Glimakra – Page 30 – Warped for Good

Process Review: From Drawloom to Garment

January 28, 2020January 26, 2020 Karen

I warped the drawloom with gray 6/2 Tuna wool several months ago with the goal to make fabric for a reversible vest. The beautiful drawloom fabric turned into dreamy garment-worthy fabric after washing! (See Process Review: Drawloom Jewels)

And then I hit two huge hurdles.

Hurdle 1. Fit.

In order to cut into handwoven drawloom fabric, I need assurance that the end result will fit me. My sewing assistant helped me refine a commercial pattern.

My sewing assistant, Miss Fit. — Meet my sewing assistant, Miss Fit.

After umpteen muslins and two or three mock-ups, I finally got the fit I was after. Confidence to cut!

Hurdle 2. Garment Construction Uncertainties.

Do some detail studies, my dear friend Elisabeth said to me. Her advice got me over the insecurity hurdle. A detail study is making a small sample to test a hypothesis or answer a question. I made a list of everything I wanted to know about constructing a vest from this type of handwoven wool fabric. And then, using some of the extra fabric from the sampling at the beginning of the warp, I did a detail study for each point on the list. Twelve detail studies in all.

(If you are interested in seeing my complete list of 12 detail studies for this project, click HERE to send me an email and ask for my “Detail studies”.)

Here are a few examples of my findings:

Zigzag before or after cutting? // Zigzag before cutting, stitch width 3, stitch length 2 1/2
Lapped seams? 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”? // Yes, lapped seams, overlap 1/2”, stitch basted line to guide placement
Neck and armhole curves – staystitch with hand running stitches or machine stitching? 1 row or 2? // Hand running stitches, 2 rows

Detail studies for handwoven garment construction. — Detail study testing lapped seams.

From the results of the detail studies I was able to compile a step-by-step garment construction plan. Confidence to sew!

Follow my process pictures of the garment construction to see the results:

Cutting lines marked with basting stitches.

How to stitch basted cutting lines. — Making an X with the basting thread at the corners. This helps clarify exactly where to stitch and cut. (One of Elisabeth’s helpful tips.)

Preparing handwoven cloth for garment sewing. — Buttonhole twist thread is used for the basted lines. It makes an easy guide for the sewing machine needle to follow. The zigzag stitches are just inside the line.

Sewing a handwoven garment. — Basting stitch on the front side piece is a guide for positioning the lapped seam.

Sewing a vest from handwoven drawloom fabric.

Handwoven vest. Ready for handwork details. — Ready for hand work.

Hand-stitching work by the fireplace. — Two rows of running stitches around the armholes and neck opening.

Blanket stitch on handwoven garment. — Blanket stitch is used to embellish and strengthen the armholes, neck, front edges, and lower edge of the vest.

Reversible handwoven vest. — Reverse side.

Handwoven reversible vest. Drawloom Woven.

May you find ways to leap over your hurdles.

Love,
Karen

Waiting to Cut Off the Tapestry

January 21, 2020January 20, 2020 Karen

I desperately want to unroll this tapestry so we can see the whole thing. The tapestry and its linen header are finished. But it’s not quite time to cut it off. First, I am weaving the rest of this beautiful linen warp. Not another tapestry, just a lacey rosepath weave using a tomato orange 6/1 tow linen weft.

One more row of weft for this Siblings tapestry! — With one more row of wool weft this tapestry is completed. Ten picks of linen in a plain-weave header follow. After that, a few rows of wool weft (leftover butterflies) are woven to secure the weft.

Linen on linen, with linen hemstitching. — Hemstitching secures the weft for this lacey weave.

It won’t take much time to weave this off, especially compared to the slower process of weaving the tapestry. Hemstitching, which does take time, will help keep this loosely-woven piece from unraveling when the warp is finally cut off. Soon enough, we will enjoy the full view of the completed Siblings tapestry.

View of the messy underside of the tapestry.

Only a short distance remains on this beautiful linen warp.

Time. We all have it. And yet none of us knows how much of it we have. How many days have we been given? We don’t know. Time is temporary. Imagine a place where time isn’t measured. That’s heaven. Our short time here is but a pilgrimage to another destination. Our trust in Jesus opens heaven’s doors. In the meantime, the Grand Weaver’s warp will be woven, and not wasted, to the very end.

May you complete your pilgrimage in the time you’ve been given.

Blessings on your journey,
Karen

Tried and True: Use a Boat Shuttle for Rag Weaving

January 14, 2020January 13, 2020 Karen

Wind very narrow fabric strips on quills and put them in a boat shuttle. It’s efficient. It’s faster to wind a quill than to load fabric on a ski shuttle. Plus, I like the advantage of sending a boat shuttle across rather than a ski shuttle. This rag rug on the drawloom has fabric strips that are only one centimeter (~3/8”) wide, instead of the usual two-centimeter-wide (~3/4”) strips for an ordinary rag rug. Grab your boat shuttle and pay attention to a few simple tips. Your very narrow fabric strips will be woven up in no time.

Tips for Using a Boat Shuttle to Weave Very Narrow Fabric Strips

Use fabric that has minimal fraying at the edges. Trim off any long threads. Loose dangling threads that are long enough to wind themselves on the quill will make you wish you had used a ski shuttle.

Wind the fabric with the right side down. Then, when the quill unrolls, the right side will be facing up.

Winding quills with narrow fabric strips. Rag rug on the drawloom. — Swedish bobbin winder is clamped to the side of the loom. A five-yard fabric strip is wound onto a quill. The right side of the fabric is against the quill.

Handle the wound quill as little as possible to prevent fraying the fabric edges. Simply wrap the tail end of the fabric strip around the filled quill. Do not wrap the end into a slip knot around the quill because the fabric will fray as you release the knot.

Winding narrow fabric strips on quills for drawloom rag rug. — One long fabric strip per quill. Fabric is cut 1 cm (3/8″) wide.

Fabric-wound quills ready for weaving drawloom rag rug. — One fabric-filled quill covers a little more than one unit of weaving (4 picks). I keep a dozen filled quills in the basket on my loom bench so I can keep weaving as long as possible.

Unwind enough weft for the pick before you throw the shuttle. Pull the weft out straight from the quill. When a quill unwinds in the shed, the weft comes off at an angle. And as such, if there are any loose threads at the edges of the fabric strips, the threads will wind themselves on the quill and bind it up. And you will wish you had used a ski shuttle.

Folke Samuelson Damask Shuttle - drawloom rag rug! — Folke Samuelson Damask Shuttle has a low profile, well-suited for the smaller sheds of the drawloom. Fabric is unrolled from the shuttle prior to the next pick.

Design is "Trasmatta Snöfall" ("Snowfall Rag Rug") by Kerstin Åsling-Sundberg, from Damast, Horlags AB Vavhasten — Drawloom rag rug is well underway. Single unit drawcords are pulled and held in place on the pegs above the beater. Design is *Trasmatta Snöfall* (*Snowfall Rag Rug*) by Kerstin Åsling-Sundberg, from *Damast*, edited by Lillemor Johansson.

May your hands enjoy their work.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Weaving Ideas – Year in Review Video

January 7, 2020January 6, 2020 Karen

Everything starts with an idea. And some of those ideas become tangible expressions of dreams come true. Who knew that a simple idea in 2012 would lead to a seven-year exploration of weaving through The Big Book of Weaving? (See Weaving through The Big Book.) Who knew that weaving on a drawloom in 2016 at Homestead Fiber Crafts would plant the idea of weaving on a drawloom of my own? (see Quiet Friday: Day at the Drawloom.) And who knew that an idea in 2013 to write about my weaving journey, calling it Warped for Good, would bring friends like you to come and enjoy the journey with me? For these things and so much more, I am truly grateful.

Siblings Tapestry is 3 cm away from completion! — Siblings Tapestry is three centimeters away from completion.

Drawloom rag rug - single-unit. — Single-unit drawloom rag rug is ten centimeters into testing everything–draw cords, sheds, shuttles. After a few more adjustments the actual rag rug weaving will commence.

Your ideas are priceless. That’s because you are priceless. You were made in God’s image, with the ability to imagine wonderful intricacies through creative thinking. In fact, you began as God’s idea. As we walk with him, we become the tangible expression of his dream come true.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit here with me to reminisce over the past weaving year.

May this year bring your best ideas ever.

For you,
Karen

Single-Unit Boldness

December 31, 2019December 30, 2019 Karen

Doing something bold is a dramatic way to end the year. I have added 200 single-unit draw cords to the drawloom. The bold thing is that I am using lanyard clips. This changes the usual process of setting up the draw cords, so I’m making some of it up as I go.

First, I sleyed the cords through the single-unit reed (used for spacing the draw cords). Next, I put a one-inch lanyard clip on every lift heddle. Now, one at a time, in order, I attach a lift heddle to a pattern unit, and then clip the lift heddle to the draw cord. Repeat 200 times. (I picked up the clever tip about lanyard clips online from Su Butler, who has, admittedly, a different type of drawloom setup than what I have.)

When this drawloom rag rug project is finished, I should be able to unclip the draw cords from the pattern units, leave the draw cords in place on the loom, and start fresh for the next project. Progress through the new year will reveal whether this bold action is a good idea…or not.

Journey in Pictures:

Setting up single-unit draw cords on the drawloom.

Lift heddles for the single-unit drawloom.

Attaching lift heddles to single-unit draw cords.

Lanyard clips on the drawloom. Process pics.

Placing the single-unit reed on the drawloom.

Pattern heddles in position. Drawloom process pics.

Drawloom almost ready for weaving! Process pics.

May you take a bold step into the new year.

In with the new,
Karen