Hi, I'm a new member and a new weaver who recently asked which rigid heddle loom to buy. I've been very happy with my 24-inch Ashford for about a month now (my family is wondering how many table runners we need...), using yarns I already had and cheap knitting yarns from the craft stores.

I decided to branch out and start using perle cottons for my next project, and I am astounded at the cost of weaving yarns! How does anyone actually afford this hobby? I ended up spending over a hundred dollars on yarns to make a couple of dish towels. I'm a little breathless at the thought.

Any tips from you experienced people? How do you afford to weave? I really can't justify this outlay on something I'm still learning to do.

Comments

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 04:40

sarahnopp (not verified)

Where are you buying your yarn? I buy by the cone usually. Or by the ounce if I don't want the whole cone. Weaving shops sell at a very different scale than knitting and craft shops. Look at the vendors here on Weavo to get an idea. 

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 12:27

mneligh

I spin a lot of my own yarn, starting with the fleece.  I get a lot from Michael White, moderator of the Macomber group, or Woolery.  Also, things are cheaper if you buy in bulk -- not just by the pound cone but by the several pound cones.  I find a material I can't/don't have time to produce myself, and then look for it on line.

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 13:07

laurafry

You don't say how many ounces or how much yardage you got for your investment. How many towels or table runners will you be able to make with that much yarn? Cheers Laura
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 13:15

sally orgren

I think many of us have had that sticker shock as beginning weavers.

Cheap knitting yarns are just that. Made from cheaply produced materials and loosely spun. Yarns for weaving are processed differently to accommodate being put under tension on the loom. (RH looms really don't apply the same level of tension as shaft looms.) 

If you are happy weaving with cheap yarns and that fits your budget, keep going! I didn't want to invest a whole lot into yarns at first until I developed good weaving skills.

Carpet warp is/was cheap, came in smaller packages and in lots of colors. I made plenty of runners, place mats, towels, purses, and just wove experimental yardage before I moved on. (Of course, now I realize those towels made from carpet warp aren't exactly *absorbent,* and would probably break a wine glass if I tried to dry one!)

Now, I am the opposite. I seek out good quality yarns. If I am going to spend all that time planning a project, setting up a loom, weaving and finishing it, then I want the item to last as long as possible, through many launderings.

I still occasionally weave projects with donated/cheap knitting yarns, (and have posted them here at Weavolution.) But I don't particularly enjoy it as the finished fabric doesn't have the same feel as better quality materials. Having to sett the fabric more loosely to accommodate the more lofty yarns means a diminished lifespan for the fabric. (I often think that in these circumstances, knitting would have shown the yarn off to better advantage.)

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 14:10

Sara von Tresckow

Too many weavers come to the craft without prior knowledge of fabric and fiber. Knit and crochet patterns call for specific materials and usually do not require that the crafter know a lot about what is being used.

Not so with weaving. Weaving is, in some respects, "a deep subject". Your intent is to make fabric suitable for your purpose. A new weaver needs to begin looking at any and all fabrics in their environment - at Joann's, at museums, in stores - touch, feel, read the content labels. If possible determine how the yarns are spun - are they singles, plied, how many plies, are warp and weft the same, is the fabric warp dominant (the standard for sewing fabric), evenweave (for stitching without distortion), or weft dominant, how do the colors interact, is there a nice use of thick and thin or are all threads the same weight - just to mention a few properties of fabric that need to be considered.

Properties of various fibers need to be considered - "Fiber Facts" by Bette Hochberg is an inexpensive and valuable resource discussing laundry methods, pilling, elasticity, abrasion resistance, tensile strenght, crimp and other attributes of most natural and many synthetic fibers. Every weaver needs to know this in order to make their fabrics work well in use.

Spinning methods affect the hand of the fabric - depends on whether you want firm or drapey - but just "any yarn with the right thickness" will not do in weaving. I had a costumer look at some linsey woolsey I made - with fine handspun singles - the coverage of the wool made it quite like flannel - but when I substituted a 2-ply worsted of the same fineness, it looked all speckled and funny (as did a sample of similar material ordered from a well known producer of re-enactment fabrics). Conclusion was, taking the time to make those fine handspun singles made a very big and positive difference in the results.

Now, in addition to various properties, you need to envision your fabric - how you'd like it to appear and behave - adapt that vision to your loom and materials at hand - and try to complete your project.

It sounds as though your expensive yarn came in "kit" form. While there are such things out there, weaving pursued in "bulk" requires the weaver to study up on what is appropriate and find affordable sources for quality materials. Yes, this is not like going to the mall for a quick buy - but, as with anything, the journey in weaving is a large part of the pleasure of the craft.

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 15:55

Spurfy

I've been a needleworker for many years, so I'm pretty familiar with the differences between different types of linen, cotton, man-made fibers, etc. I'm also aware of sticker shock in new crafts - I remember the first time I saw the price of a yard of evenweave stitching linen.

It's not a kit situation. I think what got to me was the need to buy a pound of nearly everything. I guess I'll be able to do a lot of dishtowels, but it's really more than I needed. I'm trying a new (to me) technique, waffle weave on a rigid heddle, and they suggested I add a couple strands of cottolin to the "frames" of the cells to give it more body and absorbancy. So not only am I buying a pound of red perle cotton for the color stripe around the edge (I need about 25 yards) but I also had to buy a tube of red cottolin as well (I need about 6 yards). I know I will probably be able to find a use for the other 1100+ yards of red, but somehow it's hard to justify.

But on the other hand, having worked with smaller, finer perle cotton in my needlework for years, I'm looking forward to seeing how this weaves up. :)

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 15:58

Spurfy

As for where I bought my yarn - I shopped around on the internet for over an hour. I went to Woolery first, because that's where I bought several things when I was starting out, but they had a limited color selection. I ended up buying the perle cotton from Webs and the cottolin from the manufacturer. I couldn't see that there was much of a price discrepancy anywhere, and Webs gave me a discount. Unfortunately I haven't found a good local yarn shop yet. I'll be up in Salt Lake City tomorrow - there are a couple of sources up there I'd like to check out.

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 16:18

endorph

with the sticker shock. I have purchased a few 1 lb cones but for the most part I try and stick to the 4 - 8 oz. cones instead. I have found some luck with Cotton Clouds, Halcyon, Pacific Wool and Fiber, Yarn Barn of Kansas, etc. And I am lucky enough to live near a weaving community where I can find and / or order the smaller cones as well as raid their stash of partially used cones. They will also wind off smaller amounts of yarn if needed and sell by the ounce. I find I tend to use more "knitting" type yarns on my rigid heddle loom and the more expensive "weaving" yarns on my floor loom. Good luck in your search.
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 22:55

Sara von Tresckow

Ok, so you are using one those project ideas from a book that uses things that a seasoned weaver would have on hand and trying to purchase each. Perhaps, if this is your first foray away from the grab bag at a knitting shop, you seek a project using fewer yarn types to get some experience and save the fancy waffle thing for later - sort of "not now, maybe next time."

You really need to get used to weaving, yarns available, and understand that there is a limited market for tiny quantities of specialty yarns. Once weavers get the hang of things, they purchase not only a pound cone, but kilo cones and multiples of their favorite yarns to form a basic stash for making basic warps. For me, a towel warp takes 4-6 pounds of material. It doesn't pay a weaving supplier to stock less than half pound cones as the smaller packages are more expensive and most weavers come looking for the best price per pound. Windoffs will cost you for the labor. One or two cones of simple 8/2 cotton will make quite a bit on a rigid heddle loom and doesn't cost very much. 

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 23:51

sandra.eberhar…

Most of the mail order suppliers have quanity discounts, so I wait to order until I can make the number for the discount.  I look for sales.  I get a lot of yarn on Ebay, and have gotten some excellent yarns at very low prices.  If I want a specific color, and may want to get more of it, I go to a supplier.  I get mill ends and smaller quantities (usually, but sometimes a large lot of a mill end is available on ebay) of whatever looks good on ebay.  I usually put a warp of 20-30 yards on my looms when I warp, so I get fairly large quantities of yarn.  When you shop on Ebay, you have to be prepared for yarn that may not be exactly what you expected.  When  a seller says that a yarn is worth $$$, remember that it may bring that price if you can order it in many colors and in any quantity.  For the last cone on the planet, not so much.

Thu, 07/11/2013 - 16:18

tien (not verified)

Nobody's yet mentioned mill end yarns, so I will. :-) These are leftover yarns from mills or from manufacturers, after the year's production is done. The advantage of mill ends is that they can be quite cheap; the disadvantage is that there is a limited supply so buying more later is generally not an option (particularly important if you are looking for a specific color). And color selection can be limited.

 

So basically mill end yarns are something of a grab bag. But you can often find them much more cheaply than "regular" yarns, so a lot of my stash is mill ends. Webs sells them sometimes: http://www.yarn.com/webs-weaving-spinning-weaving-yarns-mill-ends-closeouts/

 

and R&M Yarns sells quite a few of them: http://www.rmyarns.com

 

and Lunatic Fringe has some: http://www.lunaticfringeyarns.com/goodbyes.php

 

If you are interested in luxury yarns like silk and cashmere, Colourmart is my favorite mill end supplier: http://www.colourmart.com - if you are buying a large quantity, e.g. a kilo or more, they will sometimes give a discount - email them and ask. About a quarter of my stash is from Colourmart!

 

Anyway, I hope that helps!

Thu, 07/11/2013 - 17:00

tommye scanlin

Yes, as Tien has just said, mill ends are a way to sort of ease one's way into the expense of weaving. At least, that's the way I did it years ago. Bit by bit I was able to find what I wanted to use and begin to buy what I couldn't always get through the mill ends route. Now that I weave tapestry almost exclusively I don't have as many types of yarns or sizes of those that I once did. And for my tapestry work I use only about two kinds of yarns now, having gone through the earlier learning experiences with the technique with less that wonderful yarns. My stash of tapestry yarns has grown through the years and so I have almost any color now that I'd want to use, and as I design tapestries now I don't have to order lots of colors, rather just what I need to, if something is low in stock. Tommye
Thu, 07/11/2013 - 22:45

NancyHassel

My area Rhode Island (near Fall River, MA) used to have many spinning and weaving mills.  The leftover yarn was beautiful and incredibly cheap.  Most of the mills are gone now and mill ends are much less plentiful.  http://www.peterpatchisyarns.com/ in Central Falls, RI, still sells mill ends.  I just had a wonderful experience buying 3.7 pounds of Natural color 10/2 Egyptian Mercerized cotton from RM Yarns -the yarn is exquisite and inexpensive - I plan to measure the warps and paint them myself – saving money without sacrificing quality. I had wanted to dye for years but was afraid then finally took the plunge last month and was really pleased with the results.
Thu, 07/11/2013 - 23:02

Spurfy

Thanks for the ideas! Tommye, my stitching stash is much the same way. I must have thousands of dollars' worth of evenweaves in my basement. Maybe that's why I feel guilty buying stash for a new hobby! ;)

Nancy, I took a dyeing class at a conference once - very inspiring. Make sure you post pictures of your work.

Sat, 07/13/2013 - 09:09

ReedGuy

Also, some yarns are coloured by dye lot. So when purchasing, your supplier knows this and will send that dye lot for that color. If you have to order more for the same project, make sure you mention the dye lot number and hope they have some left. ;) If you don't match lots then the colors will vary. Now this is often not an issue as some coloured yarns are 'lotless'.