Tag: Glimakra Standard

How to Strip the Fun out of Weaving

Karen

No fancy stuff for this rug, like rya or loops. The main thing is to finish off this warp. I am eager to get on to the next project–monksbelt (munkabalte)! Even so, it is good to enjoy what you are doing, to be happy and content with what you have and where you are. There is no use complaining about having to finish this. …even though something else seems more exciting.

Simple rag rug on Glimakra Standard.
Simple rag rug using neutral colors. Dark weft stripe is produced by two consecutive rows of a dark brown print fabric as weft.

A grumbling attitude can strip all the joy from the current process. Grumbling poisons your thinking. It starts as a small complaint, but is never content to stay small. In fact, grumbling spreads to other people and corrupts their desires, too. Better to refuse it before it has a chance to begin. Notice and enjoy the blessing of the moment you are in. And so far, I haven’t found a rag rug I didn’t enjoy weaving. Now that’s a blessing!

May your attitude be worthy of imitation.

With contentment,
Karen

Tools Day: Rag Rug Finishing Video

Karen

Do you know how easy it is to finish the ends of a rag rug that you plan to hem? You cannot trust a sewing machine to do the job. Neither a zig-zag stitch nor a serged edge adequately catches all the ends, as they do for other handwoven items. Hand-tied knots will ensure that your rug endures the test of time.

Large rag rug cut from the loom. Instructions for finishing ends.
Rag rug is cut off the Glimåkra Standard loom. A warp thread header (1 cm) is woven at both ends of the rug, and about 5 cm of scrap header (scrap fabric strips) is woven outside of that. The scrap header helps keep the rug from unravelling when it is removed from the loom.

The following video details the few simple steps needed to prepare your rag rug for hemming.

Tools:

  • Two-pound walking weights
  • 5″ Sacking needle (I found mine at WeavingSouthwest)
  • Hair comb
  • Cutting mat
  • Acrylic ruler
  • Rotary cutter

May you finish what you start.

All the best,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Rya Rag Rug

Karen

I wasn’t happy with a simple “X” for the design area, but I struggled to come up with something better for this rug. And then, Steve and I went to the symphony. There, on the floor, in the long hallway, was the inspiration I needed for the pattern design on this rug!

Design inspiration for a rug.
Design inspiration is found on the floor on the way to the symphony.

Despite all that went wrong from the start, and how many things I had to undo and do over, I must tell you that I really did enjoy weaving this rug. The rya knots and loops made it fun and interesting. And this unique fluffy rug will always remind me of that sweet symphony date with my honey, when he patiently waited as I pulled out my iPhone to snap a few shots of the floor. Now that’s love.

Counting warp ends on the warping reel.
Counting warp ends on the warping reel.
Dressing the loom starts with pre-sleying the reed.
Dressing the loom starts with pre-sleying the reed.
Ski shuttle and temple for making large rag rug.
Ski shuttle holds doubled weft–fabric cut into 3/4″-wide strips.
Cutting fabric strips for rya knots.
Three different lengths of fabric strips are used for making the rya knots.
Placing rya knots in large rag rug.
Adding more rya knots.
Large rag rug with rya knots and loops.
Loops are made with the help of a wooden dowel.
Rag rug with inlay, using a brown paper cartoon under the warp.
Brown paper cartoon under the warp has the outline for the pattern. Lines on the cartoon, showing where to change the inlay technique, are inked onto the warp as a guide.
Making loops on a rag rug. Fun!
Making loops.
Extra warp width after re-sleying the reed.
After weaving a sample at the very beginning, I re-sleyed the reed, spreading the warp ends further apart. Excess warp ends, because of the increased width, are chained on both sides. Future band loom warps?
Another do-over.
Don’t ask. Almost finished weaving, and another do-over happened.
Cutting off!! Time to celebrate!!
Cutting off! Time to celebrate!!
Handwoven rag rug with rya knots and loops.
Sculpted inlay appearance is achieved by graduated lengths of the rya strips and heights of the loops.

Rag rug with rya and loops. Karen Isenhower

May your design inspiration come from unanticipated places.

Love,
Karen

Storm Troopers in a Rag Rug?

Karen

There are some crazy prints embedded in my rag rugs. I buy cotton fabric in five-yard lengths. When I scan the fabric bolts at the store, I look for specific colors and interesting patterns. More prints make it into my rugs than solid colors.

Fabric for another interesting rag rug!
Drawn to a bolt of fabric with a touch of blue on a mostly-white background, I was surprised to find the popular sci-fi vehicles in the print. Storm Troopers can hide in plain sight on this rug.

Unusual prints can add hidden surprises to a rug. Take Star Wars prints, for example. No one will know that the Millenium Falcon or Storm Troopers are in the finished rug. After all, the fabric has been sliced into strips, and is used only intermittently as weft and inlay. But the weaver… she knows, and smiles about it. Am I a Star Wars fanatic? No, not by a long shot. I selected the fabric for its colors and effect. I wanted to make something new out of these popular movie prints.

Rag rug with rya knots and loops.
Where are the Storm Troopers? There are a few hiding among the rya strips, and some are in the weft rows that stand out as black and white.
Creating loops on a rag rug.
Loops are created on the rug, using a wooden dowel. And a five-yard strip of Millenium Falcon fabric waits on the ski shuttle, ready to be hidden in the weave.

This is what our Savior does for us. Jesus takes us as we are and makes us completely new. We each come marked with unusual prints, and wonder what can be made of us. Jesus is not patching and fixing things, leaving us in our original state. He is making something completely new. Our personality and individual features are still there, for our Grand Weaver finds a way to make them into something good. Perhaps he smiles at the thought.

May your unusual prints bring a smile to your Maker.

With you,
Karen

Ability Is Not Enough

Karen

I love a challenging project! It is marvelous to have something on the loom that takes effort, concentration, and problem-solving skills (as long as there aren’t too many problems to solve). This inlay rag rug project includes all of the above, and it’s on the big loom–my favorite. This is handweaving at its best!

Rya rag rug on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Rya knots slow the weaving process. Fabric strips are cut to a specific length and the cut pieces are hand-tied around pairs of warp ends.

I am constantly evaluating the pattern, and making needed adjustments with color in the background and with the rya, and spacing the rya knots. Is this working? Or not? Take out a few rows, try putting something different in, step back for a better overall view. Moving and thinking, and beating it in hard, like it should be for a rug. The momentum of the hanging beater makes the hard work easy. And fun.

Rug rug with rya knots on the loom.
Weft is firmly beaten in. The momentum of the hanging beater provides the strength I need to be able to tightly pack in the weft.

Ability by itself is not enough. Wisdom works with ability to produce craftsmanship of highest quality. Our Creator gives us insight that enhances our natural talents and learned skills. When wisdom partners with ability, creativity flourishes. And what a joy it is to be in the middle of that process.

May you excel in joyful creativity.

Very happy weaving,
Karen