Monthly Archives: May 2021

May 20, 2021 · 12:26 pm

A lovely Scandinavian weaving workshop

Last week I enjoyed a wonderful weave along and slide show workshop on the zoom platform from the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts department at the University of Wisconsin.

https://folklife.wisc.edu

The presenter was Laura Demuth. She was a lovely presenter- gracious and so well informed!

I am still swooning about the beautiful textiles that she showed slides of…. Scandianvian weaving is glorious!

I was delighted that the workshop participants were sent a sweet little loom from Hello!Loom.

https://helloloom.com.

When mine arrived in the mail, the first thing I did was to weave a little dress for tiny Willow, a doll that I carved a few months ago.

I started weaving the lady with flowers tapestry during the presentation as Laura demonstrated common motifs used in Scandinavian weaving. I finished the tiny tapestry the next day.

It was a lovely event and my thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make it happen!

Here’s a link to the workshop:

Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures (CSUMC) YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxvpdWwWBIk&t=2398s

#sassloom2021 #folklife #helloloom #hellolooms #weaving #handwoven #smallloom #smallloomweaving #smalllooms

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, frame loom weaving, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as #folklife, #helloloom, #hellolooms, #onlineworkshop, #sassloom2021

May 15, 2021 · 12:29 pm

How to Build a Folding Wooden Doll Chair

After I carved and wove 3 dolls that didn’t fit the doll furniture that I already had, (see Brown Paper Yarn Dolls) ,

I decided that I had to build them each a chair.

And so I built them each their own little chair with a seat woven on the Mirrix Saffron Loom, using instructions from my book: Innovative Weaving on the Frame Loom.

HERE IS A LINK TO THE BOOK AND SAFFRON LOOM KIT that is available on the Mirrix website. LINK

The Chairs are not in the book, but the weaving patterns are. See pages: 68, 50 and 45.

Here are the dimensions for the wooden parts of the chair:

The wooden pieces are all 1 cm thick and 2 cm wide.

Pieces A are 24 cm long (cut 2)

Pieces B are 20 cm long (cut 2)

Pieces C are 11 cm long (cut 2)

The Dowels are 1/4 inch in diameter:

A: Cut 2 that are 11 cm long

B: Cut 2 that are 9 cm long

C: Cut 1 that is 13 cm long

The Seat: Weave a piece of fabric that is 20 cm long by 7 cm wide and stitch through the end of the warp loops, over the top dowel of A and the front dowel of B.

The finished size of the chair is:

Height: 20 cm (8 inches)

From front to back: 18 cm (almost 7 inches)

Width: 13 cm at widest point (about 5 inches)

The dolls are very happy in their new chairs!

I have made a video, showing how to build the chairs- but please note that I forgot to show how I sew the weaving to the chair.

Oops.

I simply lifted the weaving off the loom and stitched through the warp loops with 2 strands of yarn, going over the dowel.

I hope that you will have fun making doll chairs for your dolls and teddy bears, too. ❤

Here’s the link:

Happy Chairmaking!

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Filed under book review/book/books, eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Mirrix loom, Saffron Loom, tutorial & how to, upcycling, video tutorial, weaving & handwoven, woodwork

Tagged as #dollchair, #innovativeweavingontheframeloom, #saffronloom, #woodworking, doll chair, how to make a doll chair, innovative weaving on the frame loom, Mirrix loom, Mirrix Saffron loom, Saffron Loom

May 14, 2021 · 8:42 pm

How to Spin and Weave Brown Paper Yarn

One of my favorite eco friendly crafts is spinning yarn from brown paper….

This video shows how:

And, then, I love to weave the brown paper yarn into all kinds of fun things like this bunny and teddy bear.

I carved their heads from wood, and made their little shoes from scraps of garment leather that I glued to wooden soles that I carved. The navy shoes were made from a thrift shop coat that I cut and sewed into a ton of different things- bags and doll shoes and doll clothes.

I made their hands from scraps of heavy weight leather that I was given years ago.

Bunny’s face is lopsided because the scrap of firewood that I carved her from was wonky, but she forgives me for that!

I adapted this pattern from my etsy shop to weave their bodies on weaving sticks, using the brown paper yarn that I had spun: Here’s the link:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/92453904/pdf-pattern-for-delightful-dolls-woven?ref=shop_home_feat_1

The brown paper yarn also works BEAUTIFULLY for weaving baskets. Here’s a link to my pattern for weaving baskets on weaving sticks:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/111292892/pdf-pattern-for-all-kinds-of-baskets?ref=shop_home_feat_3

And, here’s the link for jewelry to weave with weaving sticks. Brown paper is wonderful for making jewelry!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/124255671/ebook-jewelry-woven-on-the-stick-weaving?ref=shop_home_feat_4

I love all the neat things that can be made with brown paper yarn. In our house, brown paper is NEVER thrown away!

It always gets upcycled into nifty new things 😀

This is my contribution to the monthly ‘Scrap Happy’ Blogging group- people who delight in making things from scraps and upcycled bits of this and that post on the 15th of each month.

Here’s the links to the rest of the group. I always enjoy seeing what each of them has done each month:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon , Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Noreen (this is me, but you know that) ,
Bear, Carol, Preeti and Edith