Saturday, June 11, 2016

Weaving on a vintage Weave It pin loom



What a difference wet finishing makes!

I've been trying to think of another hand work project that is more or less portable. So much of what I do these days relies on my studio set up, but I like to keep my hands busy when I'm out and about too.

So this week I dug out my vintage 'Weave-it' pin loom, and experimented with the tail ends of  yarn that are left after my sock making forays. In this case I'm using Deborah Norville 'Serenity' sock yarn, which is a merino/bamboo/nylon mix. On the left is a square in progress on the 4" loom. In the middle is a square right after it is taken off of the loom. The fabric is 'sleazy' at this point. Yes, that is a weaving term, meaning kind of loosely woven and gauzy and full of holes. But the square on the right is what happens after I wash a square on hot with high agitation in the washing machine, and toss it in the dryer. It has shrunk from a 4" to a 3" square, and become a soft and stable fabric. Now, that I can work with!

I'll make a bunch of squares, and then decide how I'm going to join them together. I'm thinking patchwork looking blankets for starters. And I've seen some cute Christmas ornament ideas. But for now, I'm enjoying just weaving for the sake of weaving, and learning a new skill. Not everything needs to be high tech. Sometimes, the simple tools are still lots of fun.

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