Orchard #2 in Boundweave

I recently finished the second orchard done in the boundweave structure.  I learned many things from my first piece (see post from 12.2013).  One of the most valuable lessons concerned my wool choices.  For this piece, 95% of the yarn is Collingwood rug yarn.  It is the perfect size.  However, the colors available are muted.  So brights, like the apple red, yellow and green, are from knitting yarns.



Also note the pig which required a break in the pattern repeat.  Wasn't sure it would work, but it really does call attention to the smudge of pink.

The structure is 6 shaft boundweave.  Warp is linen sett at 8epi.  Weft is wool.  Finished size is approx. 26"L x 15"W.

It is highly probable there will be one more Orchard in this series.  Meanwhile, I am looking into a modified brocade technique as the next experiment.

Tool to save LOTS of time

Being a weaver, I am not up on all the great tools available to the sewing/quilting crowd.  A few months back, while cleaning out some things from the house of an elderly Aunt, I came across a little box marked 'tape maker'.  Inside were three metal flattened cones of differing sizes.  I had not a clue what they were.

Luckily, a sister-in-law who quilts was there and told me they were used to make bias tape.  WOW!  It was like striking gold.  I make bias tape to use as blanket binding or seam binding.  I have googled making bias tape so many times and have never heard mention of any tape maker.  So I wondered if it was too good to be true.

When I started to make the bias tapes for the rosepath blankets, I dragged out the little box to give the tape maker a trial run.  Stuffed on the bottom of the box was one sheet of directions (dated in the 1980's) that made it all look VERY EASY.  And, so it is!!!

I cannot tell you how many hours I have already saved being able to iron the tape in ONE PASS.  Basically you thread your bias strip through the metal tip and iron the tape as it comes out.  Done!

This is one crazy, useful tool!

The blanket shown is the third of the Rosepath threading.  I did widely spaced stripes using pink, teal and multi-colored  cotton.  The binding is some flower-power Owls in the same colors.

MORE Baby Blankets

It has been a few months since my last post.  I have been busy doing three more baby blankets.  All were done on a Rosepath threading with various treadlings.  For two I used some lovely peach cotton I picked up at a 'stash reduction' sale.  The cotton was in skeins and was close to a 5/2 mercerized cotton in weight.  The warp was an 8/2 cotton in natural.  Owls are big this year.  The binding on the one pictured below featured owls and birds.

Dornik twill yardage - feedback from the study group

Overwhelmingly, to my surprise, the study group felt it was important to showcase the space dyed bamboo side of the fabric.  I thought it was a little too stripe-y for my style, but the feedback was that it does not present as stripes since the warp was well mixed.  At the very least, it was suggested that some of the space dyed be displayed by either a fold over collar, or in a garment that allows view of inside.  I took that advice and used a pattern with a  fold over collar.  Thanks to the group for their feedback!

Dornik Twill Yardage

I may have mentioned that I belong to a weaving study group.  We call ourselves the 'Cloth Study Group' which really means yardage.  We are just over one year of meetings and the group has been a wonderful way to share and learn.  Most of the yardage woven over the year has been used in garment construction.

I like a tailored jacket so I decided to weave some yardage to make a jacket.  I used two hanks of space-dyed bamboo in blues/greens as the warp along with two vintage novelty wools for weft.  The wools are special in that they were found when clearing out the home of an elderly Aunt who contributed to my weaving addiction.  The wools contained small amounts of other fibers that resulted in some stretch.  Since the wools were in skeins I assume they were knit/crochet wools.  For this reason, I was sure to use a temple.

I wanted to use a 1/3 twill to place emphasis on the wool weft.  I always like the 'uneveness' of a broken twill.  On my counterbalance loom, it was better to do the tie-up such that I was looking at the back of the yardage during weaving process (right side in photo).  This was probably best since it was more interesting to look at the summer-y stripes than the alternating wefts.

I am quite happy with the yardage off the loom.  It remains to be seen how it comes out of the wet finish.  I am hoping for limited shrinkage.  The bamboo and wool together are medium weight and I think it will be nice for spring/fall.

Shepherd's Check

 Shepherd's check is a traditional pattern that works well for chenille since it is a balanced weave with a float length of one.  It also seemed like an easy/quick break from brain storming an upcoming yardage project.  I put on a warp of royal blue alternating with grassy green and gold.

Once I started weaving the check, it seemed a little too traditional so I decided to use the check (with a couple of variations) only at the ends of the scarves.  The center of each scarf was woven in plain weave which produces a stripe.  The interesting attribute of the stripe is that the edge is wavy and it looks like a rib in the fabric.


The finished scarves look more interesting when worn due to the look of texture in the stripe.  I may go back to this pattern and do some more scarves in school colors.