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:
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.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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!)
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.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
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.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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 😀 )
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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 🙂
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
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
So, without further ado, lets get started!
Here is the pattern for the Soumak Pouch:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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!)
I’ve been shooting videos for the weave along that begins on September 2nd.
As I was shooting, I was weaving along on a couple of pouches.
Here they are:
A Stripey one, with some beads and other embellishments:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
and the back:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I wove it with Lion Brand Bonbon yarn- cotton for the body of the pouch and metallic for the embellishment.
The size 8 beads along the sides are from Mirrix and the bone beads at the lower edge were in my stash.
The medallion on the back of the pouch is one that I snitched from a box of stuff that my daughter in law was going to give away.
(She gave it away, but to ~me~ instead of giving it to ‘anonymous’ 🙂 I can be shameless when it comes to pretty goodies! )
My daughter in law grinned at me when she saw the finished pouch, and said: ‘This one is yours, isn’t it, Mum?’
‘Yes! but how did you guess?’
She just laughed.
I guess it’s because I adore these colors and use them all the time!
I was concerned about this pouch:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
Why? Well, because both my daughter and my daughter in law declared that they loved it and would love to have SantaMamma leave it in their Christmas stocking.
I didn’t want to make two pouches that were exactly alike, so I had to have a big old think about it.
And, I came up with the perfect answer!!!!!
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
TADAH!!!! I wove it up in the same colorway, but used wool yarn instead of cotton.
Here’s the back of the woolie pouch:
Kreinik supplied me with the gorgeous embroidery thread and edging cord for this pouch.
I love the combination of the soft loftiness of the wool with the sparkle of the metallic embroidery floss.
By the way, the embroidery thread is soft and lovely to work with. Some metallics can be barky and sharky.
This is soft and nooshy.
!AND!
Happy dance!
and ~whew~
My daughter in law (who happens to be an incredibly gifted and talented handspinner, so she is naturally inclined to be more drawn to wool), likes the woolie pouch –
HURRAH! SantaMamma is so relieved!
My girls will have their lovely pouches in their Christmas stockings, and they are ‘sister pouches’…. similar, but each unique!
Alright… time for me to get back to editing video….. 🙂
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 :
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.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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! 🙂
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