A friend was kind enough to loan me a Schacht table loom earlier this year. I managed to finish two projects and have satisfied my weaving urge for a few months at least. (And returned the loom, much to Peter's relief.... it did take up a lot of space in our tiny apartment.)The first project used a spool of black yarn I've had for a while as the warp and a variegated yarn as the weft. I was a bit nervous about this, having never used variegated yarn in weaving before, but only one way to learn (after googling things extensively)!
I maxed out the warp width on this one to get a nice full scarf. In retrospect I wish I had gone a bit more narrow so that the color stripes would have been longer, but I still like the end product, so, I'll call it a success. My weaving was nice and even and my edges were pretty good too, not bad considering I haven't woven in two years!
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Project 2 I sneaked in because I've had this reflective thread I've wanted to work into a weaving project for years. I tend to wear a lot of black and we have many dark, rainy days/nights in Vancouver where I worry I'm pretty invisible. I like the idea of things that look normal by day and are reflective at night. Example, this awesome bag I bought myself.
I made a half-hearted effort to use this reflective thread when I had my floor loom, but I didn't think the thread would hold up under tension (and it's too wiry to use as weft). This time I was willing to take the chance and remedy any snapped threads if necessary. So I got some silver yarn (Patons Metallic; which I don't think is going to wear well) to match the thread and ran the reflective 3M thread along with the yarn in the warp. I went for a narrow scarf because I wanted something light (and a fast project). There are some tension issues with the reflective yarn; once I was done and got it off the loom, I went through and pulled each strand to pull out the excess, which helped.
I decided to turn this into a circle scarf by knotting the fringes together. I'm now half way through weaving in the 488203 ends. By the time I finish, it will be August. So, probably won't take this one out for a spin until next fall. Interestingly my tension/beating changed dramatically on this - I started out beating hard for a nice tightly packed weft, then by the end was super loose (really terrible). Not sure what I was thinking. It bugs me, but I'll learn to live with it.
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| You have to look at it just right to see the pattern |
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| I always weave right to the very very end of the warp |
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Both turned out super cool! I love the green one, it's gorgeous - and what a neat idea making your own reflective accessories! Very impressed. :)
Thanks Ariane, I really appreciate the compliments! I'm kind of obsessed with trying to find ways to integrate reflective stuff into my outerwear without looking like a construction worker. I figure every little bit helps. :)
Yeah, I've seen some of those "fashionable" reflective accessories, but they tend to be super expensive! Didn't realize you could actually get the materials to make your own - it's sure a good idea here, when it's dark and rainy, the visibility just sucks. Anything to make yourself stand out to drivers is a good thing!