Tag: design

Quality Rag Rugs

Karen

Does this color enhance or detract? Is there enough contrast between background and pattern? Is five centimeters of plain weave between pattern sections too long, or too short? I ask myself questions as I weave a new design. I consider all the technical aspects, as well. Warp tension, treadling finesse, and shuttle shuffling. Attention to detail matters.

Rosepath rag rug on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Design elements are planned before weaving, and then adjusted as weaving progresses on the loom.

Details begin in the planning stage with design, choice of materials, and colors. While weaving rosepath rag rugs, consistency counts. I aim for a consistently firm beat and good, tight selvedges. All of these elements contribute to quality. And as I grow in my weaving skills, overall quality improves.

Rosepath rag rugs require extra attention at the selvedges.
Rosepath rag rugs require extra attention at the selvedges.
Rosepath rag rug on the loom.
Yellow dash is made with a single weft pick. The single fabric strip is cut long enough to securely tuck the ends back into the shed.

A person’s character is defined by their motivations. It’s not what you do, but why you do it. It is not enough to look good. I can buy a cheap rug that looks good. But if I could examine how it was made, I might find the shortcuts that diminished its quality. Our inward motivations are revealed in our outward behaviors. The cheap rug fades and comes apart all too quickly. By examining our own motives we build quality of character. The result is not only lovely, but durable, too.

May your quality control efforts succeed.

With you,
Karen

Odds and Ends Rag Rug

Karen

What can you do with odds and ends? Plenty. I do use new cotton fabric for my rag rugs. But I refrain from buying new fabric until I absolutely have to. It’s a good challenge to combine available colors from previous rag rug projects to make a new design. There are two piles of color for this double binding rag rug. The blue pile and the brown/black pile. The color blocks switch places in the rug about every seventeen centimeters, with a three-pick white chain pattern in between.

Double binding rag rug. Red warp shows up as little red spots.
Collection of blue fabric, and a collection of brown and black fabric form the basis of this double binding rag rug.

I enjoy combining multiple shades of a color, such as the blue in this rug, to add character. Every odd fabric strip finds a place to belong. It ends up looking cozy and friendly. All the mismatched pieces somehow fit together.

Double binding rag rug.
Chain motif draws a line where the colors switch. Three picks form the chain. Print, white, print (the center section shows the reverse.)

We belong to somebody. We belong to the one who made us–the Creator of everything. He weaves the fabric strips together to make his beautiful design. Scraps become useful, and colors are mixed and rearranged in interesting ways. Together, the woven mixture has a purpose. A rag rug, made from odds and ends like us, puts the creativity of our Maker on display.

May you know where you belong.

Love,
Karen

What Rag Rugs Should Be

Karen

My goal for every rag rug I weave is to make a pleasant footpath that lasts through many, many seasons of wear. What makes an exceptional rag rug? Quality of workmanship and design. Tightly-packed weft, snug selvedges, and high quality materials produce a strong rug. And, great design includes an interplay of weave structure, color, detail elements, and functionality.

Tightly-packed weft in a double binding rag rug.
Tightly-packed weft in a double binding rag rug gives no hint of the opposite colors that show on the reverse side.
Double binding rag rug on the loom.
Double binding uses a two-block threading that determines where color changes can occur in the weft pattern.
Double binding rag rug being woven with two ski shuttles.
Two ski shuttles are used for weaving the two layers of a double binding rag rug. Consistent tight selvedges contribute to a long-lasting rug.

Strength is like a quality handcrafted rug that handles daily foot traffic. And joy is like the artist’s design, the colorful pattern, that is woven into the rug. Strength and joy go hand in hand. We see this in creation. And in our Creator, who gives of himself to those who come near. Be refreshed with strength and joy.

May you be refreshed.

With you,
Karen

Swedish Overshot Experience

Karen

Experience builds on experience. The more I practice the classic Swedish weave structures, the more freedom I have in the process. Dice weave, halvdräll, and, now, this monksbelt, are all related. These are variations of overshot. I am putting what I know into practice, even though this is the first time I have woven monksbelt on my own loom. (My prior experience with monksbelt was first in a workshop with Joanne Hall, and then, under Becky Ashenden’s tutelage at Vävstuga Swedish Classics.)

Colorful Fårö wool is used for the monksbelt pattern weft.
Colorful Fårö wool is used for the monksbelt pattern weft.

Plan projects from start to finish, dress the loom single-handedly, use complex threading and complicated treadling, and weave with multiple shuttles. Do you relish these challenges? It is possible to weave things that don’t require as much training or practice. You can find a pattern on Pinterest or in a magazine, and do what “everybody” is doing. Not much is required of “everybody” in the crowd.

Classic monksbelt pattern with innovative color variations.
Classic monksbelt patterning is repeated with different color variations.
Swedish overshot, such as monksbelt, uses two shuttles--one for fine thread, and one for the thicker pattern weft. Warp is 16/2 cotton. Ground weave weft is 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is 61 Fårö wool. Sett is 22 1/2 ends per inch. Weft density is 30 pattern picks per inch, with 2 tabby picks in between.
Swedish overshot, such as monksbelt, uses two shuttles–one for fine thread, and one for the thicker pattern weft. Warp is 16/2 cotton. Ground weave weft is 16/2 cotton. Pattern weft is 6/1 Fårö wool. Sett is 22 1/2 ends per inch. Weft density is 30 pattern picks per inch, with 2 tabby picks in between.

But some people strive to learn, and practice what they learn, building on previous experience. Consider truth. You are responsible for the truth you know. The more you are taught, the more that is required of you. And as you practice the truth you know, you discover the freedom that comes along in the process.

May you grow in experience.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Monksbelt Grid

Karen

I think of monksbelt as a grid. The grid, created in the threading, has blocks that I get to fill in with color. The only thing I have to do is follow the treadling draft and keep the two shuttles in their proper order. The rest is play. It is amazing what you can do with nine pattern colors, several background colors, and a simple grid. 

Classic monksbelt with a modern look. Karen Isenhower
Swedish monksbelt has two blocks in the pattern. Ground weave and pattern colors are changed in irregular intervals, giving a modern look to a classic weave structure.

A grid is a framework, a structure, that gives boundaries to the space. We need a grid for coloring our decisions, for outlining our beliefs, and for drawing our convictions. Our hearts can be fooled, so don’t trust your heart to tell you what is right. What seems right may be wrong. We need a higher standard for forming the patterns of our life. It makes sense to stay with the grid that the Grand Weaver, our Maker, planned when he dressed the loom. Then, filling in the blocks with color is pure joy.

May you find colors that delight you.

With joy,
Karen