen

It will be worth it. 896 threads through these heddles, and then two ends per dent in the reed. This is the necessary dressing of the loom. I do it nine minutes, thirty-five minutes, and twenty-two minutes at a time. I do not accomplish it in one sitting. After accumulating almost five hours of threading, I’m ready to sley the reed.

Threading heddles.
Colored threads are 16/2 cotton, thicker than the 24/2 unbleached cotton threads.
Threading Heddles
Checking for threading errors before tying the group of ends into a loose slip knot.

It is easy to lose concentration when there are so many ends. The M’s and O’s threading has just enough variation in it to make me wonder if I did keep it all in the correct sequence. We will find out. The threading, correct or not, is always revealed as the fabric is woven.

Texsolv heddles of four shafts. Glimåkra Ideal.
Texsolv heddles on four shafts, threaded. Glimåkra Ideal.
Sley the reed. Glimåkra Ideal.
Two ends per dent are sleyed in this 22.5-dent-per-inch reed.

What is faith? Faith is putting your trust in something you have good reason to think is true. Stand firm, immovable, in your trust in the Lord. You put threads in the heddles because you have good reason to think these threads will become fabric. Don’t quit. Keep coming back to it. Be strong in faith. And do it from a framework of love. Your framework is always revealed in the cloth of your life.

May you stay strong.

Happy threading,
Karen

Weave Heirloom Fabric

Karen

Fine threads. This warp may be the finest yet for me–24/2 cotton. 896 ends are lined up in a row. And, oh, they are soft. This is another fascinating experience for someone who enjoys seeing threads do remarkable things.

Lease sticks keep warp ends in order.
Lease sticks keep the ends in order.
Ordered threads on the back tie-on bar.
Ordered threads on the back tie-on bar.

The weft for this will be fine, too–20/1 linen. Linen is strong thread in the right conditions. Can you imagine the fabric that will come from these fine cotton and linen threads?! Something lovely will be produced from many hours of winding the warp, dressing the loom, and weaving. When I throw the shuttle back and forth, heirloom-quality fabric will appear! Soft like cotton, and strong like linen.

Beaming eight-meter warp.
Beaming eight meters of warp.
Cotton warp ends.
Brown paper is on the warp beam after running out of warping slats. Warp ends have been counted and loosely tied into threading groups.

We often define love by what someone says, knows, or does. I love you. I know how you feel. I will help you. It is possible, though, to say, know, and do nice things, but not have love. At its core, love is unselfishness and humility. Pure love comes from a pure heart. A pure heart that is unselfish and humble extends love as fluently as a weaver’s shuttle going back and forth. An honorable legacy is woven, soft and strong, through a heart of love.

May you weave a legacy of love.

Love,
Karen

~UPDATE~ Towel Kits ~

I have been delighted by the response for the towel kits, and have enjoyed putting the kits together! The River Stripe Towel Set, Pre-Wound Warp and Instructional Kit, for $150 per kit, is listed in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop until they are sold out. This is the final release of this kit. There are a few left.

(I may be persuaded to do another limited run of a kit in the future.)

Thank you!
Your weaving friend

Weave Amazing Taqueté Like an Octopus

Karen

I need this sample section to practice being an octopus at the loom. I switched from kuvikas to taqueté. Now I am weaving with two double-bobbin shuttles and two treadles at a time. With no intervening tabby treadles to balance my foot placement.

Kuvikas first, then taqueté. Same threading, different tie-up.
From kuvikas to taqueté. Changing the tie-up allows the loom to weave more than one structure with the same threading.

This taqueté uses the same threading as the kuvikas that preceded it. You’ve heard it said, “One change changes everything.” Try changing the tie-up. Everything changes. Treadling sequence, weft arrangement, and picks per inch. I’m struggling like a beginner with this double treadling, double double-bobbin shuttling. But I’m not quitting, because look what it weaves! The cloth is amazing.

Two double-bobbin shuttles for taqueté.
With no tabby picks in between, the double-bobbin shuttles take turns with each other.
Taqueté, with double treadling and double double-bobbin shuttling.
Each pattern block uses two treadles, pressed simultaneously. The treadling sequence changes four times for each complete row of pattern. Each block (a third) of the square-within-a-square pattern has five complete pattern rows.

One life change, good or bad, can bring a struggle. We try to move forward like we did before, but now it’s not working. Too many things are shifting at once. One thing changed, and now we are searching for sound footing. God is present even in our struggles. The warp is the same, the threading hasn’t changed, and the Grand Weaver is still at his loom. God is a very present help in trouble. God is now and near. Right now, right here. And then we get a glimpse of the cloth he is weaving… It is amazing!

May you endure through struggles.

Your weaving octopus,
Karen

Tools Day: Double-Bobbin Shuttle

Karen

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 warp end. Those first thick and thin towels came out beautifully. So I know it can be done.

Weaving with a double-bobbin shuttle. Tips.
Square pattern peeks through from below. Double-bobbin shuttle carries the doubled tencel weft for this kuvikas fabric.

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.)
Winding equal quills for a double-bobbin shuttle.
Visibility of the first wound quill is key for judging how much thread to wind on the second quill.
Winding quills for double bobbin shuttles.
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.
Weaving with a double-bobbin shuttle.
Holding the shuttle palm up, the forefinger launches the shuttle to glide quickly through the shed.
Results of timid shuttle send-off.
Timid or sluggish shuttle send-off lays unequal lengths of threads in the shed.
How to tips for weaving with a double-bobbin shuttle.
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.
Using a double-bobbin shuttle. Tips.
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. Karen Isenhower
Shuttle shadows.

May your practice produce perfection. (Well, maybe not perfection, but at least improvement.)

Happy weaving,
Karen