Hppy New Year's everyone. I still have a few hours to go until the new years starts but  know some of our members in other parts of the world are already in the new year. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and weaverly year to come!

Comments

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 14:59

ReedGuy

Plain on the hems will flair too much Cathie because the body wants to shrink a lot. Don't use bulky yarn on waffle toweling. :)

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 15:59

theresasc

When I have woven waffle weave towels I have used a finer yarn for the hems.  I learned that one the hard way, the first waffle weave towels I wove a plain weave hem with the same yarn as the body and it way much wider than the towel - looked pretty ugly.  That was when I went to finer yarns for the hems.  I have used that technique on quite a few things that I have woven.  It cuts down on the bulk of the hems.

Really nice dye day pictures, all those skeins look so inviting.  That is genuine eye candy!

Ainz - you made me smile with your comment "It scares me though: that would make 4 looms: floor loom, table loom, tapestry loom and inkle."  Sometimes it is better that I do not think about how many looms I have.  They tend to multiple and I have just not gotten to the point of too many yet - that is what is really scary.

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 17:20

Artistry

Ok we all hate flare:( I was thinking of doing it in a finer cotton but I guess I didn't say so, but it sounds like it would flare anyways. For future ref. Thereasc and ReedGuy when you do your towels when you do your towels with the finer hem thread, do you usually keep the same weave? I imagine with twill you might do a simple twill ? TIA
Sun, 01/25/2015 - 20:01

Missus T.

Pro tips are much appreciated...  I love the idea of finer weft combined with plain weave at hems to control flare.  Makes me want to ditch the sweater and make a new warp now!

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 20:51

ReedGuy

Ever try a non-traditional waffle? This waffle has plain weave in the cells.

???

 

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 21:31

Queezle

As a beginner, I was so excited to try waffle weave, and then nearly cried when, after wet finishing, my sample ended up half the size!  Reedguy - I love that white towel; what is the fiber? Any recollection of draw in, etc?

 

Endorf - what amazing dying -- such spectacular colors. I wish I could pick them up and fondle. 

 

Tien - congratulations.  I've been thinking its been a while since I added a weaving book to my library, now I know what book is on the top of my list :0

 

I spent 3 days learning swedish weaving in a workshop with Joanne Hall.  It was such fun, but I'm so slow! And it has meant that my plain weave sample is languishing on my loom, but I think I came up with a good idea for experimenting with the final foot of weaving length.  Stay tuned!

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 21:39

kerstinfroberg

may be one of the reasons us Scandis prefer to use the same weave [structure] (possibly "opposite") for our hems...

- there was a discussion over at WeaveTech a few years ago, where the question was why we (Scandis) don't have "proper hems" on our weavings. It turned out a "proper hem" apparently *must* be plain weave for many of you non-Scandis. We, instead, say a *proper* hem should be the same as the body of the piece, 'cos that means the same draw-in, the same shrinkage...

(By "opposite" I mean: say the piece is a turned twill - then the piece of the hem showing on the back should have the opposite pattern, so as *not* to show on the back. Of course that means the hemmer has to be meticulous with the turn, and the pressing thereof.)

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 22:03

Artistry

hems, hems, I think it's good to consider all these ways when designing. Good detail work just elevates a piece. ReedGuy nice piece of waffle weave. Queezle so glad the workshop was fun and informative!
Sun, 01/25/2015 - 22:22

ReedGuy

Queezle 20/2 cotton, 48 ends per inch. This piece I never wove, but as an example of other methods. :)

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 23:14

Missus T.

Kerstin,

Which method of hem weaving in your opinion, gives the weave more control over finishing a piece with dimensional weaving -- the plain weave or the "opposite" or turned weave?

Sun, 01/25/2015 - 23:58

endorph

about the dyeing. Yet someting else for me to obsess about! I loved it. Cathie, I am not sure what I will makje with these but I need to figure out something soon since our assignment is to knit, weave, crochet, etc. something with the skeins to show how they look worked up in a project. The solod tourquoise will ahve to wait for a project until I dye a couple more skeins of the same mixed BFL that I have on hand.

I have been enjoying the discussion about hems . . . 

Tien, congratulations - one less hurdle to jump over!

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 01:54

Missus T.

Reed Guy, I am inspired by your waffle weave pic.  Is that a plain weave hem in cotton finer than 20/2? 

Hems are on my mind.  Kerstin has got me thinking about weaving an opposite pattern strip in the hem area.  This reminds me of knitting front bands for cardigans -- you pick up stitches from the edge of the sweater, knit along in stockinette for the width of the band, then purl one round as a turning row, then back to stockinette for the width of the band which is to be the interior facing of the front band.  Later on, making up is a snap as the band folds along the purled row neatly and in a most well-behaved manner!

With weaving hems on waffle weave pieces there is the additional complexity of dimensional loss on the finished piece so Kerstin's principle of weaving a reciprocal of the body pattern in the hem area would seem to offer control over flare.  How to emulate the "turning row" used in sweater-band knitting?  (assuming it's necessary or convenient). 

How does this work with Reed Guy's principle of sizing down his weft for the hem areas of waffle weave?

 

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 02:00

Missus T.

Endorph,

the colors are so exciting with dyeing -- your results are lovely.  Just think, you are one step closer to walking every step on the fiber trail.  I'm looking forward to a natural dyes workshop in Columbia, Missouri this spring.  Your adventure sure whets my appetite to try it out!

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 04:53

pammersw

Reedguy, there is a browser option setting that will tell the browser to check for a new version of the page every time it goes there.  Make sure it's set to check for updates!

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 09:09

ReedGuy

MissusT, the picture shows the towel turned 90 degrees. The warp/weft are 20/2 cotton. The hem area is in waffle, the (modified) plain weave in this towel is the selvedge area that is rolled and sewed. This towel uses 10 shafts, 2 more than in this draft for the two wefts over/under one warp. I have 8 shafhs on my loom, but am planning to add 2 more along with 2 more treadles, so I can weave 8 shaft motifs in S&W. 10S-12T. The idea of using finer weft in the hemms is to reduce bulk, the 20/2 wouldn't be bulky and is used in the whole piece.

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 09:28

Artistry

I have seen the "opposite" pattern woven on towel hems and it is really attractive. Just blends right in.
Mon, 01/26/2015 - 09:56

ReedGuy

Pammersw, thanks for the tip. I had to go into Firefox's about:config to add a preference

browser.cache.check_doc_frequency  1

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 12:36

Missus T.

Reed Guy,

I am inspired; thanks for the clarification on the waffle weave pic.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 14:59

Artistry

For those of you who weave tapestry ,Tommye has a great thread right now on turn back hems on tapestry using splits. Not hard to do. Check it out if you haven't :)
Tue, 01/27/2015 - 16:24

tommye scanlin

For the endorsement of my recent tutorial at Tapestry Share about hems or turn-backs.  I'll have a few more things to say about the process at some point in the future... like what do you want to do with the bare warp ends if the piece isn't going to mounted onto another backing, say you want to hang from a velcro bar.  As always, it's never a "one method fits all" kind of thing about finishing tapestries for presentation. Or other weaving, either, I think.

Tommye

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 17:58

tien (not verified)

While we're talking about waffle weave....what yarn would you recommend for waffle weave bath towels? Dish towels?

 

I am thinking of weaving some simple, straight-up waffle weave towels (either bath towels or dish towels, haven't decided yet) and am trying to figure out what yarn to use. I really like the naturally colored American Maid Yarns from Lunatic Fringe, but the finest weight they offer is 10/2 and I'm wondering if that's too heavy. Or should I be going even heavier, say, 8/2?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 22:20

ReedGuy

Either should work great for bath towels. Unless you like thick dish towels, you might find some 20/2 cotton from Yarn Barn in naturals. I can't remember where I got mine at the moment without digging for receipts. Mine were big cones.

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 22:42

tien (not verified)

Thanks, ReedGuy! I've got a ton of 20/2 cotton and bamboo both, so I can use that for dish towels. I think I'll weave the bath towels first, though, as I have plenty of 10/2 cotton to use up as well. I think I'll make them mostly white with a few green stripes to add interest - green colorgrown cotton is waaaaay more expensive than white yarn, so that will be cheaper, too!

 

Now, can anyone advise me how much shrinkage I should expect with 10/2 or 20/2 cotton? Good setts for waffle weave?

Tue, 01/27/2015 - 23:00

laurafry

The denser the cloth the less dimensional loss. I'd say anywhere from 30 to 50% depending on density....just guessing, though... Cheers Laura
Tue, 01/27/2015 - 23:24

Missus T.

Hi Tien,

I know you are looking at other weights of cotton and different setts, but I just calculated a 28% shrinkage loss (both widthwise and lengthwise) on the Bockens Nialin waffle weave dishtowels.  (Using pattern from Simple Weaves, p. 67)  This was after finishing in very hot water and machine drying.  The warp sett was 8 epc/20 epi and the weft sett was 10 ppi/25 ppc. 

I'd love to hear your waffle weave report and hem-flare control thoughts as you progress, and congrats on your book work!

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 01:02

ReedGuy

There are different ways to weave it with the same yarns, so it's hard to say without saying 'sample'.

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 01:45

laurafry

Or go the other route and emphasize the flared areas. Just to be contrary! Cheers Laura
Wed, 01/28/2015 - 19:40

sally orgren

I've been diligently working the warps off of my looms...

The latest to come off was a series of tencel scarves. Early last summer, I started with a shadow weave sampler of 2 yards in an alternating solid silk + variegated JOY Tencel warp. Once the samples were completed, I then decided to tie-on a completely different variegated JOY yarn, and rethreaded for BGH's pattern, "Estrellita".

The first scarf came out spectacularly, but I wasn't sure of I could stand weaving two exactly alike, and if that might dimish the "saleability" in the fall if there were two in the same colorway offered at the same sale.

I finally decided on alternate colors, and finished the second of the two scarves in a maroon tencel pattern weft with a lime green (very skinny Silk City) bamboo tabby weft. I love BGH patterns - you certainly get a lot of bang out of just 4 shafts!

I left the dummy warps dangling in the reed, but methinks I am done with this pattern and ready for something else...

Thu, 01/29/2015 - 19:46

sally orgren

A Troll Flash Mob assembled at my house today. (This is what happens when you disturb things in the attic while putting away holiday decorations.)

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 08:06

Artistry

Oh Sally, too good to be true! Got an Angiogram to the Brain on Monday so I'll be laid up a tiny bit, ugh. I hope they find a few profile drafts I misplaced a while back. Lol. Downloaded Madelyn van de Hooght's brand new Overshot and handbook Now that will be fun :) and of course Archie Brennie & Susan Maffei DVD:) Will watch those while curtailed.
Fri, 01/30/2015 - 09:52

ReedGuy

I'll have to mozy on over and check out her overshot video. I wonder if it expands any on Sullivan's book. I ready like her books both the overshot one and S&W. Lots of info packed into them. :)

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 13:19

Artistry

I agree ReedGuy, Donna Sullivan's books are great, I think. Madilyn's books tend to be more technical which I enjoy too.
Fri, 01/30/2015 - 17:07

theresasc

too funny to see them all together that way.

Good luck Cathie, I hope all goes well for you.  Today was the 1/2 way point for me and radiation - 10 down, 10 to go and all is going well.

Have not been doing too much weaving this week, mostly picking away at the bath mats.  Need to get that loom empty, also this weekend I want to start on MWS Chapter 2.  So much weaving, so little time.

Oh, and I sent in my MAFA registration this week - Tied-weaves here I come!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 19:35

sally orgren

Although I took the topic with Su Bulter two years ago at MAFA, the workshop was one of those huge "ah-hah" experiences for me. Tied-weaves are so versatile! I always wanted to know what Taqueté and Samitum meant, and more experienced weavers I encountered didn't seem to want to take the time to explain, and definitely didn't want to participate in a sample exchange. (I thought maybe it was something awful because of their reluctance everytime I brought it up!)

Learning about tied weaves was like learning Latin–each time you encounter a new word or different language, you suddenly recognize a root word, and have a glimmer of understanding and insight that you did not have before. After the class, when some says "tied weaves... oh, you mean Summer and Winter?" you will have a much richer answer to that question!

And I can't believe how easy pick up is with a tied weave, and I can't believe how simple it is to carry complicated treadlings in your head with this kind of threading. (I brought a 12 shaft table loom to the workshop, set up with 4 ties and 8 pattern shafts.) I think the trick was having a hand-manipulated (table) loom for my first experience, because you can make pattern changes on the fly without having to keep retying treadles.

If you can't tell, I am very excited for you!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 21:27

laurafry

Sally, you have zeroed in on many of the reasons I like tied weaves, too. I love doing pickup on Bronson Lace. :) Cheers Laura
Sat, 01/31/2015 - 14:06

kerstinfroberg

sorry it took me so long, but here is one example of an opposite hem:

A few more examples and some reasoning on my blog, here.

(Waffle weave is a completely different matter. IKEA makes a feature of the "flaring"; some choose twill for the hems. I have some opinions on waffle weave, too, on my blog - just click the "waffle weave" label)

Sat, 01/31/2015 - 14:33

Queezle

Thank you, Kerstin, for posting about the hem.  I have never considered reversing my weave direction so the turned-over portion would line up.  Its a great idea.

Michael - I join others in outrage at your bad egg customers.  I would like to think that weavers were a kindly lot, and I'm guessing most are.  And Reedguy, the late/lost/dog-eaten homework is just what I was thinking, too.  I can tell you that in college, the lost/dog-eaten homework stories merely become a bit more elaborate. 

Weaving 10 minutes a day (or more) continues.  Trying to squeeze it in between finishing up my kitchen remodel and keeping up with work demands some days means its only 10 minutes, but even 10 minutes keeps some momentum in the creative juices. 

Too many science conferences this year, again, to allow me to go to a weaving conference.  Quelle domage.  Tied weaves sound really interesting.

Sat, 01/31/2015 - 16:58

theresasc

I am pretty excited about the tied-weaves workshop, and now Sally has me really fired up!  I am taking my 8-shaft Kessenich table loom that I picked up on a loom road trip in December.  So that means anyone who is going to MAFA in July, I am going to have a really fine example of a sturdy mid-western table loom in the tied-weaves workshop.  To the best of my knowledge, there should be 4 Kessenich table looms at MAFA since I think that is the type of looms that my little Wisconsin clan will be weaving onWink

Sat, 01/31/2015 - 20:11

Weavolutionary6

I've gotten so behind here, I couldn't possibly begin to individually comment! Just know that while I've been away I've been "weaving the web" on the redevelopment! I've also been weaving away on my Mastering Weave Structures plain weave samples. I'll update photos as soon as I can.

Sat, 01/31/2015 - 21:27

Missus T.

Kerstin,

Thanks for posting about the hem and linking to your informative blog.  How neat and wonderful!

Sun, 02/01/2015 - 00:06

Artistry

Thank you Thereasc , and congrats to you for being more than 1/2 way done! Yay! This is such a great group! Love the enthusiasm !
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