Wool mini rug

Hi there! My name is Franco Rios from Sacramento, Calif.

This was my first woven project from about June 2007.
Mini-rug 10"x12" hand spun wool, brown alpaca, handwoven on a loom made from a picture frame. Actually, I bought a canvass on a stretcher frame and removed the canvass.

The wool is 3 plied using the navajo plying method. The alpaca is 2 ply using outside and inside ends from a center pull ball.

I warped it continuous warp style. The fringe occurred when I cut it off the frame. I used little string loops called string heddles and a shed stick on the loom.

After studying the Marla Mallett site and the Taos Trading Post site, I was inspired to weave the tiny rug. It was fun!

A Simple Frame For Weaving Experiments (!)
http://www.marlamallett.com/loom.htm

Awesome pictorial of Navajo Loom Weaving
http://www.taostradingpost.com/weaving/loom.html

 

My blog is Franco's Fiber Adventure

http://francosfiberadventure.blogspot.com/

Have a good day!

Comments

francorios (not verified)



http://rabbitgeek.com/loom/green11.jpg
This is a washcloth made on frame loom.
The yarn is Sugar & Creme, color warp & weft is Hot Green,
with a little bit of white for contrast.

More pictures and details on my blog entry
for Jun 26 & Jun 27 2009
http://francosfiberadventure.blogspot.com/

Have a good day!
 

bolivian warmi

Hi Cew,

After learning a bit about Navajo weaving with a teacher in Colorado I went back to my home, at that time in Punta Arenas, Chile and had a loom built for me. It was beautiful!!! i just gave the diagrams from ´´Working with the Wool´´ to the carpenter down the street. I used copper pipe for the loom bars rather than thick dowels as I really like to get the warp tensioned TIGHT and even the thickest of dowels ended up bending! The loom was so useful...not just for the Navajo pieces but I also used the lower loom bar to tie up to when I learned backstrap weaving. I have a picture of that somewhere which I will post soon. And, as you saw in the photos above I also used it to weave warp faced andean pick up pieces when I wanted a break from the backstrap. 

Unfortunately, the loom had to be left behind when i movbed to Bolivia and I simply don´t have room for one. Now I backstrap weave all the time. One day I´ll have another Navajo loom.......

bolivian warmi

Hi Franco,

thanks for showing us all your great projects. I just love the frame loom that you are using combined with the Navajo tensioning..so clever.

bolivian warmi

It must have been so much fun watching the colors develop in the dye baths and then getting to use it all in a project. Did you spin the wool too?

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Hi Everyone.  No I didn't spin the yarn.  It comes from Norway, from an ancient breed of sheep they have there.  It is really beautiful and dyed beautifully.  This particular yarn is spun especially for tapestry weaving -- lustrous but also rather hairy.  Here is a picture of all the colours of yarn I got.  The top and bottom rows are silk.

Bonnie.

Robweaves (not verified)

Bonnie, I love the weaving of your house.  I am working on my first Navajo-technique weaving, and for some reason am struggling getting the 4-pick turn right -- last night was bit frustrating.  I do think I just have to be more aware and evaluate each pick, at this point, to make sure it is right.   I love the diamonds on each side of your house image, and am amazed at producing the garden images that way.

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Hi Everyone, and thanks for your kind words Robweaves.  Here is an illustration of how I weave the Navajo turns.  Maybe it will help.  (The yellow dots are where two wefts piggyback under a single warp.)  I'll be happy to elaborate if it is too confusing.

 

Bonnie.

Robweaves (not verified)

Bonnie,

Thanks for the great illustration.  My instructor talks about the 4-pick turn that I need to create my right-leaning diagonal line as follows: Picks 1 and 2 don't move, Pick 3 moves over 1 warp thread to the right, pick 4 shares a warp thread.   Which I think is what I see in the upper right part of your chart (as the dark weft widens).  I think my unwoven warp threads came from missing the left-most warp in that color section on pick 4.   Now I want a floor loom at home, so I can slowly figure this out on my own! 

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Hi Everyone.  Here is some additional information about the way I do Navajo turns, that may make it easier to figure out.

Notice that the little arrows on the turns are either red or green.  That designates whether the angle of the turn is S (red) or Z (green).  This is important.

Row 1:  The weft is entered from the left, starting with the rightmost bout;  all wefts enter the shed on an S turn;  two wefts piggyback under a single warp end when the angle of the colour change line at the end of the region (right) is Z.

Row 2:  The weft is entered from the right , starting with the leftmost bout;  all wefts enter the shed on the turn opposite to the angle of the colour change line;  two wefts piggyback under a single warp end when the angle of the colour change line at the end (left) of the region is S.

Row 3:  The weft is entered from the left, starting with the rightmost bout;  all wefts enter the shed on an Z turn;  two wefts never piggyback.

Row 4:  The weft is entered from the right , starting with the leftmost bout;  all wefts enter the shed on the turn matching the angle of the colour change line;  two wefts never piggyback.

Please write if you'd like me to clarify any of this.  I should also emphasize that you follow the chart from the bottom up if you are weaving it.

Bonnie.

 

sgt_majorette (not verified)

I'm in New York City. I took a class in Oriental rug weaving and found that putting in the knotted pile wasn't that interesting to me, and I've always like the Navajo patterns. Turns out the killim, the base rug, is pretty much the same as a Navajo rug. Also I'm not good with colors, and I like to spin natural colored fleece.

I'm still working on my sampler strip, on a Beka loom warped in a kind of "field-expedient" fashion. I'm looking at sorting my next CVM fleece by color before I spin it.

If I'm going to make something that won't be subject to hard wear (e.g., if it's a rug, it will be a dollhouse rug), can I use finewool spun high-twist for the warp, or should I use a coarser, low-crimp wool?

Also, what books do people recommend? I've got Navajo Weaving Way: The Path from Fleece to Rug, and Marla Mallett book looks like something I should have. What others should I own? I can learn from books, plus it's not likely I'll be able to make it as far as Taos (since I rarely leave my apartment...) anytime soon! 

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Hi.  The warp I use is high-twist, 3-ply wool, about 850 yards per pound.  Each ply is high-twist as well, making it very strong.  The strength contibutes to the wearability but it is also necessary for the high tension needed when weaving.  No amount of beating will properly pack the weft if the warp is too loose.  I don't spin, but I think making this yarn would be a real challenge.  That said, if the weft is fluffy enough it will cover the warp well enough to look OK, even if the tension is a little slack due to using a weaker warp yarn.

My recommendation for a book is "Mexican Tapestry Weaving" by Joanne Hall.  It's the only book I've found that shows pick-by-pick weft insertion illustrations.  Many books (likely including the one you have) give directions for setting up a Navajo loom, which Joanne doesn't cover as the style of weaving she is presenting is done on a horizontal floor loom.

Happy weaving!

Bonnie.

 

sgt_majorette (not verified)

I'm still looking for a book about setting up a Navajo loom! The book I have is more in the spirit of Galina Khmeleva's Gossamer Webs in that it's as much about the culture of the textile as it is about instruction.

And the Mallett book is like $100! If Hall's book is in the $20 range, I'll go put it in my cart for the next time I hit Amazon. (I just ordered Weaving the Navajo Way.)

I can spin a strong yarn -- in fact, that's why I'm taking up weaving: the only way I can get a soft, fluffy knitting yarn is by using a Russian cashmere spindle. Being kind of a tense person, I spin a tight yarn!

I'm wondering whether I should use a harder wool or if I can just spin the warp tighter with the same wool. Fashion dolls aren't very hard on their textiles...

--jayne

bolivian warmi

Hello Jayne,

I learned Navajo style weaving witha teacher in Colorado way back in 1995. She used a book called ''Working with the Wool by Noel Bennett and Tiana Bighorse. This book has beautiful step-by-step drawings. Ibought it, took it home and my boyfriend had the carpenter down the street build me a loom. There are great beginner project ideas in there too and the follow up book, ''Designing with the Wool'' is every bit as good Another called ''Navajo and Hopi Weaving Techniques'' by Mary Pendleton is also good but you could probably get away with just buying ''Working wit the Wool'' for starters.

I never used my own handspun for Navajo weaving so I can't help with that unfortunately.

Here is a pic of my Navajo loom which is down in Chile. I had to abandon it when I moved here to Bolivia! there is actually an Andean warp-faced piece on it in this picture rather than a Navajo style one.

I just checked on Amazon-there are many used copies of ''Working with the Wool''-the cheapest being $4.39.

Laverne

 PS   AM EDITING THIS COMMENT as Claudia has just put up a book on the For Sale or Trade thread. It's called ''Weaving a Navajo Blanket''. I also have this book but don't find it as clear  as the one mentioned above but she is selling it for only $5.00 plus $3.00 postage so why not ?

sgt_majorette (not verified)

The book I have is all the Bennett/Bighorse books consolidated. Thanks for the heads-up--let's see if I can grab claudia's book!

--jayne

sgt_majorette (not verified)

Thanks for the heads-up! I didn't buy any of those --Australia!-- but I looked on eBay US, and I found "Fine Art of Navajo Weaving" and "Navajo and Hopi Weaving".

I'm bidding on the Navajo loom from the "Josefina" American Girl Doll. It's supposed to actually be functional, and it if isn't, well, I have dolls that spin. One of them can learn to weave!

--jayne

Caroline (not verified)

Hi Jayne, The book seller is actually in the USA, but since I'm in Australia, its how I access eBay. I have put a US link to her store in the WAL thread on the backstrap forum, because there are some gorgeous books (still) there that are very expensive over here. I've disgraced myself this weekend, and there are still more that I am coveting badly, hehe, but you should see the books I bought! All rare, and all out of print.

I've seen the Josefina doll on eBay and  wondered about it, so you must post photos and a description if you win her, pretty please?

sgt_majorette (not verified)

Oh, no, not another doll! I've got four coming in this week! No, just the loom that goes with the doll. I think the kid you buy the doll for is meant to be able to use the loom. The "American Girl" dolls are all different ethnicities and eras of American history, and you can get storybooks, matching child-sized outfits, and all kinds of things.

My dolls are all grownup fashion dolls, but they're all out of their boxes and very busy doing tiny dollie things. I do have three spinners (I think they're in my stash at Ravelry.) And helicopter pilots and tankers and lounge singers and Harry Potter fanfic characters and...

--jayne

sgt_majorette (not verified)

I have been trying to set up an improvised Navajo loom and I just can't. Sucks to not be able to do something the average five-year old Navajo kid can do, but hey. I'm getting good on the Navajo spindle for my weft yarns.

I've been looking at Navajo looms and finally decided to get a tiny one from Mark Deschinny, whom I highly recommend (even though I won't see the thing for a couple of weeks) because he likes to talk (I mentioned my talking Navajo GIJoe, and he told me stories about the guy who did the voice for the toy!) and he has a completely adorable accent...

--jayne

Caroline (not verified)

That sounds very interesting! Even I have heard of Mark Deschinny, all the way down here in Australia, and I would love to give one of his looms a loving home. Maybe, who knows what the future will bring.

How big is it? What wood has he used? I hope you will post photos when it arrives!

MaryWalker

Mark makes the looms in several sizes.  There are two lap looms, one of which is called the Awee' (Baby) and would probably weave about a 6"x10" piece and the Ateed (Little Girl) which would do a 12"x18" piece.  The loom is set up so that you can warp on the back of it.  I'll have to tell him is fame has spread to Australia!  

Warping is actually the last thing that you learn to do if you're Navajo.  Your mother or grandmother does it until they know that you're going to be a weaver.  They figure it's a waste of time to teach someone to warp if they're not going to weave!  You might be well over 30 by the time you learn to do it.

sgt_majorette (not verified)

<<<Warping is actually the last thing that you learn to do if you're Navajo.>>>
That's a relief! I get the theory and I can do the top and bottom binding, but I can't keep the warp tight on the improvised loom.

<<<Even I have heard of Mark Deschinny, all the way down here in Australia, and I would love to give one of his looms a loving home.>>>
Google up his website, you can see pictures. I'm getting the baby loom, since it will fit in a tote bag and I intend to work in miniature anyway. His prices are about the best you can do, too, although he ships UPS which is more expensive than it needs to be and I don't know how that works going overseas. Even with the shipping, though, a loom, a set of tools and a spindle for $155: can't do better than that.

Meanwhile, I'll mess around on my cheesy Beka frame loom...

KathleenR

 

Just wanted to introduce myself I live in Arizona and love the Indian culture especially Navajo weaving. I got my C. Cactus Flower loom a year ago and did a few weavings. Put it away and didn't take it out of the closet until just recently. I'm not sure what is different now, than a year ago except a renewed interest in weaving in the Navajo style. Looking forward to being apart of this group.

francorios (not verified)

Welcome KathleenR,

Enjoy the process.

Have a good day!

 

KathleenR

Thank you, francorios for your welcome appreciate it very much.

durgawalker

I just joined and can't find any recent posts. It's entirely possible I'm in the wrong area, so I'm sending out a flare. Anyone here?

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