February things

[mala]

I hate continuing a monthly thread in the next month, so heres a new thread for February.

I finally fixed the warping on my loom (B had pulled out on of my reddle crosses and I was too disheartened to fix it for awhile). I'm loving how this is working up.

(sorry they're huge, I used to be able to resize in the create thread, now it's not letting me.)

also this loom is... not the easiest. Hardware replacements are needed. :/

[cmeon]

Pretty colors, great (crisp) edges! So, is that a four shaft? My rigid heddle group is hilariously strict about NO OTHER LOOM TALK, so I don't really know anything about them (aside what I've gleaned from converting patterns). What needs to be replaced on it? You should be able to make some really fun patterns eventually! I honestly love the rhythm of plain weave so much, though, especially with fun yarn.

It looks like it's in pretty good shape, what needs to be replaced? Can you find the replacement parts? Is there a way to change the

[mala]

Feb 3, 2019 18:31:02 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Pretty colors, great (crisp) edges! So, is that a four shaft? My rigid heddle group is hilariously strict about NO OTHER LOOM TALK, so I don't really know anything about them (aside what I've gleaned from converting patterns). What needs to be replaced on it? You should be able to make some really fun patterns eventually! I honestly love the rhythm of plain weave so much, though, especially with fun yarn.

It looks like it's in pretty good shape, what needs to be replaced? Can you find the replacement parts? Is there a way to change the

It is in good shape, I just don't like how it holds the shafts up. Each leaver on the side lifts a shaft, there's a catch that holds them up. Lifting a new one releases whatever was up, so if I have up 1 & 2, and my next move is 2& 3, I push down on lever 3 but it will release 2 so then I have to push down 2 & 3 at the same time. Newer looms they all lift and lower independently of each other. The catch is also tricky and you have to push hard to get it to engage. I need to think if I can replace it with something easier. I covered the levers with sugru because they were so hard on my fingers (they're hard plastic with a lego top texture WTF). The reed is in usable shape, but it's old and doesn't sit perfectly anymore. The screws need to be tightened to the arm for it and the screws and nuts that hold it on top also need to be replaced. Fixable but a PITA.  I played with using all 4 shafts, but I do agree about plain weave! For now that's all I'm really doing.    

[cmeon]

Feb 3, 2019 19:02:53 GMT -5 mala said:

It is in good shape, I just don't like how it holds the shafts up. Each leaver on the side lifts a shaft, there's a catch that holds them up. Lifting a new one releases whatever was up, so if I have up 1 & 2, and my next move is 2& 3, I push down on lever 3 but it will release 2 so then I have to push down 2 & 3 at the same time. Newer looms they all lift and lower independently of each other. The catch is also tricky and you have to push hard to get it to engage. I need to think if I can replace it with something easier. I covered the levers with sugru because they were so hard on my fingers (they're hard plastic with a lego top texture WTF). The reed is in usable shape, but it's old and doesn't sit perfectly anymore. The screws need to be tightened to the arm for it and the screws and nuts that hold it on top also need to be replaced. Fixable but a PITA.  I played with using all 4 shafts, but I do agree about plain weave! For now that's all I'm really doing.    

Oh, I get it- sounds like there's definitely some work to get it into the condition it should be for a modern weaver- heh! I totally cut myself off- I meant to ask- do you have different sizes of- I guess it's the reed? To use thicker/thinner yarns/strings for your warp? How does that work?

[mala]

Feb 3, 2019 19:18:50 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Feb 3, 2019 19:02:53 GMT -5 mala said:

It is in good shape, I just don't like how it holds the shafts up. Each leaver on the side lifts a shaft, there's a catch that holds them up. Lifting a new one releases whatever was up, so if I have up 1 & 2, and my next move is 2& 3, I push down on lever 3 but it will release 2 so then I have to push down 2 & 3 at the same time. Newer looms they all lift and lower independently of each other. The catch is also tricky and you have to push hard to get it to engage. I need to think if I can replace it with something easier. I covered the levers with sugru because they were so hard on my fingers (they're hard plastic with a lego top texture WTF). The reed is in usable shape, but it's old and doesn't sit perfectly anymore. The screws need to be tightened to the arm for it and the screws and nuts that hold it on top also need to be replaced. Fixable but a PITA.  I played with using all 4 shafts, but I do agree about plain weave! For now that's all I'm really doing.    

Oh, I get it- sounds like there's definitely some work to get it into the condition it should be for a modern weaver- heh! I totally cut myself off- I meant to ask- do you have different sizes of- I guess it's the reed? To use thicker/thinner yarns/strings for your warp? How does that work?

I wonder if there's a way to retrofit the lift mechanism to the current popular design. It would probably have to be DIY.

My mom had a 12 dent reed, or 12 threads per inch.  Which is ok for a fingerling yarn like above. I did use it with cheap worsted acrylic and it was really tight.  I also tried it just threading every other slot, which was better.  Ideally I'd get an 8 dent reed for worsted yarn though.  The reed determines how close textured the warp is.  The heddles (which are the wires the warp threads run through to be lifted on the frames) are moveable and you can thread them in different patterns to make fancy weaving.  I'm still learning how to read those patterns.

[cmeon]

Feb 3, 2019 20:20:59 GMT -5 mala said:

Feb 3, 2019 19:18:50 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Oh, I get it- sounds like there's definitely some work to get it into the condition it should be for a modern weaver- heh! I totally cut myself off- I meant to ask- do you have different sizes of- I guess it's the reed? To use thicker/thinner yarns/strings for your warp? How does that work?

I wonder if there's a way to retrofit the lift mechanism to the current popular design. It would probably have to be DIY.

My mom had a 12 dent reed, or 12 threads per inch.  Which is ok for a fingerling yarn like above. I did use it with cheap worsted acrylic and it was really tight.  I also tried it just threading every other slot, which was better.  Ideally I'd get an 8 dent reed for worsted yarn though.  The reed determines how close textured the warp is.  The heddles (which are the wires the warp threads run through to be lifted on the frames) are moveable and you can thread them in different patterns to make fancy weaving.  I'm still learning how to read those patterns.

Oh, so those *are* heddles? Do they have slots and holes, or just slots? You only have to change the reed for thicker/thinner yarn?

I can technically add 2 more heddles/heddle blocks to mine to be able to weave 4-shaft patterns without p/u sticks, but, they'd all have to be the same size- I can't have an 8 dent in the front and 12s in the back. I'm sorry for all the questions, it's just interesting- similar in a lot of ways to what I'm used to, but, way fancier.

[mala]

Feb 3, 2019 21:01:03 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Feb 3, 2019 20:20:59 GMT -5 mala said:

I wonder if there's a way to retrofit the lift mechanism to the current popular design. It would probably have to be DIY.

My mom had a 12 dent reed, or 12 threads per inch.  Which is ok for a fingerling yarn like above. I did use it with cheap worsted acrylic and it was really tight.  I also tried it just threading every other slot, which was better.  Ideally I'd get an 8 dent reed for worsted yarn though.  The reed determines how close textured the warp is.  The heddles (which are the wires the warp threads run through to be lifted on the frames) are moveable and you can thread them in different patterns to make fancy weaving.  I'm still learning how to read those patterns.

Oh, so those *are* heddles? Do they have slots and holes, or just slots? You only have to change the reed for thicker/thinner yarn?

I can technically add 2 more heddles/heddle blocks to mine to be able to weave 4-shaft patterns without p/u sticks, but, they'd all have to be the same size- I can't have an 8 dent in the front and 12s in the back. I'm sorry for all the questions, it's just interesting- similar in a lot of ways to what I'm used to, but, way fancier.

The heddles on my loom are twisted wire with an eye in the middle for the yarn and loops at either end that go through the frame. There's another version that is braided nylon that looks like two parallel threads with cross pieces to make an eye in the middle for the warp thread, those are tied to the frame at top and bottom.  The reed is basically a wire comb closed at the top and bottom.  A ridged heddle loom looks like it combines the heddles and the reed into the same part.  I kind of wish I had a ridged heddle loom to learn on, I feel like it would be much simpler!

[cmeon]

Feb 3, 2019 21:30:21 GMT -5 mala said:

Feb 3, 2019 21:01:03 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Oh, so those *are* heddles? Do they have slots and holes, or just slots? You only have to change the reed for thicker/thinner yarn?

I can technically add 2 more heddles/heddle blocks to mine to be able to weave 4-shaft patterns without p/u sticks, but, they'd all have to be the same size- I can't have an 8 dent in the front and 12s in the back. I'm sorry for all the questions, it's just interesting- similar in a lot of ways to what I'm used to, but, way fancier.

The heddles on my loom are twisted wire with an eye in the middle for the yarn and loops at either end that go through the frame. There's another version that is braided nylon that looks like two parallel threads with cross pieces to make an eye in the middle for the warp thread, those are tied to the frame at top and bottom.  The reed is basically a wire comb closed at the top and bottom.  A ridged heddle loom looks like it combines the heddles and the reed into the same part.  I kind of wish I had a ridged heddle loom to learn on, I feel like it would be much simpler!

Thanks for the great description of what's going on there (I couldn't quite see). It definitely sounds a little intimidating, but, I'm sure you're going to get the hang of it. The loom I made is a pretty long print project, but, I'm more than happy to print you up the parts if you want to give a shot (you'd just have to add dowels/wood screws, there's even really good cut/assembly instructions- not all that common in the 3-D printing world- LOL). I think it would honestly be pretty easy to build out a wood frame for it, and just use the 3-D printed heddles, too, if you want to try that.

I was surprised to learn how many people have (many) multiple looms- but, then I remembered how many sewing machines I have...

[Michelle]

coming back to learn about looms later! Just piping in to say i love the product - it is beautiful.

[mysticmuffin]

Wow mala! That's really pretty!





I finished this jumpsuit and jacket for DD. I need to bring up the hem on the pants a bit, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The pattern was... Not very easy for me to follow, so I'm glad my mom had been around to translate some of it for me.

[audette]

Weaving talk!!! Awesomeness!


I didn't know that about the old Nilus looms. (the levers being pushed down releasing whatever was already down) That sucks - it would make doing twills so much of a pain in the ass!



I've got an Ashford 8 harness table loom and a Louet Erica with 4 harnesses. I'm still learning my way around them, and never seem to have enough time to play, but they are fun! Different than rigid heddle, but fun.


The cool part with the multi-harness looms is that you aren't quite as restricted by the reed - you can thread more than one thread in each reed slot, or thread less than one per slot, depending on how many ends per inch you want to weave (and what sort of fabric/density your warp will weave at). I've been using a 10 dent reed, and using 2 threads per slot with a fingering weight yarn for most of what I've woven so far. I've mostly done fairly narrow wool projects, but I bought some linen/cotton blend I want to try out soon - I suspect it will be less forgiving of tension issues than wool is, so I hope it doesn't give me too many headaches...

[audette]

Also, mala, those are some _gorgeous_ selvedges! Envy! (pretty colors, too - it's working up really nicely)

[mala]

cmeon ,

This is what the heddles look like:


And here's the reed:


audette ,

Here's the bar that hold up the frames.

The brown is a plastic piece that is movable between those two screws that act as stoppers. When the leaver is depressed, it lifts up the metal bar, which pushes the plastic back and then it swings back to the right to catch the metal bar after it clears the top. Buuuut the stopper doesn't always swing back, you have to push really hard on the lever to get it to catch, and it releases whatever bar/frame you already put up. I might talk to my handy neighbors and see how hard it would be to construct a new mechanism to lift the frame based on the more modern looms which use individual pulleys. I'm hesitant to modify that loom though, from a value standpoint (though I don't plan on ever selling it so I don't know that it matters). I tried a twill pattern. Hated it because it was a giant PITA to lift the frams correctly.

Also my selvedges might look neat in the picture but I promise you that they look a lot better in the picture than in real life. In real life there's tension issues and puckering and it's not straight since the reed isn't screwed in properly (fixing that issue tomorrow).

[cmeon]

Feb 5, 2019 19:52:20 GMT -5 mala said:

Oh, that's interesting- I see the "slots" and "holes" on the heddle are made from- wire? That seems smart- easy to repair, I imagine.

What do you beat with? (Ha, you thought I was done with questions?)

[mala]

Feb 5, 2019 20:05:05 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Feb 5, 2019 19:52:20 GMT -5 mala said:

Oh, that's interesting- I see the "slots" and "holes" on the heddle are made from- wire? That seems smart- easy to repair, I imagine.

What do you beat with? (Ha, you thought I was done with questions?)

Beating = pushing the weft threads tight with the reed. The reed on my machine is on arms that keep it fixed to the loom frame but allow it to move forward and back along the weft. So I run a weft thread (I honestly don't know what that action is called, huh) then beat it by pulling the reed forward, then push the leaver to change which heddle frame is up vs. down. Also, I may not be using the correct terms, such is the failing of teaching yourself.

[cmeon]

Feb 5, 2019 21:26:20 GMT -5 mala said:

Feb 5, 2019 20:05:05 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Oh, that's interesting- I see the "slots" and "holes" on the heddle are made from- wire? That seems smart- easy to repair, I imagine.

What do you beat with? (Ha, you thought I was done with questions?)

Beating = pushing the weft threads tight with the reed. The reed on my machine is on arms that keep it fixed to the loom frame but allow it to move forward and back along the weft. So I run a weft thread (I honestly don't know what that action is called, huh) then beat it by pulling the reed forward, then push the leaver to change which heddle frame is up vs. down. Also, I may not be using the correct terms, such is the failing of teaching yourself.

Awesome- yeah, we beat with the heddle (unless I'm using a particularly assy yarn in my warp- I did half my most recent scarf beating with a spare shuttle- OMG, PITA). There's definitely a whole loom language!

[shortcake2675]

I need y’all to laugh with me. this was a free pattern that I adapted with the adjustable straps. It was within L’s measurements, I think. But the fit was obviously off.




I have the top picked apart and turned down two inches. Lengthening the straps another 4 inches and it should be set. It’s for a lemonade stand school carnival silent auction basket, so I’m glad I figured the fit out.

I’ll post a photo of it once I get it worked out. I’m gonna sleep now.

[cmeon]

Feb 6, 2019 0:34:39 GMT -5 shortcake2675 said:

I need y’all to laugh with me. this was a free pattern that I adapted with the adjustable straps. It was within L’s measurements, I think. But the fit was obviously off.



I have the top picked apart and turned down two inches. Lengthening the straps another 4 inches and it should be set. It’s for a lemonade stand school carnival silent auction basket, so I’m glad I figured the fit out.

I’ll post a photo of it once I get it worked out. I’m gonna sleep now.

Ha- she is such a good sport! That's going to be adorable when it's fixed, though- great print, even thoughtfully gender neutral.

[mysticmuffin]

A question for my sewing friends. I've decided that I might be crazy enough to stake a stab at sewing some tops for myself for work. I've been using a lot of cotton lycra for the things I've made for DD, but I'm stuck on what base I should be looking for when making things for myself. Anyone have any favorites?

[shortcake2675]

Fixed.

I wish I’d had a kid to try it on before I turned it in, but I am confident it will fit.

I made adjustments to my pattern pieces, so I can make Leila one for her birthday. Her mind was blown by the reversible nature and was willing to wear it as it was before I fixed it. Ended up turning the top down 2 ish inches and adding 7 inches to the straps.

[mala]

shortcake2675, Super Cute!

[mysticmuffin]

shortcake2675 that turned out really cute!

[redheadk]

shortcake2675, It looks great! I like that it doesn't require fastening, just slip it on and go. Really genius for a kid.

[redheadk]

Any tips on making hand tied bows? I THINK I finally got one right. The tutorials on them that I’ve found aren’t great. (Ignore the tail of the white thread I used to stitch the opening closed, I wasn’t being super precise.)

Also, anyone have a favorite heavy starch?

[mala]

Feb 10, 2019 14:25:36 GMT -5 redheadk said:

Any tips on making hand tied bows? I THINK I finally got one right. The tutorials on them that I’ve found aren’t great. (Ignore the tail of the white thread I used to stitch the opening closed, I wasn’t being super precise.)

Also, anyone have a favorite heavy starch?

I use sta-flo

www.amazon.com/Purex-Sta-Flo-Concentrated-Liquid-Plastic/dp/B076H7BN6L/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=starch&qid=1549829994&s=hpc&sr=1-8&th=1

[shortcake2675]

I'm waffling on whether I want to buy a Bernina 1008. $300, auction find for someone local. I'm interested because I love my 730 Record and I love manual machines. But it doesn't come with any feet beyond the presser foot. And I don't NEED it. I'm gonna think on it a while longer. Often when I wait, the decision gets made for me.

[shortcake2675]

And then we had a snow day. They’ll exchange them tomorrow, but sleep, lol.

[mssaint]

Two quilt finishes this month—both baby gifts.

The blue and orange wonky star is for a former colleague whose favorite kids book is the big orange splot. She gave me a copy when I was pregnant with my son.

When she opened the card she texted me that she was bawling.

The other is backed with velvet. I LOVE how it turned out.

kôiô

[shortcake2675]

Feb 24, 2019 0:09:34 GMT -5 mssaint said:

Two quilt finishes this month—both baby gifts.

The blue and orange wonky star is for a former colleague whose favorite kids book is the big orange splot. She gave me a copy when I was pregnant with my son.

When she opened the card she texted me that she was bawling.

The other is backed with velvet. I LOVE how it turned out.

kôiô

I adore both of the quilts. Velvet on the back sounds so cozy.

[mssaint]

Feb 24, 2019 1:27:35 GMT -5 shortcake2675 said:

Feb 24, 2019 0:09:34 GMT -5 mssaint said:

Two quilt finishes this month—both baby gifts.

The blue and orange wonky star is for a former colleague whose favorite kids book is the big orange splot. She gave me a copy when I was pregnant with my son.

When she opened the card she texted me that she was bawling.

The other is backed with velvet. I LOVE how it turned out.

kôiô

I adore both of the quilts. Velvet on the back sounds so cozy.

It’s an IKEA velvet curtain (Sanela) that I got in the scratch and dent section for $5. It turned out so well.