Category Archives: tutorial & how to

September 22, 2012 · 10:32 pm

Soumak Pouch Weave Along Part 7- Finishing techniques

And, so, the Soumak Pouch Weave Along draws to a close with a very long video on finishing techniques.

Here are the chapters in the final installment:

1- Steam, Press and block the finished weaving

2- Overcast the straight edge of the inside front of the pouch

3- Making the point for the tip of the pouch

4- How to do the chain stitch embroidery

5- Cut out a lining

6- How to stitch the lining to the pouch invisibly

7- Stitch the side seams

8- Sew on the snaps

9- Stitching the edging cords to the pouch – in the video, I show how to add things like large beads at the ends and center of the cord, as well as the swivel clip hook. I also show how to stitch size 8 seed beads to the edging to embellish it. You don’t have to add these extra flourishes, but I thought that it made sense to show you how to do it so you ~could~ do it, if you want to.

It’s the embellishments that make the pouch the truly individual statement of your creativity!

And, here’s the video:

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as diy, how to stitch a lining to a bag, how to weave, Mirrix looms, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Soumak Pouch, WAL, Weave along

September 19, 2012 · 12:05 am

Soumak-Pouch-Weave-Along-Part-6-Edging-Cords

Part Six of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is all about the edging cords for the pouches.

You can use purchased braid like the Kreinik cord on the edges of this pouch:

The edging is 3/8 ” trim: # 170 Natural Pewter
http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=17023&cat=0&page=1

Or you can make your own edging cord:

Starting at the left hand side, the cords are:

Square cord spool knitted with 2 colors on 4 pegs,

Cord Spool knitted with 3 pegs

Kumihimo cords – the directions for how to braid the round cords come with the Kumihimo kit from Mirrix

Tubular Peyote stitch cord- instructions are available in beading books and when you google ‘tubular peyote stitch’.

And last, but certainly NOT least, and definitely the fastest, easiest cord of all to make is the Simple Twisted cord, using the method that I have developed, using a spool and a crochet hook.

You will need a cord that is about 15 inches (37.5 cm) long to go around the sides and upper edge of your pouch.

The instructions for how to attach them to your pouch will be in the final installment of the Weave Along: Finishing Techniques.

Here are some videos that I have made to help you make your decorative edging cords:

How to spool knit a cord with just 3 of the 4 pegs on the spool knitter:

How to spool knit a square cord with 2 colors on a 4 peg spool knitter:

How to make a twisted cord with a spool and crochet hook:

Hope your pouches are coming along nicely! 🙂

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Filed under jewelry, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, spool knitter & spoolknitter & spool knitting & spool knitting, tapestry, tutorial & how to

Tagged as how to make a twisted cord, how to make decorative cords, how to spool knit square cords, Mirrix looms, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Soumak Pouch, Soumak pouch weave along

September 16, 2012 · 12:08 am

Soumak Pouch Weave Along- Part 5- Black and white checkerboard motifs

Part 5 of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a step by step series of photos that I took while we were on holidays at the end of August.

I adapted the pattern to have checkerboard borders and wove the Soumak pouch on my Mirrix Mini (5 inches wide… perfect traveling loom).

Here’s how the pattern looks with the black and white checked borders:

If I had wanted to make the pouch wider, I could have added ‘s’ hooks to the side and just added the checked squares to the pattern.

Adding 2 more ‘s’ hooks at the top and bottom on both sides would have added one inch (2.5 cm) to the width of the pouch.

I wanted the squares to be symmetrical off a central square, so I had to do some fancy footwork with working out the size of the squares.

Here’s what I decided: Here’s the graph for the lower border of the pouch:

Each square represents one strand of warp:

And now… to the step by step photos: Photographed in Jasper Alberta Canada

And, here is the finished pouch: Woven in Lamb’s Pride yarn from the Mirrix kit:

The embroidery is worked with Kreinik threads.

There is an amethyst bead on the center of the back of the pouch.

Happy Weaving! 🙂

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as handweaving, how to tutorial, Mirrix Weave Along # 8, Noreen Crone-Findlay, soumak, weaving techniques, woven pouch

September 11, 2012 · 10:13 pm

Soumak Pouch Weave Along Part 4 Weaving Techniques

The video for Part 4 of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a really big one because it’s the ‘how to’s’ for the actual weaving of the pouch.

Here’s what’s covered in this video:

How to weave the 4:2 Soumak border
How to weave the 2:1 body of the pouch
How to add more weft yarn when you run out
How to add new colors
How to change colors and make perfect joins between the color blocks
How to step colors sideways in an outward direction
How to step colors sideways in an inward direction
How to work horizontal stripes
How to do the ‘Topsy Turvey Trick’ with the Mini loom
How to remove the weaving from the Mini
Please note that the pouches are woven with 1 strand of the yarn from the Mirrix Kit, or 2 strands held together, of the Lion Brand Bonbon yarn

When I went through the video after the final rendering, I smacked my hand to my forehead a couple of times as my directional challenges clearly pop up in the video- arghhhhhhhhh………. several times, I call the left hand side of the loom, the ~right~ hand side. arghhhhhhh

And, at one point, I called the weft, ‘warp’…………. oh sigh…………. so please forgive me for the errors.

Luckily, pretty quickly, I do say the ~correct~ thing. But still……….. arghhhhhhhhhhhh………….

And, no, I am not willing to re-shoot the video….. there are days and days and days of shooting, and so I am not going back to do it again.

Said in the nicest possible way, with really the minimum of snarls and snaps. 😀

Anyhow…. I hope that you will have a WONDERFUL time weaving your pouches!

Without further ado, here’s the video: (bugs and all- and dogs barking and rain raining and thunder thundering…. the dogs were freaked out by the lighting and thunder, so they were indulging in a LOT of vocalizing about the bad bad sky!)

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Tagged as how to, how to weave soumak, Mirrix looms, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Soumak pouch weave along, video tutorial, Weave along, weaving techniques

September 9, 2012 · 1:19 am

Soumak Pouch Weave Along – Part 3 – Warping the Looms

Today’s installment of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a video tutorial about warping the looms for the ‘no warp ends’ technique that will be the foundation of the Soumak Pouches.

There are a number of hints and tips that I have found that make warping for the pouches much quicker and easier.

The video shows how to warp the 8 inch and 12 inch Mirrix looms, using ‘s’ hooks.

The Mini (5 inch loom) is warped using the ‘no warp ends’ kit from Mirrix.

The looms are almost gift wrapped after warping!

Really? Yes 🙂

I have found that using ribbons to tie around the ‘s’ hooks on the lower edge of the 8 inch, 12 inch or larger Mirrix looms keeps the weft yarn from getting snagged on the hooks while weaving.

And, the Mini wears little babushkas or headscarves!

Yep. I tie bias tape or ribbon around the ends to cover the paper clips and keep them from snagging on clothing and to protect them.

I know it may seem odd, but it makes the weaving go more smoothly.

And, having the weaving be a joy is really important 🙂

Here’s the video that shows how the warping is done for the Weave Along:

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Tagged as bags, hand weaving, handwoven, how to weave soumak, Mirrix loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, pouches, Soumak pouch weave along, textiles

September 4, 2012 · 10:15 pm

Soumak Pouch Weave Along Part 2-Design Notes

I am sure that everyone who is participating in the Soumak Pouch Weave Along wants to create a finished piece that is completely unique.

So, that’s why I am sharing a few design notes.

In Part One of the Weave Along LINK I posted my design for the Soumak Pouch.

How did I come up with this design, and how can you make it be a reflection of your personality?

I started the design process by thinking of the rug that was in my grandmother’s dining room when I was a little girl:

I spent many a happy hour on that carpet, when I was a child, playing with my cousins.

The flowers became a deeply ingrained part of my ‘pattern language’.

So, when I was designing the pouch, it was natural to look at the flowers in the carpet and see if there was a starting point there.

Indeed there was, and I sketched and played with variations on carpet flowers:

I traced out lots of copies of the prototype pattern.

I find that tracing the pattern by hand is better for me than scanning and printing the pattern.

When my hand and eyes are quietly engaged in tracing the design, then connections are made that are really helpful in making creative leaps.

I choose aquarelles (watercolor pencils) that matched my weft colors.

Then, I colored lots and lots of variations on the theme, playing with combinations of colors and trying to push myself to use the weft colors in ways that I might not have considered.

I also would make little sidebar colorways when I was uncertain about a specific motif in the pattern.

And, then, when I was happy, I started weaving.

As I wove the prototype pouches, I discovered a few things: OOPS! The weaving contracts when it’s released from the loom, so it NEEDS a header and footer beyond the pattern!

Also, I felt that making the pattern more geometrical would make it more weaver-friendly, so I re-designed the pattern to make it conform more closely to the warp strands:

I felt constrained to stick to using only the colors of yarn that were in the various kits and packages supplied by the yarn companies.

I didn’t mix and match, BUT… you can feel totally free to use yarn from your stash to personalize your pouch.

The only exception to the ‘no stash’ rule that I was following was that, for the black and white checkered pouch, I did pull white wool from my stash (well, my daughter in law’s stash to be perfectly honest… bless her for her donation to the cause ❤ and 😀 )

In this photo, you’ll see that I traced the pattern onto graph paper (4 squares to the inch or 2.5 cm).

(The photo of the pouch at the beginning of this post was woven with the Mirrix Soumak Pouch Kit yarns and this colorway.)

Graph paper is the top of the list of my favorite design tools…. it’s a weaver’s very good friend indeed!

Playing with graph paper allows you to try out all manner of interesting things.

So, in a nutshell, what are the key points of designing a unique project?

1- Look for a starting point in something that you love or are inspired by.

2- Be willing to make mistakes and to start over

3- Trace, don’t print the extra copies of the design.

4- Use colors in ways that you might not usually consider when you are experimenting with your coloring pages.

BUT… if you have signature colors, then, of course, feel free to use them.

5- Make multiple color combination sidebars if you are uncertain about a part of the design.

6- Use graph paper to work out colorways and patterns.

7- The ways that you choose to embellish your pouch will make your pouch TOTALLY unique, as the finishing and embellishment techniques are incredibly expressive 🙂

Here’s the Design Notes Video:

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Tagged as how to weave a soumak pouch, Mirrix looms, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Soumak Pouch, soumak weave, WAL, Weave along, Weave Along #8

September 2, 2012 · 12:15 am

Soumak Pouch Weave Along- Part One- Setting up the looms

Welcome to the first installment of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along!

I hope that you are going to have a wonderful time, weaving one of a kind pouches for your business cards and cellphone, or using it in any way that appeals to you.

If you would like to join in the conversation, you can leave comments here on this blog,

as well as on the Mirrix facebook page LINK and the Mirrix Ravelry page: LINK

I will be demonstrating on the Mirrix 12 inch, 8 inch and 5 inch Mini, which is a totally magical little loom.

Because of the small (but oh so perfect) size of the Mini, I have had to come up with some fairly ‘outside the box’ ways of working with it for the weave along- which certainly add to the functionality of this delightful little loom!

Several people have asked me if they can participate in the Weave Along, even though they don’t have Mirrix looms.

Yes, you can- in the first video, I have shown how to attach the cartoon to a Cricket Rigid Heddle loom.

If you have a tapestry loom that won’t accept the extra rods for the ‘no warp ends’ technique, then just warp it up in the normal way.

You won’t have the ‘no warp ends’ technique that the weave along is based on, but you can just finish your ends in the way you usually do.

HOW WILL THE WEAVE ALONG WORK?

I have made six video tutorials and one slide show (so far) for the Weave Along.

I will be posting installments of the Weave Along every Sunday and Wednesday from September 2, 2012 to September 23, 2012.

BUT… you don’t have to keep up with this pace…. you can follow along at your own speed, as the blog posts are going to be here for as long as Tottie still Talks Crafts! 😀

I have covered a TON of information, and some of the videos are very long.

To make them as user friendly as possible, I have made chapter headings for each segment of the videos.

This means that you can stop the video and move back or forward to review anything you want to, at any time in the video.

Here’s what the chapter headings look like:

So, without further ado, lets get started!

Here is the pattern for the Soumak Pouch:

Print the pattern so that it is 3 inches wide and 10 inches long.

Print several copies.

One of the Weave Along participants, Penny from Boulder, Co, made a pdf of the pattern, and Elena posted it to the Mirrix site.

Here’s the link to that, if you are having trouble figuring out how to print a copy of the pattern: LINK

And, now, for the video tutorial: (hope you enjoy it!)

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as how to do the soumak stitch, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Soumak pouch weave along, soumak stitch, video tutorial

August 24, 2012 · 10:25 am

Furoshiki wrap technique to carry a small loom

I rarely leave home without a small loom.

If I am the passenger in a car, I weave.

If I have to wait for an appointment, I weave.

When in an airport or flying…. I weave.

If I am sitting, listening to my husband’s Jazz trio/quartette/quintette, I weave.

I like to be able to to port along my small looms in tote bags, backpacks or baskets.

But…. the warp strands and bobbins and needles can get seriously disarranged by being jostled in transit.

I have been mulling over the best way of protecting them while they are being trundled about…. and then it struck me….

By using the Japanese technique of creating perfect wraps and carriers from a scarf or cloth! :

FUROSHIKI (link to a ton of ways of doing furoshiki wraps)

3 Mirrix looms wrapped with Furoshiki techniques
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I always carry headscarves in my purse or bag, to use as instant tote bags.

The other day, it struck me that the perfect way to protect my beloved small looms when I am slipping them into bags or baskets for their travels, is to ‘Furoshiki’ them.

It works BRILLIANTLY!

I usually use square headscarves- and any size will work… smaller scarves are great for small looms or bundles of books and tools; larger scarves for larger bundles of looms and stuff.

But, you don’t have to use scarves: This is a great upcycling opportunity!

You can use squares of fabric cut from old shirts or skirts or dresses 🙂

You can also use cloth squares to gift wrap presies. Do check that link at the top of the page. Impressive 🙂

Here’s a video, showing how to use Furoshiki wrapping techniques to make an instant, customized carrier for your small loom:

The models in the video are my 3 smallest Mirrix looms. I call them the Three Sisters.

I love, love LOVE my Three Little Sisters! I have renamed them: The Mini is ‘Molly Whuppie’ (you can read her story in my book, Soul Mate Dolls), ‘Vasilisa’ (heroine of a wonderful Russian fairytale) is the name of the 8 inch loom, and the 12 inch is now known as ‘Jane’, after my beloved Jane Austen.

I do believe they quite like their travel wraps! 🙂

Here’s the video that I made to show how I wrap my looms :

Chalkboards are low tech dandy design tools

Sometimes, I get stuck in the design process.

That’s when I need to give myself nudges that break up the mental and emotional constriction that is keeping me from moving forward in a project.

And, so, I reach for some of my favorite tools that help me to see things differently.

My chalkboards and chalk.

Eh? as we say in Canada 🙂

Really! A chalkboard is a fabulous tool for knocking the design blechs sideways!

I have wondered about why they work so well for me and I think that there are a couple of reasons.

The first is that white chalk on a black surface reverses the way I normally see things when I am drawing.

This is invaluable, because it clears the deck of any pre-conceived notions that I had about sketching.

It’s like working with negatives instead of photographs. You really do see things differently.

And, if you are stuck, then that is really helpful!

The second reason why I love chalkboards so much is that drawing on a chalkboard is so playful.

There’s a real feeling of ‘little kid’-ness to them that is definitely very freeing.

You know that it’s not permanent… it’s just a bit of dust on black paint … so wheee…… draw, draw, draw!

If you don’t like it…. whoosh whoosh, wipe it off and it’s gone.

If only the rest of life were so easy!

AND… if you do like it, then grab a piece of paper and a pencil and copy the sketch onto the somewhat more permanent surface.

How did I get such a neat shape chalkboard?

Easy.

I drew the shape on masonite, cut it out and painted it with several coats of chalkboard paint from the hardware store.

I even like the scritchy sound the chalk makes when I am drawing.

Low tech is often a wonderful way of opening the doorways to creativity and imagination.

Try it…. you might like it 😀

PS: Anne, who is one of my online friends in the Mirrix facebook group suggested that you take pics of your favorite sketches and load them into your paint or bead making programs. I don’t use those programs, so it didn’t occur to me.

Anne’s suggestion also reminded me that I do take ‘archival’ photos of some of the sketches that I really like… sorry… I completely forgot to mention that! Thanks for the reminder, Anne! 🙂

Mirrix Loom Weave Along Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

This is the second ‘Prelude Post’ for the Mirrix Loom Weave Along for the Soumak Pouch.

The pouches are perfect for both business cards:

or for cellphones:

My cellphone is one of the smaller, lower tech ones [4inches tall, 2 inches wide, 5/8 inch thick] if yours is larger, then you will want to upsize your pouch, if your pouch is going to be a cellphone pouch.

Alright… now onto the gathering up of tools and equipment:

First of all, you need a loom:

Most of the photos and videos for the weave along will feature my 8 inch Lani Mirrix loom. (Although I have ordered a Mini and a Little Guy, so hopefully, they will arrive soon, so I can use them in the photos and videos, too.)

The pouch can also be woven on any of the larger Mirrix looms as well- if you are using one of the smaller Mirrix looms, then warp up one pouch at a time. If you are using one of the larger looms, then you can warp and weave 2 pouches at the same time.

Even if you don’t have a Mirrix loom, please feel welcome to join in the Weave Along.

As long as you have a loom that you can get good tight tension on it, then you will be able to weave the pouches.

You will also need: A steam iron, a pressing cloth, a good source of light, pencil crayons or watercolors or some other way of coloring your preliminary pattern colorways, 2 clothespins, scissors, needle and thread for finishing, snap fastener and a swivel clip, you’ll also need paper for tracing out your patterns and trying out different color schemes.

Knitting needles and crochet hooks are very helpful, and a loop turning tool is handy (I bought mine at my local fabric store), a piece of cardboard that is 10 inches tall by 3 inches wide (25 cm tall by 7.5 cm wide), a weaving stick, small paper clamps, a fork or beater, a hole punch, at least a yard of firm yarn or cord, clear tape (packing tape works well); a black fine tip permanent marker

You’ll need rods for the top and lower edge of the weaving: 6 inch (15 cm) tent pegs or 6 inch (15 cm) lengths of steel or brass rods 1/8 inch in diameter (I bought a 36 inch long one at the hardware store and cut it to 6 inch lengths with a hacksaw); velcro straps (I bought mine from Lee Valley: Link; ‘S’ HOOKS: 25 “S” hooks, either 7/8 inch or 1 inch- opened or closed :[ I had a huge ‘AHA’ when I bought closed ‘S’ hooks…. having one end closed is just GREAT… so if you buy closed ‘S’ hooks, open one end with pliers. If you buy open ‘S’ hooks, squeeze one of the ends closed. Having the closed end keeps the ‘S’ hooks on the rod. 🙂 ] ; 1/4 inch Washers: 54 in total; 1 or 2 pairs of pliers for adjusting the ‘S’ hooks; ruler and tape measure.

Some of these things have shown up in other photos, so I won’t list them again, but the other things are: A small bowl for holding pins, needles, clamps etc; a bag or box to store and transport the project (that’s Tottie Tomato’s knitting bag); chopsticks are very handy for several things besides your Pad Thai 🙂

You will need at least 5 or 6 blunt tapestry or craft or darning needles. It’s handy to have a needlebook or tin, or cardboard tube or eyeglass case to store them in.

To line the pouch: Fabric (I upcycled one of my son’s abandoned t shirts for the lining of the first 4 bags), scissors, pins, needle and thread, snap fastener: I used the 15 mm size.