Handwoven Treasured Leftovers
- By Karen
- April 2, 2019
- 8 Comments
In my bin of handwoven fabric, most of the pieces are leftovers, like a short section from the end of a towel warp, or a colorful sampling of weft from the beginning of a warp. But a few of these woven treasures are good-sized pieces that can be used to make something. So, since I want to make a bag for my large Freja tapestry frame, I look through my selection of handwoven fabric pieces.
I find just what I need! Coming across these two significant lengths of fabric is like getting reacquainted with old friends. The meter of red and black cotton eight-shaft twill is something I wove in a Vavstuga class. And the blue cotton warp-printed yardage is fabric I wove to make a tiered skirt, a favorite garment that hangs in my closet. (See Quiet Friday: Handwoven Skirt.)
Treasures from the past come into today to bring value and meaning. Put treasures in your today that will add value to tomorrow. Everything can change in a day, so we can’t put our confidence in tomorrow. But every new day is from the Lord, who holds the future in his hands. Today is a gift. Live it fully. Who knows? Your joy today may be tomorrow’s treasure.
May you find treasures from the past.
Love,
Karen
8 Comments
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Quiet Friday: Threads of Love
- By Karen
- September 28, 2018
- 18 Comments
Talk about thick and thirsty towels! Double weave makes these hand towels thick. And the linen in the cottolin threads makes them highly absorbent. The colors are fantastic together. When our daughter Melody moves with her little family to Chile, she can set up her new home with these made-for-her towels. My love is woven into every single pick.
I have included two short little videos just for the fun of it. Enjoy!
This project started in my weaving studio in our Houston home, where I beamed the warp.
And then we decided to move! We sold the house and moved into an apartment. The big loom was dismantled, with the towel warp on the back beam. Then, we moved all the pieces to our Texas hill country home.
Recently, I spent a week there to finish dressing the loom and weave all four towels. Whew! (Here’s what I did that week: Testing Color Surprises with My Little Helper and Weaving Deadline)
I wove hanging tabs on my band loom. And I discovered that I could showcase both sides of the colorful towel if I stitch the hanging tab on the side of the towel, off center.
The towels are hemmed and pressed, ready to brighten the day!
May you put threads of love into everything you do.
Love,
Karen
18 Comments
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Beth Mullins says:
They are gorgeous!
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Pam says:
Those towels are gorgeous!!
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laura says:
Beautiful towels and such love went into them. I know your daughter is going to love them as much as she loves you.
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Hi Laura, It’s such a pleasure to weave something with the purpose of giving it to somebody special. I think she’ll be happy with the towels. 🙂
All the best,
Karen
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WOW…I’m blown away. Same warp. Same fill. Different sequence
.Entirely different results. All beautiful.Thank you for sharing the progression.
Nannette
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Hi Nannette, You’ve touched on one of my favorite aspects of weaving. Exploration! Every new towel is a chance to explore another design. It’s awfully hard for me to weave any two or more things exactly alike.
Thanks!
Karen
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Sumac says:
Beautiful! I’m always in awe of your weaving.
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Hi Sumac, You are so kind! I feel very fortunate to get to play with threads on a loom.
Thanks so much,
Karen
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Jen says:
Goodness, those are beautiful towels that exude your love in a very joyful way. Thanks for documenting your process so well and sharing your inspire pictures. The placement of the hanging loops does the trick of showing both sides off it a very neat way. So very wonderful.
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Hi Jen, Your thoughtful comments make my day! I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures. This is the first time I’ve tried putting the hanging loops off-center on the side, but it really worked for this.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Janet Hageman says:
Just beautiful! When you pin your twill tape marker to the woven piece on the loom, do you unpin the beginning section of tape before it goes rolls around the beam?
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Hi Janet, Thank you!
I do not want the pins to go around the beam. I use just two pins, and “leapfrog” them as I advance the warp. Here’s the link to a post I wrote about it: Tools Day: Measured Weaving.
All the best,
Karen
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Kay Larson says:
Those are absolutely beautiful. You can’t help but smile when you look at them.
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Hi Kay, Thank you so much! I, too, think the colorful towels are very cheerful. 🙂
All the best,
Karen
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Robin says:
Beautiful!
Can I find directions to this pattern somewhere?
Thanks-
Hi Robin, Thank you! I’m glad you like it.
I modified a draft that is in “The Big Book of Weaving,” by Laila Lundell. If you send me an email through my “Get in Touch” page I will be happy to give you more information.
All the best,
Karen
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Band Loom Time!
- By Karen
- September 7, 2018
- 4 Comments
Before I can hem these new towels, I need to make some hanging tabs. Band loom time! Making a warp for the band loom is one way to use up some of the weft on quills that didn’t quite get emptied when weaving the towels. Of the four colors in the towels, I am using aqua, poppy, and orchid for the hanging tabs. The bright marigold, my favorite of the four colors, may bring too much attention to itself, so I’m leaving it out. A hanging tab must be a stable and firm loop that becomes a pleasing part of the towel.
Towels, before wet finishing, are spread out with the thread colors on top. I am trying to determine which colors will work together in woven hanging tabs for all four towels.
Eleven ends are just enough for weaving a narrow band. (The two ends in the center are doubled in the heddle and counted as one.)
Simple symmetrical design with aqua, poppy, and orchid colors. To use as hanging tabs for towels, the band is cut into short pieces, about ten centimeters (four inches) each. Each cut tab is then sewn into the hem of a towel.
Established. Stable (root word of e-stabl-ish) and firm. That’s how important our faith is as we walk through life. Everything hangs from it. So it must be woven carefully and stitched in securely, a pleasing part of who we are. Stable and firm in faith as we live for the Lord—that’s a beautiful way to live.
May your finishing details be pleasing.
With you,
Karen
4 Comments
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Your towels are beautiful. Love the little bobbin you are using. Do you mind telling me where you got that from? Love all your posts.
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Hi Laura, Thank you! My husband carved the little band loom shuttle for me. You probably know that you can use a short cardboard quill for band weaving, but I will email the specs of the little shuttle to you in case you or someone you know wants to carve one.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Thank you for sharing the design and craft process for finishing the beautiful towels. So true is the need for a firm foundation in life. Nannette
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Hi Nannette, All we humans tend to wander off course if we don’t have a firm foundation in life.
All the best,
Karen
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Quiet Friday: Lucia Portrait Tapestry
- By Karen
- April 27, 2018
- 16 Comments
A little here, a little there, and eventually I finish another small tapestry. This little woven portrait of my granddaughter Lucia was a huge challenge. I knew that from the beginning. In fact, I had about three beginnings with this intimidating project. My aim is not to make a masterpiece, but to keep making. And making, and making. Every time I go beyond what I think I can do, I learn more.
This Lucia Portrait Tapestry is best viewed from a distance. Up close, the details seem abrupt and harsh. But when I look at her from across the room, I see the picture of a child’s face.
I trimmed the weft tails on the back, steamed the piece, and made a half Damascus edging. The edging and the weft tails near the sides are stitched down. The hems are turned under and stitched. I plan to mount this on a linen-covered square, and hang the finished piece where it can be easily viewed from a few steps back.
Small tapestry ends with a short hem, warp thread header, and a scrap header. I overestimated how far I could comfortably weave. This is a less-than-optimal distance from the end of the warp for weaving.
Most of my tapestry weaving is done in the evenings as part of my winding-down routine. In this session the back of the tapestry gets a haircut.
Straggler weft tails are reigned in with a little sewing thread.
Finished Lucia Portrait Tapestry is 4 1/4″ x 4 7/8″.
Enjoy this slideshow video. The ending is sure to make you smile!
May you keep making.
Love,
Karen
16 Comments
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Joyce Lowder says:
This tapestry is AWESOME, Karen! A forever keepsake, but also a reminder of a special little one who holds a special place in your heart. With all you do and share, you still found time to do this artwork. God bless you, your granddaughter and your family! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Good morning, Joyce, The time comes in snippets, but those snippets add up. Children grow up fast, so it will be nice to have a tapestry snapshot of this young age.
Thank you!
Karen
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Well said, Joyce!
Karen, This is just lovely! Such a special piece. Yes, the ending made me smile.-
Good morning, Beth, Thank you for your sweet encouragement. I’m glad you enjoyed the little clip at the end!
Have a great day!
Karen
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Karen Simpson says:
So sweet! Such a small piece, but the amount of work amazing..I hope you might do maybe a trilogy? As she is growing…beautiful memento for her to keep.
Thank you.-
Hi Karen, I like the idea of a trilogy. That gives me another thought – maybe I should start on a small portrait of one of my other six grandchildren…
Thank you for recognizing the amount of work that went into this small piece.
All the best,
Karen
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This slide show was just what I needed on a dreary rainy morning! Such a lovely small piece. I am so impressed with your color gradation/detail. May I ask what yarns you use for these small weavings? Many thanks! And yes the ending is so sweet!
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Hi Pamela, I’m happy the slide show had an uplifting effect for you!
I’m able to get some of the color gradation because I use three strands of Fårö wool. Using three strands enables me to make subtle changes in the color. The sett is 10 epi.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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D’Anne says:
Little Lucia in tapestry is a wonderful moment in time, Karen. You did a fantastic job!
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Libertyquilts@yahoo.com says:
Oh Karen, she is so beautiful! You were so brave to take on such a difficult piece!! Love it and her
Libby-
Hi Libby, I didn’t have much to lose, and so much to gain! Thanks for your kind encouragement.
All the best,
Karen
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Annie Lancaster says:
Great interpretation of the photo. It looks like she is watching you from every angle!
And yes, I believe you should do a tapestry of each of the other grandchildren. Otherwise, what will they think?-
Hi Annie, Yes, surprisingly, her eyes do follow you across the room. I will give that some serious thought – each of the grandchildren…
Happy weaving,
Karen
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The precision of decision needed with each color choice when weaving tapestry explains how Penolope was able to ward off suitors while Odysseus was away. What non weaving person would voice an opinion deciding if one or two strands of a pink was needed for the ear lobe’s center, more than once?
It is a beautiful jewel with Mona Lisa eyes.
Nannette
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Hi Nannette, Yes, “precision of decision” is aptly put!
Your Mona Lisa description brings a smile to my face.
Thank you!
Karen
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Quiet Friday: Linen Upholstery Fabric
- By Karen
- March 23, 2018
- 24 Comments
Do you dream of making upholstery fabric? I do. There are four chair seats at our Texas hill country home that I want to re-cover. Now I have custom upholstery fabric!
Cutting off never loses its excitement! I have one long piece of yardage, with no separations or divisions.
Just off the loom, the hefty linen fabric (8/2 linen, warp and weft) is stiff and unyielding. Will this window-screen material make suitable upholstery that’s soft enough to sit on? Yet, even in this state, the linen beckons and intrigues.
First, the edges are serged. I check for weaving errors, finding none. There are spliced warp ends in five places, which are trimmed.
I make a large tube by basting the two ends of the yardage together, to reduce twisting in the wash. The washing machine (top loader) works as a soaking tub first. The linen slowly soaks up water in the tub, relaxing there for an hour or two. Then it’s time to wash and dry. The first time, I omit the spin cycle and remove it from the dryer while still damp, to prevent permanent creasing.
And then, I wash and dry the yardage again.
Talk about softening up! Oh, I wish you could be here to handle it with me! This is dreamy linen fabric, perfect for sitting.
May your fabric dreams come true.
Happy weaving,
Karen
24 Comments
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Betsy says:
What a great project! What sett did you use and how much shrinkage did you get with washing and drying. I have some dining room chairs that I want to recover. Your project may be the “kick” that I need to go from dreaming to doing.
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Hi Betsy, So I’m not the only one who thinks of weaving fabric to recover chairs…
The sett is 15 epi. I haven’t done the final measuring yet. I’ll report back later today with the shrinkage after I’ve done that.Happy weaving,
Karen -
Betsy, I have the shrinkage figures for you.
I had 12% shrinkage in width and about 15% shrinkage in length. The fabric was washed in warm water and dried on a medium setting.
Karen
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Karen
Thank you for the info. That will help in my planning. I was just looking at a book by Ann Sutton called Color and Weave Design that has handreds of designs. They are all in black and white yarn and the book is arranged like pages of gamps.Betsy
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Betsy, Sounds like a fascinating book. I’ll have to look that up.
Send me a picture (Karen @ warpedforgood . com) when you get something going. I’d enjoy seeing what you come up with.
Karen
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Karen
My current project is to make a jacket to through on on summer evenings. I’ve just wound a warp with 3/2 cotton for sampling. I’ll move on to upholstery fabric after I finish the jacket.
Betsy
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Shari says:
Absolutely lovely! It looks like two colors. What colors did you use. Looks like grey or brown. What’s the weave structure? 4 or 8? Absolutely lovely!
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Hi Shari, This is 8/2 line linen, unbleached and golden bleached. The look of natural linen is pleasing! Four shaft plain weave, with color and weave effect. Only two treadles! This was relatively fast and easy weaving.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Love linen (having learned to spin on it decades ago) I really need to get my looms going. Thanks to your examples and encouragement.
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Hi Bev, I admire anyone who can spin, especially linen! I’m happy to hear that you’re feeling prompted to get weaving looms going. That makes me smile!
Happy weaving,
Karen
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This is so beautiful Karen! I have a padded piano bench that was my mothers that I have been wanting to recover and this is the inspiration that I needed to get going.
I’ll take any opportunity to work with linen and I just love the combination of unbleached and golden. I’m wondering if a shadow and weave pattern would also work with this color combination of linen. The pattern might be more subtle, but could be interesting!
Kathryn
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Kathryn, How lovely to weave fabric for your piano bench! I think this weight linen will work well for seat and piano bench covers.
The unbleached and golden linen give only a subtle pattern, so if you want the pattern to be more noticeable, you’d want higher contrast in the colors. I don’t have experience with shadow weave, so I’m probably not the best one to ask about that.I’d love to see what you come up with!
And, yay!, another weaving upholstery dreamer…
All the best,
Karen
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Karen,
Your fabric came out beautifully (LOVE it)–I do so want to touch it! Do you have to do any special handling while weaving with linen (I have no experience with linen)? And how do you handle the fabric from the washer without using the spin cycle? Isn’t it heavy and dripping with water?-
Janet, Linen works best with a little extra care, but I find it a special pleasure to weave with linen. I have a sidebar with tips for linen in my Dice Weave Pillows project in Jan/Feb 2016 Handwoven.
Generally, you want good, even tension across the warp as you beam the warp. Avoid abrasion as much as possible, for which a temple is helpful. And, sometimes a little moisture will help if you have warp ends breaking.
Near the end of the rinse cycle I stand at the washing machine and listen for the water to drain out. When it sounds like the last little bit has drained and the spin has started, I stop the machine. If there is still too much water in the fabric at that point, I even out the yardage, untwisting and unfolding it as much as possible and then turn it on and let it just barely spin. That gets enough water out so it’s not dripping wet, and I can to move it to the dryer.
For smaller pieces, like towels, I don’t mind if they are wet and dripping. I roll them in dry towels to remove moisture before putting them in the dryer, or laying them flat to dry.
By the way, this piece of linen yardage is heavy even when dry. When I first pulled it out of the washer it was really heavy!
Thanks for asking,
Karen
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Hi Karen,
This is just beautiful! What a good idea to cover your chairs, I’ve done that many times over the years, but yours will be so nice. I can’t wait to see them done!!
Libby-
Hi Libby, I’m impressed that you have covered chairs many times! I’m a newby in that arena, but I have a book, resources, and friends to help.
Thanks,
Karen-
Oh it’s easy, you can do it!!
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Hi Karen,
In 1991 my mother-in-law was going through her attic and handed me some yardage that her mother wove on a loom made by her father. It was of pearl cotton with one in a birds eye weave of red and cream. I put them away because the fabrics had no purpose in my house hold with young childrenWhen we put together a weekend home I used one of the pieces to cover second hand dining room chairs. The result proves the rule to use beautiful things.
Your beautiful newly covered chairs will give you years of enjoyment.
Nannette-
Hi Nannette, Oh how wonderful! Thanks for sharing your experience. That’s great that you were able to put that special fabric to good use.
I look forward to putting these chair seats together and sharing my enjoyment of them with my family and friends. It’s a great way to be able to see and feel the handwoven fabric in daily living.
Thanks for your sweet encouragement,
Karen
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Hi Karen
You have woven a very wonderful fabric, that certainly gives great chairs
Kind regards
Doris-
Hi Doris, I am excited to have new fabric for chairs. I appreciate your kind compliment.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Elisabeth says:
This fabric is gorgeous! Such a pleasant weight linen and the beautiful suble texture and pattern really adds to its beauty!
I strongly believe that surrounding ourselves with things made with passion and love, and out of quality materials do something to us. I am convinced that the qualities put into it by the maker follow the item and is sensed by the user. It is so satisfying to touch, use, and take care of things like these. And they age so beautifully 🙂
Thank you for so generously sharing your passion!Sent from my iPhone
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Hi Elisabeth, You have a way with words. I enjoy hearing your thoughts—so rich and insightful. I agree, it is immensely satisfying to surround ourselves with beautiful things that are made by hand, with love mixed in.
Happy weaving, friend,
Karen
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Copyright © 2019
Great idea! Have a wonderful time!
Hi Beth, We are having a great time in the mountains and desert this week at the state park.
Thanks,
Karen
Very nice and inspiring!
Thank you so much!
Karen
No moss is growing under your feet. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the memories. All are a gift from God.
Nannette
PS.. The snow is leaving us and the leaves of the spring flowers are pushing through, and the squirrels ate the kale seeds I planted.
Hi Nannette, It is always interesting to observe the changing of seasons. Here, where we are this week, we see cactus in bloom, desert bluebonnets (they will die off as soon as the temps reach 95 degrees), and red-tipped ocotillo everywhere. Dots of brilliant color on a backdrop of desert brown. The rugged and massive mountains declare the glory of God!
Love,
Karen
I have so many scraps of my handwoven fabrics that I try to find uses for. In the process of moving now, I find there are far too many and I’ve bagged many to throw away. Sad! Enjoy Big Bend. It’s one of my favorite places.
Hi Linda, It is sad to say goodbye to scraps of handwoven fabric. But the good thing is, you still get to enjoy the memories of all that time at the loom.
Big Bend is such a unique and remote place. At times, the terrain is such that it seems like it could be another planet. There is beauty all around, but it’s different. I’m glad to know you enjoy this place, too.
All the best,
Karen