Ella-Rae Scarf
3 shaft twill woven on a rigid heddle loom. I used Ella-rae sock yarn in the warp and a grey alpaca for weft-- I decided to use the 3 shaft twill because I really wanted the warp to show be shown off, it's such a pretty yarn, and would have gotten lost in plain weave. As it turns out I'm now enamoured with 3 shaft twills, I love how the two sides are so different, and also that it's such an ancient weave structure. And it wasn't that hard to do with 2 heddles.
Topaz, Gold, Marigold Plaid
My first attempt at a plaid. Just experimenting to see how the colors relate to one another and how they mix.
Length of warp on loom includes a 10 inche sample swatch.
Sparkly narrow band
This little band started life as a demo band at a show. After the show, only partly woven, it languished in a box until I rediscovered it. I love the colours! It's an experiment with variegations, as two of its yarns are blatantly variegated, and the remaining fine cottons have colours that undulate (the Orangey-red, for example, has zones that are Very Red and others that are Very Orange -- but the overall effect is too subtle to really call it a variegation).
The band is woven in warp-faced plainweave, but the variegations give it a more complex appearance.
The yarns are mixed. The fine cottons were sold as mini-skeins intended for use by embroiderers. The Red sparkly yarn is also fine (a "chainette" about the weight of a 10/2 cotton when under tension); but the variegated sparkly yarn is heavier (about the weight of 5/2 perle cotton).
I like this band enough that I now need to make a jacket to go with it!
Alpaca-Merino-Silk scarf
This project is an experiment in several ways. First, the heddles used are prototypes of a wider semi-rigid heddle than the "normal" ones -- these are two inches wider than standard -- and I wanted to see how they'd behave weaving a "cloth" rather than a warp-faced weave. Second, the 2.5 meter warp isn't longer than any I've woven with these heddles, but this is the first time I've woven a non-warp-faced weave with the warp stretched full-length and the heddles suspended on the warp.
The first experiment (trying the wider heddles for weaving "cloth") is a success! The heddles behave beautifully, and using a lightweight temple, it's easy to maintain an even width in the web.
The second experiment (weaving non-warp-faced on a long warp stretched full-length) is less happy. It's not bad maintaining warp tension over this length, but the warp sways while I'm weaving (in fact, it sways a lot) -- and even though that doesn't pose a major problem for the weaving itself, it's unnerving!
It's also not a lot of fun -- which is why it's been a work-in-progress for so long. This week I'll roll the warp and cloth onto sticks and finish weaving it with a backstrap. That should wrap things up nicely!
Warp Painted Scarf/Runner
After listening to Episode 2 of weavecast I decided I wanted to try warp painting. So this is what came of it. I want to make one in wool for a shawl eventually. This one was a fun project. I used Procion MX dyes without the Urea and I think it worked fine. It has been machine washed and dryed and the colors look just the same as when it was on the loom so I am happy with it.
Spaced Dyed Scarf
This scarf is a result of the class I taught at my fiber shop, Yarn Circle. The class was called, Dyeing to Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom. First we took an afternoon and spaced dyed either a skein of wool or mohair. The students had to wait a few days for the dyed skeins to dry, then they came back and we warped up the Rigid Heddle looms. It was colorful, easy and a lot of fun.
Waffle Weave kitchen towels
Took these off the loom yesterday. It's two identical towels in waffle weave mostly but a contrasting stripe in a color and weave type pattern across the short ends of the towels. Will post picture after they are hemmed. I'm new to weaving and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to hem them before I wash them. I will be hand sewing the hem using the yarn so if anyone sees this and has a suggestion please let me know.
tunic
This was inspired by the 3 panel huipils of Guatamala and the brown cotton textiles of Mexico. Two warps, first one 3 yds for the central panel, and 5yds for the two side panels. The brocade(overlay-underlay) with the tiny boucle yarn is very nice and all the designs are derived from an X. You can see more about this at WIP.
Bronson Table Runner
I am delighted with this table runner. It is by far the best rigid heddle project I have done so far.
The threading up was a bit arduous and I made it worse by starting in a hole when it should have been a slot and my pick up sticks didn't work.
Weaving required concentration but was straightforward.
The result after washing was excellent.
I would make more of these.
