All my spools are quills, mostly pre-made cardboard, with a couple of rolled-brown-paper exceptions. I keep a few sizes of quills ready, sorted in little mugs inside a basket. The basket sits on a shelf under the table that holds my bobbin-winder, so I simply reach down and grab the size quill I need at the moment.
One of the mugs says Glimåkra (from Joanne Hall, my Glimåkra friend), another mug is a handle-less one I picked up at Ikea years ago that looks like a little flower pot, one is a baby’s pewter cup (when does a baby use a pewter cup?), but the mug I like best is my husband’s childhood milkglass cup with red two-block twill design (at least that’s what I’m calling it), and a blue “S” for Steve.
This fun idea of weavers sharing pictures of their spools is from Meg over at Unravelling. Thanks, Meg!
I like to use up as much thread as possible as I finish a project. The final towel on this warp has horizontal stripes of varying widths as I empty as many quills as I can.Several sizes of quills ready to be used. I like being able to tell at a glance if I am running short of any size.Quills with thread/yarn left from various projects. Do you see the two-block twill on the “Steve” cup?Everything in place for winding a quill.
May your springtime be memorable with happy surprises.
Every time I use my bobbin winder I am reminded of how fortunate I am. It’s electric. No one has an electric bobbin winder quite like mine, because no one else has my Steve to invent things like he does. He watched me using my nifty hand-turn Swedish bobbin winder many times. Steve decided he could make something better. A motor and an on-off light switch, with a variable-speed foot pedal. It’s perfect! I love it. But mostly, I love Steve.
Electric bobbin winder holds any length of quill. The quill fits tightly onto a tapered dowel that extends from the bobbin winder.
The leather quilting thimble keeps me from burning or cutting my thumb as the thread speeds by while I guide it onto the fast spinning quill on the bobbin winder.
I am on my very last tube of this shade of light blue. Will there be enough on this quill to finish the last blue section of the last of four towels in this color scheme, plus enough for the light blue hem?? Somehow, I think a tightly- and perfectly-shaped quill will be able to weave just a little bit further… (You can see the beginning of this set of four towels HERE.)
Small amount of light blue left on the quill. Maybe I can use the remainder for a couple of small stripes on another towel.
Yes! Finished the hem with a little bit of light blue left to spare. This is a good day!
To request Steve’s parts and source list for the electric bobbin winder, click HERE to send me an email.
What is the secret weapon for improving selvedges, preventing draw-in, and getting a more even beat, leading to better quality handwoven fabric? Use of a temple (also known as a stretcher), of course! The temple is a tool that simply holds the woven cloth on the loom at the proper width. I almost always use a temple when I weave because I like the consistency that it brings to my weaving. It may seem counterintuitive to stop frequently to re-set the temple, but I have found that moving the temple becomes part of the rhythm of weaving. The cloth develops inch by inch, and the temple is in sync with that.
How to set a temple:
1. Place the temple upside down on the warp next to the reed. Remove the pin. Expand the temple to the width of the warp, with the center of the teeth aligned with the outside warp thread on each side.
2. Put the pin in aligned holes to hold the width of the temple.
3. Turn the temple right side up, with the pin facing toward you, and the metal slider on the right half of the temple. Place the temple near the fell of the weaving; set the teeth on the left side of the temple into the warp threads near the selvedge.
4. Keeping the left teeth in the cloth, set the temple teeth on the right into the threads near the selvedge on the right side of the cloth.
5. Press down the center of the temple. Move the metal slider toward the center to secure the temple, keeping it flat.
6. Weave. The reed should not touch the temple when you beat. After weaving an inch (or two, or three, depending on what is being woven), release temple by moving the metal slider. Remove temple. Repeat steps 3 through 6 until weaving is complete.
Two small pin holes from the temple teeth can be seen near the left selvedge of the cloth. These holes will disappear when the cloth is wet finished.
Handwoven rag rugs hold a fascinating appeal for many people. Does it have to do with the secure feeling of being home? After all, rag rugs are to be walked on at home, are they not? You don’t expect them at work, in the marketplace, or in palaces. A walked-on rag rug says, “Home, sweet home.”
Besides a sturdy floor loom (mine is a Glimakra countermarch loom), only a few good tools are needed to weave a rag rug. There are many different ways to prepare and weave fabric strips to make rugs, but I would like to show you how I do it with the tools that serve me well.
For cutting fabric strips:
Olfa Cutting Mat (24 x 36 inch) – Large enough to cut long strips.
Olfa Lip Edge Ruler (24 inch) – Essential for consistency and ease of measuring. The lip of the ruler catches the edge of the mat and keeps the ruler from shifting as you cut.
Olfa Deluxe Rotary Cutter (60 mm) – The 60 mm blade easily cuts through several layers of fabric (much better than a 45 mm blade). My other brand rotary cutter did not hold up to extensive use.
Ansell HyFlex Kevlar Cut Resistant Glove – My woodcarving husband suggested this for me. The cutter blade is dangerously sharp, so the protective glove is a wise idea.
Pre-washed cotton fabric, cut into 3/4-inch (2 cm) strips, to use as weft in rag rugs.
For weaving rag rugs:
Temple – This tool stretches the weaving to the width that is consistent with the width of the warp as it comes through the reed. I wouldn’t attempt to weave a rug without this tool.
Sharp teeth at ends of the temple grip the selvedges to keep the weaving at a constant width.
Turquoise Cart from Ikea – Not particularly essential (a chair with a box would do), but entirely useful. Why not have a pleasant and organized way to keep the fabric strips, shuttles, and supplies close at hand?
A place for everything, and everything in its place. This turquoise cart from Ikea is perfect for keeping all the fabric strips in order as I weave.
Ski Shuttles – My favorite ski shuttle, of course, is the beautiful cherrywood shuttle that Steve made for me–a delight to see and to touch. This type of shuttle is perfect for the way I weave rag rugs. A five-yard strip of fabric, cut with tapered ends, is easily wound on the shuttle. When the shuttle is empty, I wind on another fabric strip. I overlap the tapered fabric ends in the shed. There is no ripping, sewing, folding, or pressing. Simple, seamless, secure.
Handmade cherrywood ski shuttle glides through the shed with ease.
May you rest in the comfort of your home, sweet home.
Whatever you do, choose good tools. Scissors are probably the most frequently used small tools in my weaving room and sewing space, so it makes sense to use quality scissors. I started with Gingher many years ago, and have never been disappointed in their performance, so there are several in my collection.
Painted red leather sheath, found on one of my trips to the Philippines, protects this pair of five-inch Gingher Sewing Scissors. These scissors live in a holder on the table where I wind all my quills.
I have a variety of scissors, and each has their own special place to call home. A few sit in custom felt sheaths. To make the sheaths, I wove a variegated wool band on my inkle loom, which I then machine washed and dried vigorously to cause the wool to felt. I then cut and stitched each little sheath to size.
Five-inch Gingher Sewing Scissors that live in the loom bench basket by my Glimakra Standard. I clip threads as I go, so these must be in easy reach. The felt sheath doubles as a pin cushion.
And, as your mother always told you, never ever use the fabric scissors to cut paper. There are paper scissors for that.
Eight-inch Gingher Dressmaker’s Shears for cutting fabric, and only fabric. Cutting the warp off the loom counts as cutting fabric.Pretty little scissors that live on my sewing/cutting table. These are used for clipping sewing threads and for some finishing work.Famore 4.5″ Rainbow Colored Snips also live on my sewing/cutting table. They come with me to the sewing machine for quick and easy snipping of threads.Travel thread cutter lives in the bag with my travel tapestry loom. The handwoven band, worn around my neck, keeps the Clover cutter at my fingertips.Gingher Thread Snip is the most recent addition to my cutting collection. It lives on my Glimakra Ideal loom, hanging on the corner of the front beam. While weaving, I wear the inkle-woven band around my neck, so the snips are always at hand.It must be bedtime for the scissors, snippers, and cutters!
