DIY Cardboard Box Inkle Loom Tutorial PART 3!

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS!

 

 Remember this?

I know it's been a long time coming.  It turns out maintaining an acreage in the summertime while wrangling a 4 year old and a baby and keeping up a blog is---whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! People do this!???  I seriously NEED more hours in a day.  :) 

Thank you for following along, and for staying energized excited about this project. I hope that you will join along with me and thread up that cardboard loom so we can take it for a little test drive!

First you created an inkle loom out of a cardboard box (totally rad) and then you made some string heddles for it...now you are ready for part 3! Let's learn how to thread up that loom and start weaving an inkle!

For this you'll need your loom, 20 heddles, a pair of sharp scissors, an extra piece of cardboard to make a shuttle, a plastic ruler you get inside a geometry kit, and 4 different colours of mercerized cotton string in a uniform size (thicker is better).  I used Lily brand 8 strand cable cotton yarn from the thrift store.  Size 5 crochet thread would also work.  I DO NOT recommend you use wool, or acrylic or novelty yarns of any kind for your first few attempts.  Acrylic yarn stretches, novelty yarn catches on everything and wool will usually bind and felt a little around the heddles.  Smooth, tightly spun cotton is best. I also don't recommend using that thick baby cotton or the kind used to knit/crochet dishcloths, as that stuff is softer and loosely spun.  It will pill and fray with friction.

The tutorial is split up into six video segments. The first one is about warping the loom, and rest are a five part series about weaving your band, start to finish! 

I hope you find them helpful!  My tools were limited, but I tried the best I could to give you a good start!  Special credit goes to my loving and patient husband Justin Keller, who filmed all the segments and helped me figure out how to edit them.

Some images to help:

Threading:

This is your pattern draft.  It's done on brick layout graph paper.

You can find all kinds of graph paper, including brick layout free online.  I get my graph paper here:  http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ .  I like it because you can set the scale and everything.  Some of the other graph papers found on that site are helpful for drafting more advance structures like basketweave pick up and horizontal bar pick-up.

And this is how you read it, left to right, according to the numbers.

 Thread 1 is royal blue and open, thread 2 is royal blue and heddled, thread 3 is white and open, etc.  You can substitute any 4 colours in this pattern, or if you are feeling even more adventurous you can mess around with several colours, just be sure you keep EACH SET of colours. So all 3 greens in the first cluster need to be the same colour, both whites that come after it need to be the same colour, then all 3 purples should be all the same colour, etc. below is one example of how youc an switch up the colour sets:

I would keep the two sets of border threads the same colour.  You can also sub colours in the white areas.  

The possibilities are endless--just with one pattern draft!

 What threading looks like from the side:

How an open thread looks on the loom

How a heddled thread looks on the loom

Weaving:

Position (shed) one.  The open threads are above the heddled threads.

Position (shed) two.  The open threads are below the heddled threads.

If you have any questions please email me at:
heartsonfibreblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Best wishes on your inkle weaving journey!
Happy Creating!
♥
JQ

DIY CARDBOARD INKLE LOOM TUTORIAL PART 1
DIY CARDBOARD INKLE LOOM TUTORIAL PART 2: MAKING YOUR HEDDLES

Bloom 2013

In this age of high speed and convenience, the rhythmic act of weaving speaks to my soul.  When I sit before the loom I choose to surrender to process, relishing textures of coarse wool, smooth cotton and glossy silk as inch by inch they pass through my fingertips into the warp. Emotions and concepts begin to surface and collide, connect or slip past each other in my mind.  I imagine these strands of subconscious are travelling alongside the threads as I twine, coax and beat them into place.  Tapestry commands discipline and constant deliberation; It challenges me to have faith in my instincts and give it Time.

Bloom is my celebration of the Time it took.

-----------

I am overjoyed to announce that "Bloom" was one of 35 entries selected by the jury to travel with Dimensions 2013.  What an intensive learning experience!  I have my next warp ready to string onto the loom, and the new cartoon is already blown up to scale.  

Thank you to everyone who shared in this adventure with me especially my loving husband and family, my ever optimistic friends and the awesome ladies of the Saskatchewan Spinners and Weavers Guild. 

Happy creating everyone!

Sincerely,

♥

JQ

Adventures in Inkle Weaving

♥ ♥ Greetings fellow fibre junkies! ♥ ♥

First I thought I'd play around with supplemental weft. In the following two bands I have two wefts (horizontal) threads on separate shuttles: one finer and one that has 3 or more threads. I open the shed normally and throw through the fine weft, the, holding the same shed open drop selected warp threads, and shoot the thicker weft through. This allows that weft to pop up to the surface and create a pattern I couldn't make with a basic threading alone.


In this first example my supplementary weft wasn't very thick so the colours beneath shine through, but depending on the angle you see the band at the pattern becomes more or less visible:


In this band the supplemental weft is comprised of 4 strands of navy blue Clea crochet thread. The pattern is much more solid.


The Clea compresses more inside the shed but opens up at the surface because it's so much softer than other crochet threads, so I find it works really nicely for this!


And a shot of the two finished supplemental weft bands next to a plain weave one:




And now for the pick-up patterns! Pick ups are where the pattern is created by a secondary warp (the vertical threads) that can be lifted or dropped to create the pattern. So only one weft was used for this:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Celtic knots! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I can't get enough of this celtic design. It's sooo cool. And the way the pattern is drafted in combination with the threads lifted and dropped on a normal shed--you really don't have to lift or drop more than 3 or 4 threads on any given row. It's too much fun.


This basket weave structure always reminds me of snakeskin, so I thought I'd try and obtain the effect. I'm not as close as I'd like, but getting there. It did give me a really cool idea for a future band. But I'm not telling!


This purple one was a pattern I designed myself on graph paper, but it involved picking up AND dropping the supplemental threads in every row and it just about made my head explode. This is why there are only about 2 inches woven on it. But I will conquer it:


I was inspired by a project (thank you Anne Dixon) in this Autumn's issue of Hand Woven magazine to weave a pleated necklace on my inkle loom. I used crochet thread for the project because it was what I had on hand, but in hindsight I should have used the size 30 or 50 thread for this, as my final product turned out super chunky. I really didn't beat down the weft either, so the ruffles wound up being bigger. Overall I am pleased with the outcome and hope to try it again soon with finer cotton. My brain is already chewing on some possibilities for integrating the technique into my other jewelry work. this done in a small scale with just one ruffle would make pretty snazzy earrings. Also I am wondering about crocheting lace along the bottom edge (again of a more delicate inkle).


Thanks for taking a peek! Happy weekend!
♥
JQ

128 Hours! My Deadline is Set!

Hi everyone!

Well after tons of landscaping, company and a trip to my family reunion, I am back with an update! I hope you have had as much fun so far this summer as I have been having!

Here is the rose tapestry at 128 hours:


You can see the center of the rose now in the cartoon behind! I have set my deadline for the end of September 2011. I hope to have the warp for my next one threaded, tensioned and twined by mid October.

The image of my cartoon, with the past 18 hours worth of progress in blue:


Detail (left):


Detail (right):


A little closer...


And this is my not so itsy bitsy weaver friend:


She is a common Barn spider or Araneus cavaticus. Charlotte A. Cavatica from the book Charlotte's web is named after this bad girl. She made her summer home in my back porch doorway and has been hanging around for 2 months now.

♥ ♥ ♥ SHE IS ENORMOUS AND HIDEOUS AND I LOVE HER. ♥ ♥ ♥

A few other things I got up to before the family reunion. Would you believe I never took any pictures of the pretty blue and green hand spun, hand dyed, handwoven scarf I made for my auntie??? I have to get her to send me a picture.

Some inkle shoe laces I made for to match Miss Naomi's pretty new sneakers:


Two pretty mauve, plum and teal ruffled scarves for the November Sale:


A pretty red "kelp scarf", also for the November sale. I have several warps made for scarves like this. Some of them are asymmetrical! I'm excited!


Here's a few of the warps one pink and grey with a pink ruffled center as well as ruffles at the edge, and one gold and rust with the ruffle on one side over twice the width as the other side:


Thanks for taking a peek! It gets to this time of year and I just have to embrace the manic panic and ride it, tresses to the wind until Christmas.

Then FULL STOP and movie marathon my way through January and February. :P

Cheers!
♥
JQ

The Rose Tapestry at 64 Hours

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.
--Georgia O'Keeffe


This is 64 hours. Total weave time includes everything I do for the tapestry once the warp is strung, tensioned and twined. That took me about a week of evenings.


It's probably about 60% weaving, 20% yarn prep (dying, skeining and winding butterflies/bobbins), and 20% visualizing. That last one actually happens the whole time I am weaving and prepping yarn as well. I do pause for contemplation. I sit with my work and survey it; I imagine it unfurling. I roll colours in my hands, twining them together to get an idea of how they will mingle. How I weave each section is more important to me than how fast I can do it, so I never feel guilty about taking time to think. If I spend 6 hours weaving a section and then decide it really doesn't work I have to un weave it.


I'll be moving to the left side to complete the green petal or at least weave it as high as I need in order to weave the dark squiggly section just to the right of it. Once those two pieces are done I'll be able to start on the petal that is unfurling above it all. Another small section to the right is ready to be woven so if I get bored of green I might skip over there and weave the section of orange/yellow with black lines.


And this little guy is the product of another delightful workshop I was able to participate in through my local spinners and weavers guild. There's a bit of pop culture reference here. Can anyone guess?


He's made with wool fleece and special tools called felting needles. I REALLY had fun making him. Actually I'm feeling as little distracted by it! I just want to buy up a bunch of coloured fleeces and needle felt my own army of cute.


Thanks for stopping by!
♥
JQ

"Vestige" My Dimensions 2011 Entry!

Mission:

Explore beauty in asymmetry through a subtle intricacy of texture; Evoke the precious timelessness of handwork.


Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to post a couple pictures of "Vestige" and show a bit on how I framed it and packaged it for shipping. I've submitted it and will find out Friday evening if it was one of the 35 selected for Dimensions 2011 or not. There were over 150 submissions--SO MANY absolutely beautiful pieces, and I'm excited just to have been on display in the same room as them even for this brief time. I mean I'm on pins and needles hoping I'll get in, but the competition looks fierce! :)
All of these images should be click-able if anyone wants to see them in a bit more detail.

The frame was made by cutting a rectangular hole out of the center of a 14" x 19" x 3/4" MDF. I Painted it with several coats of white acrylic paint. I know that most gallery walls are white, and I wanted the frame to be unobtrusive. The only time you see it is if you are looking at it from the side.


I ran a strip of sticky-backed, hook side Velcro in white along the top and bottom edge of the frame. The soft side Velcro is hand stitched onto the top and bottom edge on the back of the tapestry. Screwed two little "L" shaped shelving brackets onto the frame for mounting it onto the wall. Included a small bag of extra screws in the packaging.


I stitched on a little handmade canvas tag at the back bottom right, in far in enough that it can be seen even when the tapestry is on the frame. I used a permanent fabric pen to write the title, year and my signature. My signature is also woven into the tapestry but it is super subtle. Too subtle, but I know for next time.


With the packaging I tried my best to make the box as professional and presentable as everything else. I taped a clean sheet of packing paper to the top to hide the few tears that were left when I carefully pried the stickers off the box.


Inside this box was already set up for transporting something breakable! Lucky me!


So I placed the tapestry and frame into a brand new clear plastic bag, and voila!


Here's the latest photos of the rose tapestry after roughly 35 hrs.



Thank you for stopping by!
♥
JQ

Leviathan Day 13 (29 hours)

Hello and happy Friday everybody!

This week weaving has been a little slower, but save for a two day break, I managed to put an hour in a day. This is the way she looks after 29 hours of weaving:


I'm using a knot called soumac (that is used a lot in rugs) to add texture. Here is a diagram I found*:


I'm usually looping around every warp thread. This is a diagram of how the knot is used in rug construction.

You can see where I used black in the shaded areas how it sits along the surface. I'm trying to duplicate the line quality in any given area so in some places the soumac uses a double thread and others just a single.


I'm also using soumac where the green silk delineates the scales on the yellow petal. I like the way the silk shimmers next to the cotton. I can't get a really good shot of just how bright the colours are and how shimmery the silk looks, but under the right lighting it's really sensuous!


And this is the area that I'll be moving on to later today. With tapestry you have to build up certain areas before you can weave others. I couldn't weave the yellow/orange pink area of the petal in the foreground until I had woven up the leaf in the lower left and the green/yellow petal to the right, because this pinkish petal increases to lay over top of the other two areas. So now that I have the scaly green area done I can weave the 2 areas of black line work shading at the left and right and then continue weaving the yellow/pink petal over top of that.


I hope to be back on Sunday to post about how I finally decided to frame my Dimensions entry, and the title that resonates the most for me so far. I find it sooo difficult to give things titles. Submissions are due Tuesday! Time flies!

Thanks for visiting!
♥
JQ

*Diagram of soumac was found at: http://www.hillco.co.uk/info/rugcon1.htm