Tag: Swedish

Unrolling New Towels

Karen

The length of woven cloth unrolls and unrolls until you get all the way back to the front tie-on bar. The towels are 70% linen. Oh, how I wish you could touch this fabric! You would feel the crispness of a linen tea towel, with a little bit of cotton softness.

Cutting off! Plattväv linen towels.
Plattväv towels and one table square are unrolled from the loom. Last to come through are the warp end knots securely hugging the front tie-on bar.

It all comes back to the front tie-on bar. This is where the weaving begins. The warp ends must be secure at the beginning. No one wants the tie-on knots to slip as the woven fabric rounds the cloth beam. You want warp ends to be securely fastened, with no chance of losing their grip. Your cloth depends on it.

Plattväv towels waiting to be hemmed.
Plattväv towels, with 22/2 cottolin warp, and 16/1 linen weft. The towels have been washed, dried, and pressed. They are ready to be hemmed.

Think of yourself gripping onto hope. Think of the knots that hold tightly to the front tie-on bar. Hold tightly to hope, and don’t let go while the weaving progresses. Our hope is not some vague wish. Our hope is based on the redeeming work of Jesus Christ–God’s promise to be with us. God can be trusted to keep his promise. Don’t waver in your tight grip on this true hope. The fabric of your life depends on it.

May you be known for hope.

Hopeful,
Karen

Thankful for Plattväv

Karen

The brilliant blue linen, with its natural luster, is a lively option for the plattväv pattern floats. And blue linen weft for the hem makes a fitting border. These towels with blue accents have a different “character” than the towels with the black linen accents (as seen in Striped Warp Freedom). The accent color makes a big difference.

Plattväv towels with linen weft.
Golden bleached 16/1 linen for plain weave weft. Plattväv pattern weft is doubled royal blue 16/1 linen.

I planned stripes in the warp to simplify the weaving. The warp stripes enable me to weave patterned towels with a single weft color. Plattväv weft floats keep it interesting. As much as I like blue linen, I am uncertain about it here. I’m waiting to see the towels off the loom, washed and dried. In the meantime, the warp stripes make my heart sing. And I’m thankful to have options for the pattern weft.

Blue 16/1 linen is used to weave the hem. Karen Isenhower
Royal blue 16/1 linen is used to weave the hem. The antique Swedish shuttle seems appropriate for this Swedish weave.

We always have a reason to sing. ThanksGiving may be a holiday, but it’s also a way of life. It’s seeing the good, the benefits, the blessings, even in the midst of uncertainty. It’s knowing that carefully planned warp stripes are still there. My hope is in God. My soul is confident, firm, and steadfast in him. And thankful to the core.

May your heart find a song to sing.

With you,
Karen

Stripes on the Warp Beam

Karen

Why are stripes appealing? Stripes on the loom look good. I don’t usually wind warps in advance. I like to wind a warp and put it directly on the loom. But, recently, when I wasn’t able to weave, I was able wind warps. Now, one of those warps is beamed, and soon I’ll be weaving some striped plattväv towels.

Striped warp for cottolin and linen towels. Glimakra Ideal.
Narrow stripes wrap around the back beam. Next step is threading heddles. One step closer to weaving towels…

This draft is from one of my favorite Swedish weaving books, Kalasfina Vävar, by Ann-Kristin Hallgren. I changed the colors and modified the stripes, while attempting to keep the attractive appeal of the original stripe design. We will see the full effect when weaving begins. The warp is the first part of the picture. The weft always brings a transformation. The golden bleached linen, in this case, won’t change the warp, but it will create a fresh palette.

Black and white photo shows the color values.
Making a black and white photo is a good way to see the color values.

Faith and truth are partners. Truth becomes clear through faith. Warp and weft. Truth and faith. A fabric of convictions is woven to hand to the next generation. The good news of Jesus Christ is a message of faith and truth. The truth doesn’t change; but it comes alive when woven with faith.

May your convictions be securely woven.

Yours truly,
Karen

Planning Swedish Towels

Karen

After spreading out a few Swedish weaving books and other resources, I am ready to develop my own version of towels in plattväv, a classic Swedish weave. I have double-checked my calculations, so I’m ready to wind the warp. This set of towels has a cottolin warp and linen weft.

Planning new handwoven Swedish-style towels.
Planning sheet holds all the details for a weaving project. I use digital devises for planning most things, but for my weaving plans I still like paper and pencil the best.
Winding a striped warp for cottolin towels.
White, black, silver, ash gray, and pale blue gray. The pale blue gray seems to turn the other grays into brownish hues.

As always, I started with more than enough thread. Unfortunately, I made a major error while winding the warp. By the time I noticed the error, I had already wound 264 meters (289 yards) of warp. I chained off the mistake, putting it aside for another use. I started over, correctly this time, but I had a nagging worry that I might run out of white thread…

Warp winding for cottolin towels is complete.
Warp winding is complete. Smallest tube of white thread is close to empty. Spool crate is elevated to reduce the distance needed to bend down.
Warp chains for striped towels.
Smaller warp chain on the left was wound incorrectly. The threads will be divided up and used for weaving bands on the band loom. The two warp chains on the right will become striped handtowels with plattväv (platt weave) patterning.

Worry doesn’t make anything better, and big worries can lead us into a downward spiral in our thoughts. Prayer pushes worry away. When we pray about the things we are tempted to worry about, God’s peace acts as a guard over our hearts and minds. His peace frees us from the weight of worry. And we often learn later that our worry had been unfounded. Like my worry about the white thread, which, despite my blunder, did not run out.

May you forget your worries.

All the best,
Karen

More Rosepath Rag Rug Ideas

Karen

This is my favorite rosepath rag rug of all time! (Have I said that before?) I like the unexpected color changes that occur in the design. While the main rosepath pattern is woven in a yellow batik, the background tabby changes from pink to a mixed print, and then a single brown stripe outlining solid blue.

Classic rosepath motif in a rag rug on the loom.
Single row of dark brown tabby serves to outline the central rosepath motif.

The other thing I like about this design is the repeated uneven plain weave weft stripes–three rows green and two rows black. The ideas for color changes and uneven stripes came from looking at rugs in my Swedish weaving books. I have another rug to weave on this warp before we get to see this “favorite” spread out on the floor.

Weaving a rosepath rag rug. So many design possibilities!
Every weft, including the rosepath pattern weft, goes around the selvedge warp ends. The inactive yellow batik fabric strip is carried up the selvedge through the active wefts.

Designs start with ideas. Who designed the intricate workings of the human body, or had the idea of putting planets together in a solar system? The universe is amazing, with every explicit detail honoring the Creator. Designed to operate on the faithful love of the Lord, this universe is a divine idea brought to life. With the glimpses we see of his perfect design, we can’t help but give our Grand Weaver the admiration he deserves.

May you have plenty of favorites to weave.

Happy weaving,
Karen