Tag: monksbelt

Weaving with Friends

Karen

Welcome back into my studio. I have been weaving, finishing, winding warps, and dressing looms. And spending time with friends. What better way to enjoy friends than to go on a floor-loom-weaving expedition together? Weaving Extravaganza at Homestead Fiber Crafts in Waco, Texas is the getaway. The looms are dressed and ready for us when we arrive. Abilities and experience are irrelevant. Anyone can do this!

From the projects available, I choose to weave a textured shawl. Keleen, a rigid heddle weaver (sitting at a floor loom this time), chooses to make fabric for an apron with a monksbelt border. Jan, who has never touched a loom until now, weaves natural-colored-cotton dish towels. Four hours pass in a flash, with weaving and camaraderie. We each complete our handwoven cloth. After returning home our fabrics are washed and finished, ready for use. My shimmering shawl is just right for a cool evening. Keleen’s fabric is soon to become an heirloom apron. And Jan’s first handwoven towels are drying dishes. Success!

Textured Shawl woven at Homestead Fiber Crafts.
Textured Shawl, mixed fibers, plain weave.
Textured Shawl woven at Homestead Fiber Crafts.
Golden yarn is used for weft stripes near the border.
Monksbelt apron fabric woven at Homestead Fiber Crafts.
Monksbelt apron fabric, cotton, plain weave and two-shuttle monksbelt pattern weave.
Natural colored cotton dish towels woven at Homestead Fiber Crafts.
Natural-colored-cotton dish towels, plain weave.
Natural Colored Cotton Dish Towels woven at Homestead Fiber Crafts.
Towels are made with all natural colors of cotton thread. This set uses a brown weft.

Abilities and experience come in all shapes and sizes. Anyone who wants to learn, can. Your heart goes in the direction you turn it. The Lord sees your heart. He’s not looking for ability or experience. He reaches the heart that is turned toward him. That’s where his grace comes to life.

May you have true friends.

Your friend,
Karen

One More Swedish Art Weaves Bag

Karen

A warp is finished when the woven cloth has been taken to completion. At that point, the loom is free for a new warp. That is the rule I’ve given myself. If I ignore the rule and put on a new warp before its time, the unfinished cloth has a way of staying unfinished for too long.

Joanne Hall's Swedish Art Weaves workshop in San Antonio, Texas.
Ready to pack up after the Swedish Art Weaves workshop and take my loom back home. The Joanne Hall workshop was sponsored by the enthusiastic San Antonio Handweavers Guild a few months ago.
Monksbelt woven with pick-up.
Monksbelt pattern continued at home.
Swedish art weaves - dukagång.
Woven from the back, this dukagång pattern came from a Swedish publication I borrowed from the San Antonio Handweavers Guild library.
Weaving krabbasnår and other Swedish art weaves.
Krabbasnår, just behind the fell line, is from a pattern in Heirlooms of Skåne, Weaving Techniques, by Gunvor Johansson.

Thanks to that completion rule, I have a new bag. This fabric includes the various patterns that I wove in Joanne Hall’s workshop on Swedish Art Weaves several months ago. You will also see that I explored some patterns on my own at home. I gained two excellent outcomes from this finishing pursuit—a new bag to use, and a loom that is free for the next warp! (See the first bag here: Monksbelt Flowers on a Shoulder Bag)

Making a bag from Swedish art weaves.
Side piece, krabbasnår, is hand-stitched in place. From the top of the bag to the bottom – krabbasnår (krabba), rölakan, halvkrabba, dukagång, munkabälte (monksbelt), each section separated by plain weave stripe variations.
Handwoven bag made from Swedish art weaves.
On this side of the finished bag, from top to bottom – halvkrabba, dukagång, munkabälte. I made the hard decision to take out a section of rölakan I had woven in order to be able to put the knots from the linen warp at the top of the bag.
Handwoven bag made from Swedish art weaves.
Bag is lined and has pockets, and has a magnetic snap closure. The 6/2 Tuna wool shoulder strap was woven on my Glimåkra band loom.
Handwoven Swedish art weaves bag just finished. Now, on to the next warp!
Now, on to the next warp!

Left to myself, I’d rather do what I want. I’d rather start a new project than bring an “old” one to completion. I’m glad my Lord is faithful with me. He completes the work that he began. The Good Shepherd tends his sheep. He leads us to the still waters of peaceful perseverance, saving us from the regret of going our own way. And we have his perfect outcome to look forward to.

May you resist doing what you’d rather do.

With you,
Karen

Monksbelt Flowers on a Shoulder Bag

Karen

Remember Joanne Hall’s Swedish Art Weaves workshop that I took a few months ago? With the warp that was left, I explored some of the art weaves in more depth.

Monksbelt (Munkabälte), Dukagång, and Halvkrabba can be seen below the warp.
Monksbelt (Munkabälte), Dukagång, and Halvkrabba can be seen below the warp.

I finished off the linen warp by making a front and back panel for a small shoulder bag. A monksbelt pattern is scattered like flowers on the front. The back has various stripe patterns in weft-faced plain weave. I wove a shoulder strap on my band loom using 6/2 Tuna wool for warp and 12/6 cotton for weft.

Weaving Monksbelt with half heddle sticks.
Half-heddle sticks and batten in front of the back beam, for weaving monksbelt patterns.
Pick up for monksbelt.
Pick-up stick in front of the reed is being used to weave a monksbelt flower “petal.”
Handwoven shoulder bag in progress.
Back panel has varying stripe patterns.
Cutting off.
Cutting off.
Glimakra band loom. Narrow wool band.
Narrow wool band for the bag shoulder strap.

The bag has simple construction, mostly hand-stitched. In one of my remnant bins I found a piece of wool fabric that I wove several years ago. It’s perfect for the sides and bottom of the bag. The lining uses pieces from fabric that went into my latest rag rugs, and has pockets, of course.

Making a handwoven wool bag.
Overhand knots secure the warp ends.
Construction of a wool shoulder bag.
Ready to assemble all the parts.
Constructing a small handwoven wool bag.
Handwoven wool pieces are hand-stitched together.
Handwoven wool bag construction.
Bag construction continues with stitching the back in place.
Magnet closure on a handwoven bag.
Magnet closure is added to the lining before stitching the lining in place. Knots and fringe outline the top of the bag.

This bag with Monksbelt Flowers is for carrying sweet memories, happy moments, and heavenly dreams.

Handwoven shoulder bag.
Inside of handwoven wool bag.
Pockets in the lining.
Monksbelt Flowers handwoven shoulder bag.

Resources: Swedish Art Weaves workshop with Joanne Hall; Heirlooms of Skåne Weaving Techniques, by Gunvor Johansson; Väv Scandinavian Weaving Magazine, 2/2013.

This is the time for my annual pause for the month of July. I appreciate you joining me in this weaving journey!

I look forward to being back with you again Tuesday, August 4. In the meantime, joyfully draw living water from the source, Jesus Christ.

May you carry no more than necessary.

With love,
Karen

Swedish Art Weaves with Joanne Hall

Karen

Krabbasnår (or Krabba), Rölakan, Halvkrabba, Dukagång, and Munkabälte (Monksbelt). These unique weaves have intrigued me since I first saw photos of them. Some of the designs look like hand-stitched embroidery. The Swedish Art Weaves workshop with Joanne Hall introduces the simple techniques used for weaving these traditional patterns. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to learn how to weave these beautiful designs for myself.

Swedish Art Weaves workshop with Joanne Hall.
Joanne brought examples of Swedish art weaves for the students to view.

Joanne’s presentation to the San Antonio Handweavers Guild was enlightening. Photos of her travels to Sweden show how the rich weaving heritage there continues to thrive. That, along with Joanne’s knowledge of Swedish weaving traditions, gives context to these Swedish art weaves.

Krabbasnår, a Swedish art weave.
Krabbasnår (krabba) is a laid-in technique with a plain weave ground. The pattern uses three strands of wool Fårö yarn. The warp is 16/3 linen.
Weaving Krabba, a Swedish art weave.
Besides maintaining warp width, the temple is useful for covering up the weft tails to keep them out of the way.
Workshop with Joanne Hall. Swedish Art Weaves.
Joanne explains the next step to workshop participants.
Swedish Art Weaves sampler, with Joanne Hall.
Dukagång is another laid-in technique with a plain weave ground. A batten is placed behind the shafts to make it easy to have the pattern wefts cover two warp threads. (A jack loom can do the same by using half-heddle sticks in front of the shafts.) Dukagång can be woven as a threaded pattern, but then the weaver is limited to that one structure, instead of having different patterns all in the same woven piece.
Fascinating way to weave monksbelt!
With threaded monksbelt, as I have woven previously, the monksbelt flowers are in a fixed position. With this art weaves monksbelt, the monksbelt flowers can be placed wherever you want them. Half-heddle sticks at the back, batten behind the shafts, and a pick-up stick in front of the reed–a fascinating way to weave this traditional pattern.
Swedish Art Weaves workshop with Joanne Hall. So much fun!
Last loom standing… Time to pack up. As I prepare the loom for transport, I detach the cloth beam cords. Now we can see the right side of what I have woven.
Swedish Art Weaves with Joanne Hall. Fun!
From the top: Krabbasnår, Rölakan Tapestry, Halvkrabba, Dukagång, and Munkabälte.

Väv 2/2013 has instructions for the art weaves. I have the magazine issue, but Joanne’s workshop brings the historical techniques to life and makes them understandable. That is exactly the prompting I needed to begin exploring these fascinating patterns on my own loom.

Weaving Swedish art weaves from the back.
Back at home, my little loom is getting ready to weave some more beautiful Swedish art weave designs.

May something historical be your new interest.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Weaving through The Big Book

Karen

It took me seven years of study, practice, and mistakes to complete this rigorous Swedish weaving curriculum! You have been with me through much of it right here. I’m talking about The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell. I made it through the book, sequentially, page by page, warp by warp. 43 warps in all! Remember the blue 12-shaft double-weave blanket I had on the loom in June? That is the final project in the book.

Handwoven double weave blanket. 12 shafts.
Double-weave wool fabric is ready for wet finishing, where it will be transformed into a soft, cozy blanket.

In the short video below, each completed project is presented in order in our Texas hill country home. Watch to the end to see the blue blanket in all its finished glory.

For nitty-gritty details, check out The Big Book of Weaving tab at the top of the page.

I. Secrets to success:

  • mindset of a student
  • determination
  • eyes on the goal
  • no option other than completion

One loom dedicated to the book.


II. Lessons learned:

  • technique
  • processes
  • planning
  • drafting
  • Swedish practices

Any mistake can be remedied.


III. Treasures gained:

  • patience
  • humility
  • endurance
  • focused attention
  • problem solving
  • creative freedom

Confidence.


IV. Prized perspectives:

  • new experiences
  • delight of dressing the loom
  • wonder of cloth-making
  • fresh ideas
  • joy of discovery
  • knowledge and understanding of the loom

Getting lost and absorbed in the whole process of weaving.

V. Favorite project: Old-Fashioned Weaving / Monksbelt (at 4:46 in the video)

Are we determined students of heavenly things? Oh, to know God’s will! Study what’s written, don’t lose heart, eyes on the prize, no option besides completion through Jesus Christ. One life dedicated to know him. Day by day, warp by warp, the Grand Weaver teaches us. We can know God’s will.

May you be a lifelong learner.

Happy Weaving to you,
Karen