cotton – Page 37 – Warped for Good

Quiet Friday: Weave a Bag with Handles

July 31, 2015July 30, 2015 Karen

Voila! A rag-weave bag with the handles woven in. First, the handle straps were woven on my band loom. And then, I wove the straps into the rag-weave bag on my floor loom. Lastly, I cut the weaving from the loom and sewed the bag together. This is a warp for double binding rag rugs. I take advantage of this double cloth structure to make handles that are extremely secure. The pictures show how it all comes together. (Quiet Friday: Rag Rug Bag shows my first attempt at this feat. Be sure to read the comments. My amazing readers helped me develop the idea for this workable solution.)

As a bonus, at the end of this post you will see a new video that demonstrates my method of cutting fabric strips for weaving rag rugs.

1. Weave bag handles. (First seen on Is My Weft Showing?)

Unwoven warp (length equal to the rag rug warp width on the loom, plus 2″/5cm) comes before and after each of two bag handles, which are woven to desired length. Unwoven warp is held together at the beginning, and in between the two handles, and at the end, with 1″/2.5cm of woven band.

2. Insert unwoven band warp for one handle.

Weave approximately 1/3 of the bag.

Cut the two handle straps apart in the middle of the 1″/2.5cm woven section that separates the two lengths of unwoven band warp. Entering from the right-hand side, insert one unwoven band warp, used here as weft, into the first shed of the double binding weave, with 1/2″/1cm of the band-woven handle strap reaching into the shed. Tap the weft in with the beater, but do not beat it in firmly, yet.

3. Insert unwoven band warp for the second handle.

Entering from the left-hand side, insert the unwoven band warp, used as weft, from the second handle strap into the second shed of the double binding weave, with 1/2″/1cm of the band-woven handle strap reaching into the shed. Beat firmly, packing in both layers of weft together.

4. Weave the center 1/3 of the bag.

5. Insert remaining unwoven warp of first handle.

Repeat Step 2 with the unwoven band warp attached to the handle on the right-hand side. Make sure the handle strap is not twisted.

6. Insert remaining unwoven warp of second handle.

Repeat Step 3 with the unwoven band warp attached to the handle on the left-hand side. Make sure the handle strap is not twisted.

7. Weave the final 1/3 of the bag.

8. Finishing work.

Cut rag-weave bag from the loom. Remove header and knot the ends. Press. (For more about finishing the ends, see Quiet Friday: Rag Rug Finishing and Wear and Tear Rag Rugs)

9. Stitch the bag.

Fold the bag, right sides together. Stitch side seams. Turn right side out. For whimsical detail, form box corners on the outside, and stitch in place by hand with warp thread. (You could form box corners on the inside just as well, stitching flattened corners by machine or by hand.)

10. Take your bag with you wherever you go.

May your ideas turn into fruitful efforts.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Cotton Scarves

March 27, 2015March 26, 2015 Karen

One thing I learned is the scarf with the longest warp floats has the greatest shrinkage rate. Another thing I learned – again – is to plan a longer warp than what I think I need. The third scarf is significantly shorter than the first two because I ran out of warp. Table runner, anyone? I always include length for sampling, but I need to include more, more, more. Still, I am very happy with the finished results. And, you have a new video to watch! (Scroll down to see it.)

Cotton warp for scarves is tied on. — Warp of 8/2 cotton is tied on in 1-inch/2.5 cm sections. The leveling string evens out the warp for immediate weaving.

Cotton lace weave scarf on the loom. Fringe twister video. — First scarf, with dark green weft, has the longest warp floats. This scarf ended up shorter than the second scarf, even though the first scarf’s length on the loom was longer than the second scarf.

Cotton lace weave scarves on the loom. Fringe twisting info, too. — Second scarf, with citrine weft, has a border element created with light green weft (same as the warp), including warp floats. The plain weave before and after the border element helps create a natural ruffle at each end of the finished scarf.

Cotton lace weave scarves on the loom. Springtime colors! — Saving the best for last, I used a series of springtime colors to create this scarf. The varied lengths of the floats give an illusion of colored ribbons crossing the scarf.

I wet finished the scarves in the washing machine, adding a small amount of Eucalan, on the gentle cycle, with warm wash and warm rinse, and very short spin. They went in the dryer on low heat until damp, and then hung to dry the rest of the way. The scarves came out lightly puckered, which is exactly what I had hoped for. I could have washed them in hot water and left them in for a longer amount of time if I had wanted the scarves more dramatically puckered.

Twisting fringe using a fringe twister tool. — Two scarves with fringes twisted. One waiting to be a film star in “Using a Fringe Twister.” This is before wet finishing.

Three cotton lace weave scarves, and fringe twisting video. Karen Isenhower — Wet finishing happens after the fringe has been twisted. These scarves have done it all. They are finished.

My favorite scarf. For now... — First seen on Instagram @celloweaver #warpedforgood

There’s nothing like finishing a fun project! Clearly, I know what to do next… Dress the big loom and keeping on weaving.

May you learn something new every day.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

My Wide Little Warp

March 20, 2015March 19, 2015 Karen

I wanted to make a video for you, showing how I weave on the band loom. Unfortunately, I put on a wider warp than usual. My small hands can barely weave this wider band, putting me to the test. It is slow and sloppy as I struggle to make progress. Finally, though, the end is in sight! So much for pointing out common errors in band weaving. Ha.

Glimakra band loom weaving, using 12/6 cotton rug warp. — Band loom shuttle is carried through the warp with the left hand, and the right hand uses a tool, called a band knife, to beat in the weft. 1 3/4 inches / 5.5 cm is just wide enough that sending the shuttle through with one (small) hand is pretty tricky.

My difficulty in weaving this will show up in the finished piece. The main problem is lack of consistency. Some stretches are embarrassingly uneven and may not be usable. If I want to show someone else how to weave a wider band, I need to work on my own technique. I better get it right before I try to demo this for anyone else.

It is a virtue to correct your own mistakes before pointing out the faults of others. How easy it is to notice someone else’s “blind spot.” I wonder if sometimes we are seeing our own flaw, but we don’t recognize it until we see it on someone else. The next time I am tempted to highlight someone else’s mistake, I want to remember what it took to weave this band, errors and all.

May you always give, and receive, the benefit of the doubt.

P.S. I do have another video in the making. I’ll show you next week.
P.P.S. I will do a video on band weaving. Eventually.

Love,
Karen

This Rug in Particular

March 17, 2015March 16, 2015 Karen

No improvising this time. Creating a rug to fit a particular space means staying true to the plan. In my measured design, each graph square represents two inches (5 cm) of woven length. So, I am not playing around with shortened or lengthened blocks. And no surprise colors, either. Every element has been determined in advance. I am paying close attention, being sure to measure accurately as I go. I keep thinking of my sister’s entryway, hopeful that this rug will be just right. (Sometimes I do play around with the design as I weave, like I described in Tools Day: Graph Paper)

Cotton yardage ready to cut for weaving rag rugs. — New cotton yardage is ready for cutting into strips for weaving double binding twill rag rugs. I am choosing four out of these six fabrics for this rug design.

Design graph for weaving a patterned rag rug. — Design graph sits on the cart next to my loom. A sliver of each selected fabric is scotch-taped to its color block on the graph for reference.

If I only consider the fun of weaving another rag rug, and fail to keep in mind the intended destination, I may create an interesting rug, but it won’t end up inside my sister’s doorway. The “fun” will be short-lived, and will produce disappointment or regret instead of finished satisfaction. That reminds me of something C.S. Lewis once said:

Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.

Double-binding twill rag rug on the loom.

Dream of heaven. It’s the place where God Himself removes every cause of tears. No death, no mourning, or crying, or pain. Every thread and every color will be in place, as it should be. Just imagine the Grand Weaver, making preparations for our home coming, as He places the final handwoven rug on the floor. Perfect fit.

May you dream big.

To the Finish,
Karen

Bold Hemstitching

March 13, 2015March 12, 2015 Karen

An embroidered trim is what I have in mind for this scarf. Hemstitching is just that. Instead of the usual single strand, I am using two strands of the 8/2 cotton weft in a contrasting color to accentuate the embroidered look. The hemstitching marks the beginning and the end. You can make hemstitching barely noticeable if you want, or you can make it so bold it can’t be missed, like I am doing with this one.

Hemstitching, with Contrasting Color:

Preliminary

Weave an inch/2.5 cm or more of fabric for a header.
Thread a blunt tapestry needle with a single or doubled strand of weft thread four times the weaving width.
Starting an inch/2.5 cm away from the right-hand selvedge, weave the needle over and under, next to the first weft thread in the weaving, going toward the selvedge.

Pull the stitching thread almost all the way, leaving the end woven into the selvedge. Capture the woven end within the first several stitches of the hemstitching.

Step 1

From right to left, take the needle under several warp ends. In this example, the needle goes under six ends.

Step 2

Pull the thread all the way through, keeping it taut at the woven edge.

Step 3

Take the needle back over the same (six) warp ends, and go under the same (six) warp ends, bringing the point of the needle back up between wefts, two or more rows away from the woven edge. In this example, the needle comes up between the third and fourth rows of weft.

Step 4

Pull the thread all the way through, keeping it taut at the woven edge.

Finishing

Repeat Steps 1 – 4 across the entire width.
Finish by needle weaving the stitching thread back into the selvedge for an inch/2.5 cm. Trim off the remaining stitching thread end.

Hemstitching at the end of the woven fabric:

Starting on the right-hand side, secure the end of the stitching thread as before, and follow Steps 1 – 4 for hemstitching across the width. The only difference is that the needle comes toward you under the cloth in Step 3, instead of away from you.

Bold hemstitching at end of cotton lace weave scarf. Karen Isenhower — Cotton lace-weave scarf in springtime colors. Bold hemstitching at the end.

Everything that has a beginning has an end. Since the beginning of time, and through the ages, our Maker has been unfolding His mystery of life and love. There will come a day, though, when the mystery is finished. Certainly, there will be bold hemstitching at the end of the cloth as the Maker, the Grand Weaver himself, brings time as we know it to a close.

May your days begin and end with an embroidered edging of love.

By hand,
Karen