Tag Archives: recycling

January 14, 2015 · 10:22 pm

Upcycling a little box into a band loom

I absolutely love weaving Scandinavian style woven bands, using different styles of rigid heddles.

A few weeks ago, as we were cleaning and clearing in preparation for our big move, we found some sweet little drawers that my father in law had made many decades ago.

He had reclaimed some tiny little wooden butter boxes and made wee drawers for his workshop with them:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.tottietalkscrafts.com

And, since then, the idea for building a tiny, oh so portable band weaving box loom has been gestating in my mind….

After much trial and error, I have built the little loom, and absolutely adore it!

I have made a small video that shows what I did to build this little charmer:

This is the ratchet and pawl that I designed for my loom.

I made them from a scrap of marine plywood, which allowed me to curve the pawl.

I am going to make the next one from a piece of purpleheart that we’ve been saving, so I am going to make the pawl straight, to make it stronger and not risk breaking it by cutting a curve against the grain.

If you are interested in learning more about weaving Scandinavian style narrow bands, definitely seek out the work of the marvelous weaver extraordinaire, Susan Foulkes:

http://durhamweaver64.blogspot.co.uk/

And, if you’d like to see some of the ways that I use narrow bands please click:

https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2014/08/08/woven-women-small-bird-sang-and-all-was-forgiven/

Note: I have upgraded the little box loom…. it’s even better!

Here’s a link to how the little band loom has evolved: LINK

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Filed under band loom, eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, video tutorial, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, how to build a box loom, how to make a band loom, loom, narrow band weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, reclaiming, recycling, Scandinavian style, upcycled box loom, upcycling, video tutorial, vintage butter box, woodworking

April 18, 2014 · 2:02 pm

Weaving with recycled & upcycled fabrics for Green Window City

For the last 6 weeks or so, I have been weaving up a storm, working on an installation for the Green Window City project in Edmonton Alberta. Link to Green Window City

I wove 7 banners ( each 5 yards long) from cut up clothing and t shirts cut into t shirt yarn (tarn and ‘Farn’- fabric strip yarn) on my Saori loom.

I rescued a warp chain that an angry weaver had cut from the loom and tossed in a box at the Reuse center:

It wove up beautifully:

I figured out how to weave stars for the ends of the banners:

I built a mannequin, a cat,

a dog,

a stool, a loom and a stand. LINK

I made gigantic balls of yarn…. I wove a tapestry of the earth, using cut up fabric strips- whew… so many new things to figure out! LINK

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.crone-findlay.com

And, then, yesterday, I installed it all in the window of a beautiful little boutique in Edmonton, ‘C’est Sera:

And, today… I clean the studio and work on new projects.

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as #rethinkjunk, #YEG, Earth Day, Earth Month, eco project, fabric yarn, farn, green project, Green Window City project, hand weaving, hand woven, how to build a loom, how to build a loom stand, Noreen Crone-Findlay, recycling, saori banners, Saori weaving, t shirt yarn, Tarn, textiles, upcycling

April 17, 2014 · 9:34 am

How to build an upcycled loom and stand from recycled stuff

For the last month or so, I have been building and weaving up a storm.

I am part of a project in Edmonton, Alberta, called, Green Windows City, that has partnered 13 artists with small shops in the arts district.

The artists are creating installations built from upcycled or recycled stuff, and are creating magic!

Today is installation day, so I will take photos after I complete my installation and post them.

One of the really fun things that I have done is to design and build a tapestry loom (although it can be used for other things than tapestry) and stand from trash.

I built the loom from a picture frame and the stand for the loom using heavy cardboard tubes thrown away by the fabric store, an old broomstick and a few nuts and bolts.

It has ingenious ways of tensioning the warp strands, and opening the sheds for ease of weaving.

All it all, it is a wonderfully functional loom and stand that is almost no cost.

To my delight, I have found it to be a loom that I love and will be using for years.

I liked it so much that I have built a second one to be weaving on while this one is busy being in the installation.

I made a video showing how to make the loom and stand, and how to warp it (including the warping device that I messed up on and then replaced LOL)

Here’s the video- it’s a cheap and cheerful way of creating a really great little tapestry loom.

I love it, and hope you will, too!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, tutorial & how to, video tutorial, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Earth Day, green project, Green Windows City, hand weaving, hand woven, how to build a loom from a picture frame, loom, loom stand, Noreen Crone-Findlay, picture frame loom, recycling, tapestry loom, tapestry weaving, trash into treasure, upcycing

January 14, 2012 · 12:24 pm

More little looms from recycled stuff part 2

If you are teaching a child to weave, or just want an impromptu, no cost small loom for sampling yarns and colorways, this little loom is very handy.

The project on the foam food tray loom is a bookmark, but you can weave amulet bags, rug mugs, small dolls and toys, doll house rugs or squares that you stitch together to make larger projects.

It’s great for traveling, as it’s light, and if you use a plastic darning needle for weaving, it’s fine to take through airport security.

Yesterday, I posted part one of the recycled and upcycled looms: Here’s the link: PART ONE

I think that one of the most accessible looms for beginning weavers is the weaving stick loom.

I am doing a lot of designing for it – here’s my post about the mermaid to weave on the stick weaving loom: LINK

Happy Weaving!!!!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as children weaving, easy weaving, free patterns, how to make a loom from recycled materials, how to teach a child to weave, how to teach weaving, kids crafts, kids weaving, no cost weaving, recycling, small looms, teaching kids to weave, weaving with children

January 13, 2012 · 10:13 pm

Little looms from recycled things for teaching weaving or sampling etc part 1

Yesterday, I posted about teaching children to weave Link

One of the pleasures of weaving is that it can be done with tremendously complex machines, but, can also be done with small bits of this and that from around the house.

Today and tomorrow, I am going to be posting little how to’s on making recycled and upcycled looms that are great for teaching kids how to weave, or just for noodling about with sampling yarns and weaving little bags, or hacky sacks or bookmarks….

So, here’s today’s installment:

If you make each grid square 1/4 inch, then the loom is business card size, which is a charming size to work with, and to pop into a pocket or bag.

If you weave 2 tiny rectangles on the loom, and stitch them together, then add a beaded fringe, it makes a very pleasing little amulet bag.

I think that one of the most accessible looms for beginning weavers is the weaving stick loom.

I am doing a lot of designing for it – here’s my post about the mermaid to weave on the stick weaving loom: LINK

Happy weaving!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as how to make a penny pouch, how to make an amulet bag, how to weave, loom pattern, recycled project, recycling, teaching children how to weave, upcycling

September 11, 2011 · 9:59 pm

Upcycled jeans become denim dress

Whoosh! Summer raced by, with renovations on our house, and helping out on renovations at our daughter and son-in-law’s house and weaving, weaving, weaving, weaving, weaving!

I’ve been working HARD on new books and am hunkering in and am ~FINALLY~ getting them closer to completion and releasing- oh my!

I took a little break from my looms the other evening to indulge in a little bit of upcycling.

My daughter in law gave me some of her torn blue jeans a few months ago.

Suddenly, the other evening, I felt the urge to take the scissors to them:

I have a couple of dress patterns that I am besotted with these days, and find myself making them over and over in various configurations.

In my previous blog post, (link to post) I showed how I used my fave dress pattern with fabric that I had woven on various narrow looms.

Snipping up the bluejeans to fit the pattern pieces was a touch tricky, and forced me to bend a few ‘good seamstressing’ rules, but what the heck, why not?

I am fanatical about pinning the living daylights out of the sections of garments when I am stitching them together, but I don’t pin my pattern pieces to the fabric when cutting out.

I like my rock collection that I have gathered up over the years. 🙂 They hold things in place without damaging the pattern tissues.

And, of course, I HAD to save and re-use the bum pockets!

I also saved a little pocket from the inside of one pair for a cellphone or glasses mini-pocket, too.

Unfortunately, when I picked the pockets off the backside of the jeans, there were 2 dark blue pocket shapes. Drat!

I thought about attempting to bleach them out, but then thought: Ah, why not consider them to be ‘design elements’? 😀

I am tickled pink with my upcycled denim dress, and am so happy that a couple of pairs of torn jeans have come back to life as a fun and comfy tunic that I am going to enjoy enormously! Whee!

I really should show you the dress that I made from a garage sale tablecloth… it’s great! I wove the neckband…. okay… must take pictures and get back into the habit of blogging again!

And, by the way…. Happy September!

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects

Tagged as creative adaptive reuse, denim dress, dressmaking, new clothes from old, recycle, recycled blue jeans, recycling, sewing, upcycled dress, upcycled tunic, upcycling

June 17, 2010 · 3:31 pm

Upcycled tunic new life for old clothes

Last summer, I bought a really frumpy skirt and a too small dress at the thrift shop.

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind do that?

Because I intended to ‘harvest’ the fabric

from both the garments and

upcycle them into something new and oh so much fun for myself.

The skirt was long enough,

and full enough

to be able to provide the body for this fun tunic.

And, the skimpy dress provided the pockets,

lower bands, and upper neck band-

and I just love it!

I wear it with leggings, and a t shirt

underneath, because my days of wearing

shortish dresses with bare legs are long gone.

As I was taking the pic of the tunic,

I remembered another upcycling

project that I did recently:

I took a favorite old dress and cut it up

and turned it into a fun and floatie

overshirt…..

it just hit me that they would work well together!!!

Hurrah!

So, think twice before you toss old clothes,

and don’t let the frumpiness or too smallish-ness

of a garment put you off…

cut them up and re-configure them into something

that you will enjoy!

Hurrah for re-purposing, reclaiming, recycling, re-fashioning, re-using, re-creating, restoring, renewing and upcycling!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects

Tagged as re-creating, re-fashioning, re-purposing, re-using, reclaiming, recycling, renewing, restoring, sewing, upcycling

May 14, 2010 · 8:48 pm

How to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom

For weeks and weeks, I have been meaning to get my video tutorial of how to weave bias squares on the potholder loom posted to YouTube.

What with one thing and another, I haven’t gotten around to it.

One thing that was odd, was that I simply couldn’t upload videos for awhile. I just gave up on YouTube. Anyone else having trouble with uploads? Weird.

And, since it took me so long to get the video uploaded,

I decided to re-shoot it, using ‘Tarn’, since I am working with Tarn so much, lately.

Fun!

Here’s a link for how to do one kind of join with Tarn:

Tarn Join

I didn’t have a potholder loom when I was a child, so when I was introduced to it when I was a grownup, I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what it could or could not do. So… I have been designing all kinds of magical and wonderful things for it ever since (for decades, in fact- my love for the potholder loom is a long standing one!!!)

You can see some of the things I have designed for it here: Potholder loom.

Over the years, when I was designing for the Potholder loom, I realized that I needed to be able to weave different shapes and in unusual ways with the looms. So, I have done a lot of experimenting with it.
I have worked out a bunch of ways of weaving triangles on it, and this is how I twigged to how I could weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom…. after all, a square is just 2 triangles that happen to be in love.

The pesky gaps on the potholder loom were a challenge – but I have solved the mystery of how to deal with them!

How? Well.. check out the video!

Here is the YouTube video tutorial on how to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom : LINK

Happy Weaving!

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

Tagged as how to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom, re-purposing, reclaiming fabric, recycling, t shirt yarn, Tarn, upcycling

March 10, 2009 · 12:03 am

Spool knitting wire and making connections

spool-knitters-for-wire-4-peg-275 spool-knitters-for-wire-6-peg-275

Recently, a jewelry maker contacted me and asked me if I could make her some industrial strength spool knitters so she could spool knit wire for her jewelry making.

I went for a rummage through our stash and found a wonderful old piece of wood. It looked like it was an old handle off some kind of tool that had seen heavy and hard use. It was worn smooth but ripply and looked quite organic.

We inherited it from my husband’s Dad more than 10 years ago.

I cut some pieces off it and used them to make these 4 and 6 peg spool knitters.

Yipes! Is that wood hard! Drilling the holes and hammering the nails in was intense .

whew…. My tendons were screaming for mercy.
spool-knitters-for-wire-1-275

I love the way they feel…. the old wood is smooth and textured from having been worn by years of use- it’s quite alive!

The whole collaborative process is so inspiring to me. I just love it when someone says to me –

‘Can you think of a way of doing this or that….. ?’

Sometimes, I am not interested in making the new thing

(for instance, we just don’t want to make wooden potholder looms anymore….sorry)

But, lots of times, I am intrigued by the ‘Can you make a this or that’ question and end up in the workshop having a wonderful time!

This was definitely one of those times. I love working with wire, and do a lot with it. So, I am really glad that Vickey inspired me to make some super strong spool knitters for wire.

Just think. That old, old piece of wood out in the workshop would still be laying there, just waiting to come to life if Vickey hadn’t emailed me…..

This kind of thing makes me celebrate the joys of the internet.

Someone has a thought and sends a note to someone else a thousand miles away. Then, that person goes and finds a piece of the past and brings it to life in a new way. And that recycled, re-created, upcycled treasure goes off to the first person who creates all manner of magic with it.

Now, that’s creativity in action!

(image source: photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay. Copyright, not to be used without permission)

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, spool knitter & spoolknitter & spool knitting & spool knitting

Tagged as crafts, eco crafts, green crafts, handmade, jewelry, recycling, recycling crafts, spool knitted cords, spool knitter, spool knitting, upcycling

February 6, 2009 · 10:08 pm

Some handmade books – 1

I am inviting people to a Green Challenge of making a handmade book that has big envelopes or plastic sleeves to hold their sketches, notes, clippings, pdf’s etc.

See: Challenge posting

Just for fun, I thought that I would post a few pics of some of the handmade books I’ve made over the years:

Here are some handmade books that I made and then glued origami angels to. (yes, I made the angels)

The angels are all very eco friendly and ‘green’ as they are recycled and upcycled, as they are all made from junk mail or magazine photos

handmade-book-origami-angel-11 handmade-book-origami-angel-2 handmade-book-origami-angel-3 handmade-book-origami-angel-4 handmade-book-origami-angel-5 handmade-book-origami-angel-6 handmade-book-origami-angel-7