So many people are afraid to cut their handwoven fabric….
BUT…. conquering the fear of snipping means that you can chop away with great gusto and whip up fabulous, one of a kind garments and accessories! So, YAY!
I was cutting out a spiffy hat today, and it struck me that I should make a quick little video to show what I do to cut off a length of fabric from my main piece of hand woven. So here’s what I do when I am cutting out the pieces for a project:
I am participating in all kinds of craft fairs and maker’s markets this summer in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I’ve been weaving up all kinds of bracelets for the upcoming shows:
The bracelets are a combination of paper yarn, t shirt yarn, vintage buttons and charms and other embellishments, as well as copper and brass findings and embellishments that I have made.
Here’s what I asked for, and they have designed and created:
1: Taller pegs so I could see more of the weaving emerging before having to advance the warp. This is especially important in weaving tapestries on the peg loom.
2: Fine wooden pegs that are slimmer and closer together to give a firmer, tighter weave. A close sett avoids too loose, loopy fabric.
Another important note about the pegs: I asked for close grain wood for the pegs, as smooth pegs that don’t catch the weft are essential. Gary has found the perfect wood for the pegs that is smooth as silk. He also carefully shapes the top of the pegs to make them guide the yarn beautifully. His attention to detail is exquisite!
3: A really nice threading tool – I came up with a rather crude one, and Gary totally surpassed my concept.
4: Legs that would stabilize the looms- Gary’s design for the legs is so elegant that it knocked my socks off!
They suggested tilting the looms backward slightly. This is brilliant, as it improves the ergonomics of the loom enormously and makes the loom more comfortable to work with.
They also decided to offer a loom with 3 sizes of pegs, for people who want to work with larger pegs.
Personally, I am so smitten with the thinnest pegs that I probably will just be working with them and not the larger pegs, but Gary and Donna wanted to appeal to the widest possible group of weavers.
Gary also decided to make the base of the loom removable in case a peg gets stuck. What a great idea!
Peg looms are eco friendly, as they are great for using t shirt yarn, or tarn, or fabric strips torn from discarded clothing.
And, I am working on a new book for peg loom weaving, so do stay tuned for that
I have made a little video that introduces the Dewberry Ridge Peg Loom:
Several years ago, we bought a metal Ikea computer desk at the thrift store.
I didn’t like having half of the top attached at an angle.
So my beloved DH, Jim and I drilled some holes, took the angled section off and re-attached it so it was nice and flat.
I had passed the desk along to my daughter and her husband, and when they gave it back to me last week, I was inspired.
First, to make the desk a comfortable height for weaving, I cut 3 inches off the legs with a pipe cutter- whew!
That was HARD work!
I mulled over how to attach the loom to the top of the desk, as it was just a hare’s breath away from fitting properly.
I took the top apart and played with the sections to see if I could come up with a workable solution- and then- woohoo!
I discovered that the chanels for a sliding mouse pad section that were supposed to be on the under side of the desk top, fitted the crosspiece of the loom perfectly! Jubilation!
I zip tied the sides of the loom to the desk and was happy as a clam…..
except…. for the pesky owees of the tendons grizzling about the side levels, and my back spazzing out on me.
Hmmmmm…..
Inspiration! add lamms and treadles!
I started by cutting a support piece at the side, and bolting it to the side of the stand.
I used 2 angle brackets as the support for the lamms (with a little block to fill in excess space).
Then, I drilled holes in the lamms for cords to the levers and to the treadles.
I tied the lamms to the levers and was verrrrrrrry pleased! Things were moving along quite nicely!
There had to be a way of supporting and securing the treadles, so I used a board from an old pallet, and drilled 2 holes for the legs. Poifeck.
I had a 6 inch length of threaded 1/4 inch steel rod, which I ran through the treadles (which I had cut out of scrap lumber).
The treadles were too wide at first, so I cut dippsy doodles into them to make them fit better.
The most frustrating part of the whole process was finding nuts that would go onto the threaded rod. Grrrrrrrrr!
I finally ended up filing the ends of the rod, as I just couldn’t get anything to thread onto the rod. Once I did that, zip! on went 2 nuts, happy as can be.
I screwed the whole treadle mechanism to the crossboard on the floor, and tied the treadles to the lamms…..
and held my breath…… what if it didn’t work? eep….. that would have been 3 hours down the tubes….
BUT! Joy! and whee and halleujah! It works like a dream!
So, if you would like to have a floor loom, but don’t have the ca$h, watch for a table loom on the various online places, and convert a desk into a stand for it.
You’ll need to have some basic carpentry skills, and I couldn’t have managed drilling the holes through the sides of the treadles without a drill press, but I bet you could do it if you had to.
Here’s the video that I made about how to convert a computer desk into a loom stand with treadles:
Here are some notes to keep in mind if you would like to adapt my project for your table loom:
Things to look for in a desk or table that you want to use for a loom stand:
1: Being able to bolt or screw the lamm support piece along the left hand side of the table/desk legs is essential.
2: Being able to shorten the legs to drop the height of the table to a comfortable ergonomic height is also essential.
3: Being able to attach the loom to the table is one more essential. (Clamps? Zip ties? A channel like the one on mine was a piece of beautiful serendipity)
‘Woven Women- Our Lady of the Waters’ is a mixed media tapestry, including wool yarn, stones, wire and pounded metal.
I wove her with several different looms: A tapestry loom, a 2 harness table loom, a 2 harness Saori floor loom, a peg loom and also used a spool knitter.
She’s 28 inches tall by 11 1/2 inches wide.
I think that she is probably my favorite piece that I have ever woven.
Here’s a closeup of a section that I wove on the table loom at 15 epi.
I used tabby, inlay, soumak, clasped weft and embroidery.
My daughter LINK and daughter in love LINK are both artisans who create all manner of lovely fiber arts.
They have been participating in artisan and maker’s fairs now for several years, and have been gently nudging me to get back into doing this, too.
So, I have been working away at my looms, weaving the pieces that I am putting together to create a new booth for my woven work.
Because I will be selling mostly weaving, it only makes sense for me to weave the displays- all the table covers, screens, etc.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
Kitty inspecting to see if it meets her approval. (Not seen: Other Kitty waiting to pounce on Table Kitty)
A trial set up to see how to arrange things:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I am still weaving weaving weaving, as I have the covers for 2 more small tables in the works.
Because different events have varying amounts of room for the artisans, I am building my setup to have modules that will work from small spaces up to 10 feet.
Once I am finished weaving, then I need to build the carrying cases for all the various pieces.
