Yarn Substitutions

We’ve all been there. We have the pattern in hand but no yarn. We visit our LYS and they don’t have the yarn. They can maybe order it in, but we want to start our project now! What to do? How do we know what else we can use?

I don’t have all the answers because I have not used all the yarns in all the projects *sigh*, but, here’s what I do when people message me asking for ideas:

1. I open up Ravelry and go to the yarn section. Type in the yarn, then pick a project. It doesn’t really matter what project but if I’m making a scarf I’m going to look at a scarf pattern just because. I do want to pick one that has many projects.

2. Once I find a pattern that has lots of projects, I click on the pattern, then open “yarn ideas”.

3. Once I have all the yarn choices, I can start picking the best ones for the project.

Now, I know not everyone uses Ravelry, so as I was writing this I thought there must be an alternative, so I googled “yarn substitution” and found YarnSub. I expect many of you reading this so far was wondering why I didn’t go to this in the first place! Sometimes if something works, I don’t go looking for something better. YarnSub is super simple. Just type in the yarn and search! I tested it with lots of different yarns and it could only not find one (and I did find the same yarn on Ravelry). You can even search by weight and fibre content. Search results will bring up the yarns with the ball band description. I now have YarnSub added to my phone!

Right, so we now have a zillion and a half choices, how do I know which one to pick?

First, eliminate anything you think you can’t get. Remember, you went to your local yarn shop for a reason so see if they carry any of the options.

Second, look at the fibre content. Animal fibres behave differently from plant fibres so replacing cotton with wool will not give the same effect as the pattern. You might decide to go with it anyway, but know it will not be the same as the pattern and you might need to change things up a bit.

Third, if it is for warp, make sure the yarn you are looking at is warp friendly. Of course you can’t start pulling yarn apart before buying, but you can look pretty closely. Is it a loose single ply? Probably not ok. Is it super fuzzy but the yarn called for is smooth? Probably not ok.

Fourth, look at the structure of the yarn. If the yarn called for in the pattern is super stretchy but the yarn is in the shop has no stretch, it’s probably not a good substitution. As a general rule, plant fibres do not have as much stretch as a plied animal fibre.

Finally, do talk to the yarn shop staff. For they most part they are friendly happy people who really want you to go home and make a fabulous project that you love. Yarn shop staff are a wealth of information that they can’t wait to share! They will be able to read the info about the yarn in your pattern and compare it to the yarns you are considering and tell you which would be the best choice and why.

The yarns in the photo on the left might substitute well, the weights are the same and will work in the same reed. Also, both contain mostly animal fibre. But the tweedy bits in the Kathmandu will have a visual impact and might obscure a pick-up pattern. The yarns in the middle picture are both the same weight. The cotton content in the Illimani however means that there is very little stretch while the Juniper Moon has a fair bit of stretch. This might be fine, but you may need to add in extra length to the warp on the stretchy yarn to maintain the same finished length. And, the Juniper Moon is superwash meaning I might use a smaller reed. The final picture: again, the weights are similar but the content different. The Sea Lace will not stretch or full very much, but will give a beautiful shine. The Lace is has no shine and will full (in fact, it will felt with wear). That means I can use it on a bigger reed than the Sea Lace even though the Sea Lace is slightly heavier.

Three almost identical scarfs using three different yarns with very different (but lovely) results.

Now for the disclaimer. (Maybe I should have put this at the top!) When a designer suggests a yarn, it is because we have used the yarn for the project and know it works. When we suggest alternatives, we might never have seen or touched the yarn. Sometimes we are familiar enough with the alternative to be able to confidently say yes, this will work. Other times we are much more tentative. You’ll often read me saying it *should* work but I’ve never tried it.

When you make substitutions you are taking your life into your own hands. And this is exactly what I think you should be doing! Play with yarn, learn how different yarns react to tension and being released from tension. Take a tea towel pattern and weave a scarf using wool instead. There are no serious consequences from taking weaving risks and so much to gain. Yes, you may end up with a project that didn’t turn out as intended, but you will have learned some important information about your yarn and the pattern. And save the piece, you never know when it might come in handy!

Weaver Stories - Kim

Weaving is our safe space and sanctuary.

The fibre arts seem to truly be a way to heal both emotional and physical injuries. Mary Black (Author of The Key to Weaving) knew this when she used weaving as physiotherapy for soldiers returning home and we seem to know it instinctively!

This week we are going to hear from Kim. I think that her story is one that many of us can relate to. How many of us view weaving as our “safe place” or a sanctuary from the world? We have the chance to take a deep breath, slow down and release the pent-up anxieties within us.

Here is Kim’s weaving story:

These are some of Kim’s weaves…and I think that’s a tapestry loom we see too!

I started weaving about five or six years ago. I had a severe head trauma that left me, shall I say, "different". Poor memory, attention span, etc. I took up spinning because it intrigued me and also became a kind of meditation helping with focus. However I did not know how to knit or weave. So out to bookstores to find books to help me learn. I am still very much a beginner as I live alone and in a rural area and am a slow learner but I absolutely love the process. I can give myself permission to go slow cuz that's the only way to go. I have since been diagnosed with early AD and the medication prescribed has given me a whole new perspective and focus so I can now complete projects. I was diagnosed in mid-May, meds kicked in by mid-June. Point being I have woven and learned more in a month then I had in all the years before. My hope now is to find a teacher so I can achieve more of my goals. I have a massive collection of many different looms because every time I was not able to figure one out I thought maybe another would be easier. Nope. I have got the rigid heddle down (sort of) so now onto a four-shaft. Learning Krokbragd is my ultimate goal. Anyhow spinning and weaving are my most ecstatic joys, which I live for and do every day. Life is a blessing and even the darkest times can evolve into something bright and beautiful. I hope everyone can find their joy and bliss in creativity.

All the best and warmest regards,

Kim

Kim, thank you so much for sharing your joy as well as your pain with us. May weaving always bring you joy and best of luck in your continued weaving journey!

Kim mentions books helped her learn. I thought I’d share my favourite books.

The first, and my all-time favourite, is The Weaver’s Idea Book by Jane Patrick. This got me started and I still refer back to it when I want inspiration.

The next is Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom by Syne Mitchell. Syne has great pictures and lots of creative ideas.

I love reading your stories! If you would like to share your weaving journey, be it just beginning or a lifetime, please email me at: tammy@therogueweaver.com.

Perspective

Most of my life I’ve lived on the ground, it’s a whole new perspective seeing the world from above. Instead of seeing individual trees I see ALL the trees. From up here I can pick out sugar maples, oaks and aspens. I can’t see all the tiny details, but I get a birds-eye view. Sometimes I actually see the backs of birds as they are flying below me, and some days I look out my window and it looks like there is no one else in the world as I’m in the middle of a cloud!

I love being on the ground, I like to feel the grass, I touch the trees that have interesting bark and anything that looks fuzzy. I’m very tactile…I’m the one the security guard keeps their eye on in a museum because I WILL touch: I can’t help it! I once got reprimanded for touching a wall at a museum (apparently it was a really old and very important wall), but the texture looked so interesting and my eyes just weren’t enough. (I spent the rest of the day with my hands firmly in my pocket.)

But what does any of this have to do with weaving? Funnily enough, a lot! Perspective in weaving is important…the close up and the far away. Just this week I came to the end of a project but had some extra warp still on the loom. I grabbed some Caterpillar yarn and started weaving. I take a tonne of pictures while weaving: mostly close up to measure ppi or to catch the pick-up pattern. And I’ll be honest, despite the colours I was a little underwhelmed. The colours looked all busy and jumbled and the pick-up pattern was virtually invisible. Well, said my mind, that’s what sampling is for and maybe washing will work a miracle. (It often does.) Then I left the room.

When I came back in later, I saw the piece from a distance. I saw how all the colours had aligned themselves in a way to make a lovely design. And the pattern was visible! What I couldn’t see up close suddenly because visible. It’s all about perspective. I don’t know about you, but when I am sitting at my loom I only focus on a very small piece of my work at a time. I might be paying attention to the edge, then the pick-up pattern, then checking that there are no floats. Even when I look at the whole piece, up close looks very different from standing back, or even a different angle.

There have been many times when I’ve been weaving a tone-on-tone pattern where the pattern is almost invisible while I’m at the loom and my fingers need to do the seeing for me. But when I lean to the left or right I see the pattern. And it almost always pops when I look at my weaving from the doorway of my loom room.

But that’s the perspective on the loom: there’s a whole new perspective once the cloth is off the loom. (Fun fact…did you now that the cloth on the loom is called a web? It isn’t actual cloth until it has been wet finished.) Once the weave comes off the loom, the yarns, which have been under a great deal of tension, snap back into their comfortable shape. Length is lost and patterns are suddenly visible. Then throw it in the wash and dry it and it’s a whole new thing - with two sides! I’m delighted to say that I love the wrong side of this piece. The solid warp floats really pop against the bright colours of the weft. And the softness of the Caterpillar yarn blends really well with Hempathy, a cotton, hemp and modal blend, which can feel a little…string-y on its own. Good for drying dishes, but on its own, not bath towel material. Mixed with Caterpillar, I can see baby blankets!

So, perspective. Sometimes we need to step back to see what is really there. Sometimes we need to let things finish before judging. And sometimes, we need to get close up and touch! (Maybe remember to ask before touching if you’re trying to deconstruct someone’s scarf or jacket!)

Why Every Weaver Should Weave a Colour-and-Weave Gamp!

A gamp in weaving is like what a sampler is to embroidery. You’ve probably seen samplers in pioneer museums—those beautiful, intricate pieces hanging on walls that young women made in the 18th and 19th centuries to show off their skills. A gamp serves the same purpose for weavers. It’s a woven sampler that lets you play with patterns and colour combinations, all in one project. I think every weaver needs to weave one at least once! They’re not just skill builders, but also incredible design tools you’ll use again and again. (And, non-weavers will be very impressed!)

A Colour-and-Weave Gamp as a Skills Builder Project

There are so many skills to learn in weaving, and a gamp can help you learn lots all in one project!

1. Warping with multiple colors: I know, changing colours while warping can seem a bit daunting at first, but trust me, it’s not as hard as it looks! When I weave a colour-and-weave gamp, I don’t cut and tie at each colour change. Instead, I let the threads cross behind the heddle. You can even warp two colours at once—it’s quicker and a lot easier than you might think. (I’ve got a video that shows you how, if you need it.)

2. Staying on track with patterns: We’ve all been there—getting into a good weaving "zone" only to realize we missed something important. A gamp helps keep you stay focused because you have to pay attention to each block change, whether it’s in warping or weaving. It’s a great way to practice catching mistakes before they turn into something you have to fix later. And honestly, learning to stop and check your work is important in any project!

3. Switching colours while weaving: Using lots of colours while weaving is fun but it can also be a bit of a hassle. A colour-and-weave gamp is the perfect way to practice changing colours smoothly. You’ll get the hang of techniques like split-plying to make colour changes almost invisible. It’s worth taking the time to learn this skill! Here’s a video.

4. Handling multiple shuttles: Using two shuttles at once is definitely a little awkward until you get the hang of it. Most of us assign a specific direction for our sheds—like, the up-shed always goes right to left. But in color and weave, you’ll need to keep a closer eye on your weaving since those usual rules fly out the window. Don’t worry—before long, your eyes and hands will learn to work together, and you’ll be less likely to get confused about which shed comes next. And here’s another video!

5. Help you really “see” how the warp and weft interact. This will give you a much better understanding of weaving and make it easier for you to visualize what will happen when planning future projects.

A Gamp as a Design Tool

Here’s a tip: don’t give away your first colour-and-weave gamp! Add it to your weaving “tool box”: you will keep pulling this out! (Try folding this up after washing and I bet you won’t be able to stop yourself from examining how the patterns were created!)

Using it to design is really simple—remember those multiplication tables from school? That’s how a colour-and-weave gamp works. Just lay it out, pick the pattern you love, and trace it horizontally to see what the weaving pattern is. Then, trace it vertically to see how the warp was threaded. If you’re like me and prefer not to repeat the same design twice, find a warp pattern you already have on your loom along the bottom and explore the vertical column for something new to try. The possibilities are almost endless! And here’s the best part: you don’t need to learn anything beyond plain weave (unless you want to experiment with pick-up sticks and colour-and-weave, which can look amazing).

If you’re looking for a project that’s not only going to boost your colour-and-weave skills but also give you a practical tool for designing future projects, weaving a color-and-weave gamp is it! It’s a project that will grow with you, letting you revisit and discover new ideas every time you sit down at your loom.

Want to weave up your own Colour-and-Weave Gamp? Check out this pattern.

Hybrid Warping

Let me just start this blog by saying that i don’t think I will ever like anything as much as direct warping. It is what rigid heddle looms excel at and part of what makes them so great. BUT (there is always a but!), there are some really good reasons to learn how to warp different ways. So the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying really hard to only hybrid warp. It wasn’t easy, not because it’s hard, but because it slows me down!

Direct warping

Let’s talk about what hybrid warping is. And let’s get this out of the way…it’s really *almost* the same as direct warping. So close, that I have had some people let me know that it really isn’t hybrid at all. But it’s a little different, and I don’t have a better name, so hybrid it is! The word hybrid implies that there is a cross involved (not a weaving cross, that is something different and we aren’t talking about that today). The cross is between direct warping and indirect warping. Direct warping is a method of warping where the threads are taken directly from the cone or ball, through the heddle and onto a peg or pegs set up to the full length of the project. Thus a 90” warp needs at least 90” of space to warp. Indirect warping involves winding a warp onto a warping board, then taking the warp from the board to the loom and “dressing the loom”. It means a 90” warp needs only the space the warping board takes up.

Hybrid combines the 2…using a warping board and your loom together, you can direct warp reducing the amount of space needed to warp. There are other reasons you might want to try hybrid warping over direct warping.

1. You can pause mid-way and not have a whole room or hallway blocked until you get back to it. In a house that has only one bathroom this could be very important! If you have young children that need attending, or animals that like string this can be very useful. Or if you can only stand or bend over for a limited time, this might save your weaving career.

2. Your warp is safe(r) from the other people/animals who share your space. There are no temping strings to touch or grab or chew or accidentally walk through! You can even throw a sheet or towel over it to keep it a little more safe.

3. If you have mobility issues this might make weaving accessible. I did a hybrid warp in a wheeled office chair from beginning to ready to weave without ever lifting my bum off the chair…just to see if I could. While it wasn’t as comfortable as direct warping, I did it!

4. I have a stand-up sit-down desk that allows me to adjust to the exact height I need to be comfortable. This is especially helpful for taller weavers.

Right! Now you know what it is, and why you might want to use this technique, let’s talk about how to do it. I’m going to walk you through my steps…remember I’m a little Rogue, what you read here may not be what you have heard before. That’s ok: you should adapt every technique you ever use to suit you…there are no weaving police!

First, you will need: a warping board (I like my small Ashford warping board), a flexible tape measure, some weights and your loom. I leave my loom on its stand. (If you don’t have a stand it is absolutely worth the investment!)

This is before I learned to keep some space between my loom and warping board!

1. Set up your loom and warping board. I place my board on the end of a table, about 6-8” away from the edge. I use weights to hold the board in place. My board has little feet, if I place it at the end of the table and try to clamp it, the board tilts up, weights work better for me! I place my loom, with the front facing the warping board, about 12” away from the edge of the table (I’ll tell you why later).

2. Using the flexible tape measure, measure the the path the yarn needs travel to get the correct length. I clip my measuring tape to the back warping stick on the side furthest away from me and run the tape measure around the pegs until I get to the right length ending at a peg. If needed I can adjust the loom or board slightly closer or further apart for an easy path. The tape measure CANNOT cross over itself as you measure! Once you have the path measured, leave the tape measure as is, it shouldn’t go anywhere.

3. Tie the yarn to the back warping stick and pull it through the first slot you intend to warp. I always start on the far side of the loom…the side furthest away from me. follow the path of the tape measure with a single strand of yarn, When you get to the last peg, wind it around and follow the same path back to the loom. You’ve just warped your first slot! You can now slide the measuring tape out.You can follow this exact same path for the whole warp. Here’s a video that might help!

Measuring Path #2. Note that while the second path crosses over the first, it never crosses over itself!

That’s it, the warp has been wound! We still need to wind it onto the back beam, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

As mentioned earlier, you can follow this exact same path for the whole warp. However…it’s like warping with a single peg…the warp will not be even. So, if you want an even(ish) warp, follow the next steps.

For a warp that is 24” wide, I usually follow three distinct paths. So, after the first third is warped, I get out my tape measure and measure a new warp path, this time starting from where I will warp my next slot. My new path will cross over the former path and use some of the same pegs. That’s ok, what is important is the the new path DOES NOT cross over itself. Continue warping the same path until you have only a third (or so) left to warp.

Measure the third and final warp path. Again, you will use some of the same pegs (you may need to keep pushing threads down) and crossing over the first and second paths. Again, that’s ok, the key is that no path can cross over itself!

Alright, the warp is wound, but it still needs to be wound around the back beam. Here’s how I do it:

1. Remove the weights from the warping board. Stand behind the loom and start winding, sliding the loom forward as you wind. The warping board may slide forward a little too. Wind until the warp goes all the way around the back beam once. This is why I have a gap between my loom and my warping board…I want my warp secure before I cut the ends or remove the warp from the warping board. Once it has wrapped around the back beam once and my loom is locked, very little can happen that can’t be salvaged!

2. Now I can cut the warp at the end pegs. If my warp will wind smoothly through the pegs, I can continue winding, however, I find that it usually doesn’t, so I crank and yank. But ( and there’s another but!) I’ve been playing around with dowels for winding, so stayed tuned for that adventure!

Weaver Stories-Allison

I believe that everyone of us has a “True Self”: the person we were created to be. When we discover who that is, and fully engage in it, we will thrive! For Allison, her caring nature led her to nursing, but as with many things, when we are stifled in one area, our whole self begins to suffer. I love how Allison’s nature shines as she continues to care for and nurture people (and herself!) in her fibre adventures.

Let’s hear Allison’s voice as she tells her weaving story.

My name is Allison, and I live in North Carolina. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a maker. After starting a career in nursing over 20 years ago, I taught myself to knit and crochet to relieve stress. (I am always picking up new crafts…) And as you can imagine, I racked up quite the yarn stash over the years.

 In 2022, after pouring heart and soul into my professional work, I began to suffer from burnout. I was spending very little time doing creative work; the absence of creative expression took its toll and really crippled my mental health. Toward the end of that year, I resigned from my job. I also did something else: I bought a rigid heddle loom.

I had no idea how much this purchase would change my life! Up until that day, I had only woven a scarf on my mother-in-law’s floor loom with a lot of help. It was a little intimidating. Also, I never had the space or money for a floor loom, but this rigid heddle loom looked like the answer to my yarn stash. It turned out to be much more than that.

After completing a few projects on my own, I joined Heritage Weavers and Fiber Artists in Hendersonville, NC. Hoping to learn more about weaving, I quickly fell into a fiber black hole. I learned more about rigid heddle weaving, learned to weave on a floor loom, and how to prepare and spin wool. And I finally found the space and a little extra money for that floor loom… While I do love to make projects with my looms, I am a huge fan of playing and sampling. But most of all, I love to teach. This year, I began teaching my own rigid heddle weaving classes, as well as leading a monthly study group.

In the aftermath of what felt like a complete identity crisis, I have found something that fulfills me as an adult educator, a nurturer, and an artist: teaching and making fiber craft. As of this writing, I am in my first year in the Professional Craft – Fiber program at Haywood Community College (Clyde, NC). I’m not sure what’s next for me in the great big world of fiber, but I’m excited, nonetheless! I know now that where one door closes, another opens.

PS, I love this Towel!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my story! 

Allison, thank you so much for your story. Thank you for being brave enough to step back from what was hurting you and stepping into what heals you. And thank you for continuing to care and nurture others. Best of luck at school!

Letting Go (of yarn)

My yarn matches the cloth and the picture! Well, sort of.

Do you hide yarn? Do you feel like you need to sneak it onto the house when no one is home? Do you yarn shop alone so no one knows how much you are buying? These seem extreme, but trust me, I hear stories about this all the time! Let’s get something out of the way before we start letting go: If you are a yarn collector, own it! There are much odder, less useful things to collect…a quick google search told me that people collect water bottle labels, airsick bags, do not disturb signs and banana stickers! (Seriously, banana stickers!) And each of these people have their collections proudly displayed. They are not hidden under beds and in closets or disguised as throw pillows! So first, display your favourite skeins. A clear glass bowl with beautiful yarn on your coffee table, a book shelf for seasonal colours, a pretty little stack on a dresser. Yarn you see is yarn you use!

That said, many of us have yarn that for some reason doesn’t make the cut anymore. There are all kinds of valid reasons for this…the colour doesn’t suit your current hair colour, it was an impulse buy and now you have no idea what you were thinking, your friends said it looked great but it’s a colour you never wear. And of course, don’t forget all the leftovers that you are determined to make into a scrappy blanket or preemie hats you plan to donate to your local hospital.

Yarn hiding in closets, boxes and under tables!

This is the yarn that is hidden because every time we see it we feel a little guilty. Get rid of the guilt yarn! This yarn is taking up space in your home (and more importantly, in your head) that could be used for much better things! It is ok to let go of these yarns. I promise you will feel better!

Can I bring in a business term now? Have you heard of the “Sunk Cost Fallacy”? The sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in a project based on the cumulative prior investment (time, money, or resources) rather than future potential benefits.

Let’s put this into yarn terms. First, you visited a yarn store, it was an hour away. You found some yarn you loved. It was a little expensive, but beautiful and you knew you would find something to do with it. Besides, you drove all this way (time, gas, money) you need to get something! You bring your yarn home and you still love it and really want to use it. So you start thinking about it, what it might want to be. You go to your computer and start looking for patterns, you go down several rabbit holes, and before you know it, the whole evening is gone and you still don’t have a project. The yarn sits on the coffee table for a bit and you stroke it and think about it and look for the “right pattern”. Then guests are coming and you need to clean up, the skein gets swept into a box and stashed out of sight. You still occasionally think about that skein and think, “I should really do something with that.” Much later, you are cleaning out the closet and you come across the skein. It’s still lovely. But now you are also thinking about all the yarn you have since accumulated, see the price tag, remember how much mental time you spent on this skein and now you feel a little guilty because you’re pretty sure you are never going to find the right project. So you stick it back in a box and pretend you will use it, or you hide it in the box hoping to also hide from the guilt.

A few of my skeins-in-waiting. I'm not getting rid of these! They still make me smile everytime I see them.

Sound familiar to anyone? You can’t get rid of the yarn because you have already sunk a lot of costs (time, money, space, mental energy) on it. But it is also not bringing joy and is in fact, costing you joy! You will not be able to let go of the yarn until you can let go of those costs. But what if you could gain more by letting go than you spent acquiring? (No, this is not a get-rich-quick scheme, in fact, will be no financial gain, rather a release from guilt, restored joy and the recovery of storage space!)

I don't have a lot of space anymore, so my yarn is part of my decorating scheme!

This is a very timely blog for me as I am in the process of downsizing. When you have a lot of space, you don’t realize just how much stuff you have (and I’m not just talking yarn). But, sticking to yarn, I’m a little ashamed of all the yarn I have that I know I have no intention of using. I kept the because it was perfectly good yarn and getting rid of it seemed a waste. But now in retrospect, hoarding it seems even worse! So I’m letting go of a lot of yarn. And it feels good. I have a friend who has a friend who wants it all. She will sort through it and keep what she wants and donate the rest.

Are you ready to unload some yarn but don’t know where to start? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Bits and pieces...I might get rid of these, someday.

I did use these bits and pieces! (So that means I should keep them all right?)

1. Get rid of the UFOs that you know you will never finish. The sweater you started when you were pregnant and decided to keep and finish for your 1st grandbaby, the yarn that makes you itch just thinking about it, the really complex pattern that you put in time out 3 years ago and now have no idea where you are in the pattern: let it go.

2. The yarn from a friend’s friend who was clearing out her mother’s house. Seriously, you didn’t pick this yarn, you have no planned projects and it is probably yarn you would not have chosen for yourself. Keep 1 or 2 skeins you love, make something for the friend’s friend and let go. It’s ok, you are not ungrateful: let it go.

3. Yarn that you have kept in a box for more than _____ (you decide the time…maybe three years?). If you haven’t used it yet, will you ever? If you are really brave and really determined to destash, don’t even open the box, just let it go!

4. Bits and pieces. I know the leftovers from a sock or sweater doesn’t look like much, but when they get all put together, they take up so much space! Unless you have proven to yourself that you do actually use the bits (instead of just planning to use them): let it go!

5. Inexpensive yarns that are easily replaced if you change your mind. I have (had) a lot of yarn that can easily be found for $3-$5/skein. This was the hardest for me. But with limited space, it just didn’t make sense to try to store it all when it was so easily replaced *if* I needed it again. (I didn’t get rid of all of it).

So, you’ve set aside the yarn you are ready to let go of? Now what? Get it out of your house as fast as possible!!! Churches, nursing homes and schools are good places to start. Check for weaving guilds or craft groups in your area that might be interested. My local second-hand shop always takes yarn too.

I'm going to fill this with yarn!

There, now, don’t you feel so much better? I know it was a relief for me to give myself permission to let go! (Plus, now I have more room for yarn I really love!) And won’t it look lovely on this buffet and hutch?

By the way, if you really love your yarn and can’t bear to part with any of it, that’s ok too…so long as it isn’t interfering with your daily living, by all means, enjoy your stash!

The Rogue Weaver

A Weaver's Story--Diane

There was so much that resonated with me in this story. While the changes in my life over the past few years have not been nearly as significant as those Diane has experienced, I too find comfort in weaving and sometimes use it to sort through the mess of thoughts that can swirl in my head. And I also have found that somehow, looms multiply!

Let’s read what Diane has to say.

I wanted to share how weaving has profoundly impacted my life over the past year. A year ago, my world turned upside down. As a single mom raising two kids, caring for two aging parents, and working two jobs, I was constantly on the go. Then, in a matter of months, both of my parents passed away, and my children moved away to college. I found myself alone at home with just the dog for company. The quiet was overwhelming, and I struggled with feelings of loss, depression, and anxiety.

One day, I stumbled upon an article about weaving, and something clicked. I decided to give it a try and purchased a 24" Rigid Heddle Loom. I took a class and created my first table runner. The process of weaving was both soothing and engaging, providing a much-needed escape from my worries. Soon, I was making towels, table runners, and mug rugs, and I found myself drawn deeper into the craft.

Feeling ready for a new challenge, I upgraded to a 48" Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom and began weaving larger pieces like shawls, blankets, and bed runners. I loved every minute of it and found solace in the rhythmic movements and creative process. I also expanded my knowledge into pick-up sticks and color-and-weave patterns.

Wanting to take my weaving on the go, I invested in the 12” Ashford Knitter's Loom. It's been perfect for making towels, samplers, and mug rugs, and I keep it warped at all times for quick, anxiety-relieving weaving sessions. Then along came a 15” Cricket Loom, my first Schacht loom, which I enjoy working on immensely. I keep both the Knitter's and Cricket looms warped all the time.  Eventually I heard about the Bekka Looms.  I am from Minnesota, so it seemed natural to acquire a 10” Bekka Loom.  I love the simplicity of this loom. 

As my skills grew, I sought more complexity and purchased the Brooklyn Ashford 4-Shaft Loom. This opened up a whole new world of intricate patterns and thoughtful planning. However, many of the patterns I was interested in required even more shafts, so I eventually acquired the 32" 16-Shaft Ashford Table Loom. It's been an incredibly fun challenge, and while warping can be tricky, I'm improving with each project and class I take.

The Weaver's Guild in Minnesota uses Schacht looms for classes. To have my own loom for class and mirror what was happening in class, I added a 20" Schacht Flip It Loom. This has been really good for classes, traveling, and quickly weaving towels and other products.  It's a portable version of my 24" Ashford Rigid Heddle.  

I have found that I enjoy weaving larger projects, especially shawls.  They have become a constant wardrobe accessory for me.   So, missing a rigid heddle loom between 24” and 48”, I added a Kromski Forte Hearth Rigid Heddle Loom.   It’s a lot of fun.  

People will ask me what is my favorite loom or project and I can’t say.   I continue to go back to my 24” Ashford Rigid Heddle as a base for most projects.   But I love the 10”, 12” and 15” looms for quick projects, mug rugs and placemats.    The 20” is great for towels as well as my 24”.  The 32” and 48” make the blankets and shawls that I love.   I am just beginning to understand work with multi-shaft looms becoming proficient at warping the 4-shaft and now 16-shaft table looms.    I can honestly say that I use most of my looms on a rotating basis.   I wouldn’t want to give any of them up. 

Throughout this journey, I've embraced imperfections and enjoyed the learning process. My latest creation was a tote bag, but I needed a good handle, which led me to the Ashford Inkle Loom. My weaving adventures didn't stop there—curiosity about spinning led to the addition of a Kiwi Spinning Wheel and an Ashford Drop Spindle to my collection.

In just a year, weaving has transformed my life, helping me navigate through a difficult time with creativity and purpose. Weaving has been instrumental in this journey, and I am grateful for the joy and peace they have brought me.  In two weeks I am taking my very first FLOOR LOOM class, can a floor loom be that far away in my future?

Thank you for letting me share my story.

Warm regards,

Diane

Diane, thank you so much for sharing your heart with me and your fellow weavers! It's so easy to dwell in the loss and not find out "who you are now". I'm so glad you found your new self, and that is a wonderful, valuable, and precious self!!!

I also love how looms multiply!

Perfect Hems Revisited

I’ve written a blog post about hemming before, but I’ve sewn a lot, and I mean A LOT of hems since writing that post so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned.

Should you have already read the original post, nothing in it is wrong, I just do some things differently now.

First, let’s talk about why we might want to hem our projects.

1.      A hem produces a nice finished edge. Fringes are nice, but for some projects, a hem really is better. Tea towels and napkins spring to mind. These are items that see heavy use and lots of washing. Even a short fringe tends to get ratty under those circumstances.

2.      Baby blankets shouldn’t have a fringe. Little fingers and toes can get tangled and no one wants that! Babies love a nice satin edge, but I haven’t learned how to add that yet so I just do a plain hem. (Satin edges are on my list to learn!)

3.      Some people just don’t like a fringe…they get caught in zippers, or fray, or maybe you just don’t like twisting them. Whatever the reason, you don’t have to like fringe!

4.      You hate hemstitching! You can skip the hemstitch entirely if you know you are going to sew a hem!

Ok, now you know why you might not want a fringe, let’s talk about how to hem.

Before Starting

1.      Plan for your hem before warping. If you are using a pattern, check to see if the pattern includes a hem or fringe. If your pattern anticipates a hem, follow the pattern as written. If it is finished with a fringe, you will need to make some changes. First, you will need to lengthen your warp. My tea towel hems are about 2-2.5” so I would add an extra 6” per towel to my warp. This allows for take up. Since I generally warp for 2 towels at a time, I would add at least 12” to the warp.

Second, you will need to adjust how long the item is, on the loom, with the hems added. A tea towel with a fringe that finishes at about 24” on the loom will be about 29-30” on the loom with the hems.

NOTE: If you are adding a hem to a scarf, you may not need to add extra warp as the pattern will have included extra warp for the fringe…but I’d add a little extra anyway just to be sure I had enough at the end of the warp to weave comfortably.

2.      Weaving in Scrap Yarn? You all know that I hardly ever spread my warp with scrap yarn before starting to weave. I let my warping sticks do the job for me! If you are planning to hem, however, it does make it a little easier to sew after removing the project from the loom if you have a few picks at the beginning and at the end of the weave. I don’t do it very often because I forget, but it’s always nice when I remember! You’ll want to weave in a few extra picks at the end too. Use a contrasting colour and it will be easy to see exactly where to sew! This also provides a little bit of protection to your project if you can’t get to the machine immediately after removing from the loom.

3.      Lighter Hem or Not? I generally weave my tea towels with 8/2 cotton doubled. In the past I always recommended using the 8/2 single for the hem. This was to prevent the flare that can happen while hemming. However, I now usually use the 8/2 doubled as I’ve got a few other tricks to eliminate the flare.

Before Wet Finishing

Straight, Zig-Zag or Serge? You’ve now taken your project off the loom and it is ready to be wet finished. But if you tried to wet finish it before sewing, your weaving will come undone. (I once missed a final line of stitching and lost half a towel to the washer.)

It is your choice if you use a straight stitch, zig-zag or serger. Usually, I sew a single straight stitch. My machine seems to have troubles doing a zig-zag on unwashed woven fabric. Do be sure that the sewing runs across the whole width, it’s super easy to miss the first and last bit of the weaving. Start sewing forward, then go backwards past the end of the fabric, then forward back onto the fabric again.

If my serger is out, it seems to do a great job and produces a lovely edge. But you certainly don’t need a serger!

After Wet Finishing

This is the actual hemming, but all the stuff that comes before is important too! And this is where I go a little (ahem) rogue.

First, press your work. I just press my work, I do not press my hems before sewing. *gasp* Instead, I use these fantastic quilting clips. I got mine at my local sewing store, but if you can’t find them there, or you can’t get out, you can find them on Amazon. Please note that these are not heat proof, they will melt if they connect with a hot iron.

When you sew your hem, you want to hide the raw edge. This requires 2 folds: the first to fold the raw edge in, and the second, to sandwich it between 2 layers. To do this “properly” you should make the first fold, press it, them make the second fold, press it, then pin and finally, sew. Quilting clips eliminate the need for pressing!

Before we move to the actual sewing, just a little note about tension and needles. I use a universal needle, size 80 and my tension is set to about 2.5-3. If you find your machine is “eating” your fabric, open up the bobbin area and blow out the fluff and/or change the needle. I find this solves all my sewing machine issues! I bought my machine 25 years ago, it’s nothing fancy, I’ve repaired it once (while it was still under warranty) and had it professionally cleaned and tuned once. I highly recommend a simple, no bells and whistle machine! For thread I use 100% cotton, usually Gutermann.

Here’s a step by step:

1.       Starting on one side, fold the raw edge to the wrong side, fold again and clip. Work your way across the fabric clipping frequently. You want to be sure that the warp ends stay straight through the folds. This is super easy to see if you have colour changes: just make sure when you clip that the colours line up. Here’s a video!

2.      Bring your work to the sewing machine. I’ve started to use a magnetic seam guide to ensure straight hems. It takes a little getting used to, but it was worth it! Raise the presser foot and place the hem under. Place the fabric under the foot so that when the foot is down, it will be completely on the fabric: the sewing will not start at the edge. Starting a bit forward means the foot will not have to climb up the hem which can cause all sorts of problems. If you are using one, place the magnetic guide being sure to adjust it so the fabric fits easily under the guide. The presser foot might rest a bit on it, that’s ok. Here’s a video of me using the guide. Again, you should be able to find one at your local sewing shop, but here’s an Amazon link.

3.      Sew a few stitches forward, then reverse and sew back to the very edge.

4.      Start sewing forward again. As you sew forward, keep an eye at the colour changes. This is where you will see if the layers of fabric are moving evenly. If you have a walking foot, this is supposed to allow both layers to move together, but honestly, either I had one that didn’t work or I just didn’t know how to use it because I didn’t find it worked noticeably better than my regular foot! You can use your fingers to ease things along if needed. Occasionally I use one hand to slightly hold back the lower layer and the other to gently ease the upper layer. It is so slight as to be barely noticeable. Also, keep an eye on those clips and remove them before they hit the guide if you are using one!

5.      Sew to the end, being sure all layers are even, then reverse a few stitches and then sew right off the end. It is the easing of the upper layer and the holding back of the lower layer and being sure all the layers are perfectly matched at the end that will prevent the flare. Here’s another video, this time of the actual sewing!

You should now have a perfect hem!!!

If you don’t have a pile of towels to practise on already, here’s a few of my favourites for you to try. I’ve picked stripey ones so it’s easy to line up the hems!

Bohemian Towels

Hyper-Active

Cherry Berry

Happy Weaving,

The Rogue Weaver

Down the Rabbit Hole - My Weaving Journey

(I’ve been asking for your weaving stories. Mostly because I’m nosy and I want to know everything about everyone. (Don’t worry, I can keep a secret!) But also because I know that for many, weaving has come at a time in life when it was really needed, or it came unexpectedly but made a huge impact.

This morning I’ve got our first story, and it is someone I know personally and you have heard me make mention of. I met Moira through Gaspereau Valley Fibres before she knew she wanted to be a weaver. She jumped in with both feet and now she edits my patterns, and newsletters, and blogs…Here’s her story. - Tammy)

So, I knew just a little – a VERY little – about weaving (I did know what a rigid heddle loom was, at least, thanks to a friend). Found myself down at Gaspereau Valley Fibres, looking around, not knowing where to start. Met Tammy, who began to share her enthusiasm about weaving to this newbie … when she got to talking about “sheds” (“sheds?”),  I got confused … and then I thought, well, stop right there, I knew I had a LOT to learn !!!

Tammy assured me that I REALLY COULD DO THIS !!  … and down the rabbit hole I went!

The Inspiration and Success!

Classes followed (every chance I got, even if I thought it might be beyond my skill level). I began building my yarn stash, then bought a larger loom (my first was a 16” Ashford SampleIt, I quickly knew I needed bigger) … and then another loom … and yet ANOTHER.

Single looms get lonely!

Just a small sample of my weaving!

Skip forward a couple of years, and I am thoroughly immersed in the world of weaving – and absolutely loving every minute and every new challenge.

My weaving skills have vastly improved over time, and I credit a certain individual for that: there is no limit to her encouragement, patience and help.

Enter The Rogue Weaver …

And, most recently, a new and somewhat different rabbit hole. I stay in the background, but you may see my name crop up occasionally when pattern editing is mentioned. As a proof-reader in my previous working life, I review and check the new or updated older patterns before they are released to all of you, whether you are an experienced weaver, or a newbie beginning this adventure.

Welcome to this fabulous fibre world !! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Moira

Chart Reading Made Easy

I have a confession to make. I can’t read a draft designed for rigid heddle looms! Terrible isn’t it? But they just don’t make sense to me. So, as is my wont, I designed my own way of writing things. They make perfect sense to me. Many of you are already familiar with my way of writing the pick-up patterns for weaving. I hope that once you get the hang of it you end up finding it as intuitive as I do. (Seriously, I’d love your feedback on my style!)

You may have noticed that some of my more recent pick-up patterns have included charts for inserting the sticks (don’t worry, I still include step-by-step written instructions and pictures). I know that we all have different learning styles, so I really strive to make sure I include as many ways to explain things as possible…that’s part of the reason my patterns are soooo long! I did think it might be worth just explaining my method in hopes that when you see the patterns you will have the confidence to give them a try instead of running for the hills!

Let’s start with a brief overview. A rigid heddle has 2 sheds, created by slots and holes. A shed is the open space between warp ends that the weft passes through. When the heddle is lifted, all the holes are pulled up over the slot ends (Shed 1). When the heddle is lowered, all the holes are pushed down, under the slot ends (Shed 2). Alternating between these 2 sheds, we get what is called plain weave. Plain weave is beautiful, and if all you ever do is plain weave, you are a weaver!

We can, however, add extra “sheds” to our loom by adding pick-up sticks. (You can add extra heddles and string heddles too, but today we are focused on pick-up sticks.) Each pick-up stick adds an extra shed for our weft yarn to pass through. If we are willing to do the work, there is really no end to the number of sheds you can have on a rigid heddle. (Check out this scarf, I haven’t counted, but I’ve been told one would need 24 shafts to do this on a floor loom!) Pick-up sticks change the space between the warp ends creating new pathways for the weft to travel. You can read more about using pick-up sticks here.

Ok, on to my charts! Let’s look at one from my most recent pattern, Lace Napkins. It looks complicated but it really isn’t. I promise. First, here’s a few things to know:

All charts are read from left to right.

The top row represents the ends in slots that are on top of the pick-up stick.

The middle row represents the ends in slots and are under the pick-up stick.

The bottom row represents all the ends in holes.

Perfect sense, right? Not quite? Let’s look at something simpler first. Although there are three rows, only the bottom and middle have ends in them. If we go back up to the rules above, we will see that we have the holes on the bottom and the slots in the middle. There is nothing in the top row (where the pick-up stick would be). So we can ignore this and we have a simple plain weave pattern. Two sheds, 1 up, 1 down.

Let’s look at a slightly more complicated chart. This one also has just two rows used, but this time it is the holes and the pick-up row that are being used. We can actually ignore that bottom row because a pick-up stick will never pick up an end in a hole. So if we look at the middle and top row, we can see that every slot end will be on top of the pick-up stick. If you’re ahead of the class, you probably realize that using this pattern will create very long floats. In this case, this is maintaining the plain weave structure while the pick-up stick is doing something else at the same time. Completely confused yet? Let’s put it all together and see if it makes sense.

Let’s go back to the first chart: in this chart we have ends in all three rows. First, we can ignore the bottom row. That is all the holes, and if you remember, the pick-up stick will never pick up ends that are in a hole.

So we will only look at the slot ends, those in the middle and the top row. (There is a reason for the bottom row, we’ll get to that in a bit.)

Remember that the middle row is under the pick-up stick. The top row is on top of the pick-up stick. This means the pick-up stick needs to “pick up” the ends. (Get it?)

So for this chart, the pick-up stick will go over the first 2 ends, then it will “pick up” the next 5 ends by going under them. It will go over the next 2 ends, then under the next 5. If you were to flip your pick-up stick on edge, you would see groups of 5 ends on top of the pick-up stick. See the picture to the right.

If the instructions were written, it would look like this:

1. With the pick-up stick, go over the first 2 ends then:

2. Go under 5 ends, over 2 ends then under the final 5 ends.

Now, if you can visualize, imagine this: the heddle is in neutral and the pick-up stick is behind the reed and on edge. This will push down all the ends that are under the pick-up stick creating a 5-end weft float (2 ends that are under the pick-up + the three ends in the holes—this is why the bottom row is there!) The 5 ends on top of the pick-up stick are actually maintaining the plain-weave structure in between the floats. Now you can look at a chart and “see” what will happen!

If this doesn’t make sense yet, don’t despair! I also do not learn by reading. I need pictures and experience! When following a pattern, use all the methods available! Use the written instructions, compare it to the chart and look at the pictures. After a few projects I know that you will get it!

Feel ready to try it out? Here’s a few patterns to try out:

Silver Linings shawl, HopScotch Tea Towels and my new Lace Napkin pattern.

Right side / Wrong side How Floats Visually Impact Weaving

We all know that fabrics have a “right side” and a “wrong side”. Now, if you have only ever woven plain weave fabrics, both sides will look the same. But, if you have added pick-up patterns to your weaving, you will notice that what you see on top of the loom is different from what is underneath. That is what we are going to talk about today.

A few weeks ago I received an email from a weaver wondering what she had done wrong. The top of her work looked great, but what was wrong with the back? I was able to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong, this was just how the pattern works. But let’s take a look at what happens on a rigid heddle when we use pick-up sticks.

There’s really only one thing to know: warp floats on the top make weft floats on the bottom and weft floats on the top make warp floats on the bottom. That’s it! Let’s look a little more closely though.

Below is my Bumberet Inspired Tea Towels. The first picture shows the right side with warp floats. The weft is navy, and since we have warp floats, the warp colours really pop out. But if you look at the other side, you will see weft floats in navy. It still looks great, but the warp doesn’t pop. In a pattern like this, you can decide after weaving which side you like best!

Now let’s look at another pattern. In the picture below is the Surprise Twill pattern. In this pattern, we are weaving weft floats. However, in this case the “right side” pattern is actually on the “wrong side”. Since I think weft floats are easier to weave than warp floats, I purposely wove this wrong side up! You will note in the second picture, you can see a twill-like pattern made with warp floats.

Now let’s look at lace. Cameras do funny things to colours, so believe me when I say this is the same project with the same cotton! The picture on the left is the right side. You can see that there are tiny weft floats. However, because of the weaving pattern, on the wrong side, there are long warp floats. While both sides look pretty, I definitely would use the left as the right side!

Float length is something to consider. You may not mind a longer float on a tea towel, but might find it unpleasant on a scarf as floats do tend to get caught on buttons, jewelry, and anything else! Sticky yarns work better for longer floats in scarfs as in the wet finishing they tend to almost felt into place making them less likely to catch. Also, using a smaller reed will make the floats smaller!

So far, I have only shown pictures of warp floats or weft floats…but what happens when you combine them? Let’s look at a the Waffle Weave scarf. Can you see the difference? Me neither! When warp and weft floats work together, both sides can end up looking the same.

But not always! In the picture below, because I am using the same colour for warp and weft, it is easy to see that the left has weft floats where the right has warp floats.

So there’s a little lesson on floats and how they show on the finished projects! Want to play around with floats yourself? Check out the patterns I mentioned in this post:

Bumberet Inspired Tea Towels

Surprise Twill Tea Towels

Swedish Lace Tea Towels

and

Malabrigo Waffle Weave Scarf

Happy Weaving!

Record Keeping

Do you ever read about weaving and come across the record keeping section and think…gee, I wish I could keep good records! Or maybe you wonder what records you should be keeping, or where you should keep them. I am not a great record keeper in the traditional sense. I don’t have a notebook with samples and details. I applaud those who do. It must be wonderful to look back and see exactly what you did for various projects. But I know this is just not how I am designed. I’ve tried various ways, combined them and come up with a system that currently works for me.

Before we get to my system though, let’s talk about what information should be kept.

1. The date the project was started (this is especially important if you keep photographic records).

2. The warp and weft yarn, including the colours, the reed used and the picks per inch (ppi).

3. Warp length, the number of ends warped and the width of the warp in the reed.

4. The woven width on the loom (this will be less than the width of the warp in the reed due to draw-in).

5. Where each weaving pattern begins (measured from the beginning of the work), where colour changes happen, how the hemstitching was done, if it was done and any other pertinent info concerning the actual weaving.

6. The length of the project off the loom before wet finishing.

7. The length and width after wet finishing…as well as how the item was wet finished.

There may be things that I’m missing, but I’m pretty sure I got all the major ones! Now let’s look at some of the ways I’ve kept records.

1. I confess that I am old-school. I love notebooks and pretty-coloured markers. So, I have a notebook and a set of 24 journaling markers. I date each project at the top of the page and then draw out pictures, designs, patterns and any other relevant information. This works well for the designing process, then I start another page and write all the details of what I actually did (as opposed to what I originally planned, because sometimes plans change).

2. Phone Apps. My favourites are Samsung Notes and Squid. Both are free and both work with text or a pen to write. Both allow you to change the colour ink, page template, create notebooks and import pictures. I use it the same way as the physical notebook. What I can’t do is share the notebooks across devices. But, I use it on my phone, and my phone is always with me. I love that I can take a picture, import it to the app then point out the important info.

3. Kindle Scribe…this is my current favourite. Writing on it is jut like writing in a notebook. I mean, exactly! I can set up folders and each folder can have notebooks. I can change the page template…but I can’t change the colour of the ink, which is a little sad. The pages are bigger so it’s easier to use than my phone and the battery lasts forever! And I can read books too!

So, these are my three favourite ways to keep records. While I love my notebook, I usually use technology because I am known for misplacing notebooks, but I won’t lose my devices! In addition to these methods, my camera is an ever-present companion. I take pictures of everything! I like to gather my materials and take a picture being sure that the colour names are visible as well as the reed size. I take pictures of pattern repeats, I measure and take pictures with the tape measure visible (I try to do this for ppi, each colour/pattern change, the end of a project and the length off the loom before wet finishing.) If I’m really organized, I will put all the pictures for a project in a single album and label the album with the name of the pattern.

What’s your favourite way to keep records?

How To Fix Drifted Warp Ends (Be Brave and Weave the Scary Yarn)

Most of us weave to relax. But is there anything more stressful than weaving and watching a warp end get thinner and thinner? Keep reading because I’m going to tell you this is not worth stressing over, it’s super easy to fix…and I’ll give you some tips to reduce the chance of this happening in the future.

First, let’s talk about yarn and drifting. Drifting happens when the yarn is under tension. As you weave, it begins to stretch. As it stretches, instead of breaking, it just gradually pulls apart. While it may feel stressful watching it happen, this is actually far easier to fix than an end that has snapped. Drifting most often happens with yarns that are single ply and have uneven twist. Noro is a prime example. This is also common with single ply handspun yarns as well. The drifting will happen in the areas with less twist.

Now you know why drifting happens. That means you can now look at yarns when shopping and make a (more) educated guess about yarns before buying. But don’t eliminate a yarn just because it might drift. Just be mentally prepared when you weave with it!

Ok, you’ve been brave and warped your loom with questionable yarn. And an end is getting thinner and thinner. Here’s how to fix it. You will need a darning needle.

1. Keep weaving until the end drifts apart. Sigh with relief, now you can relax, the worst has happened!

2. Pull the ends out of the reed. Take the end that is wound onto the back beam and toss if off the back and just let it hang. Take the end that is in front of the loom and just fold it back onto the weaving so it is out of the way. You can ignore them for now. If it makes you feel better, let them know they are in time out.

3. Continue weaving as usual. You will notice the missing warp end, don’t worry about it.

4. Before winding forward, using your darning needle, weave the end back into your weaving.

5. Continue weaving until the end in front of the reed has been woven in.

6. Now it’s time to weave in the end that is behind the reed. Using your darning needle, thread the end back though the reed…be sure that the warp end is not twisted around any ends.

7. Still using the darning needle, weave the end back into the work. Since the ends stretched and drifted apart, the ends should overlap an inch or maybe more. You can use a t-pin to hold the warp end in place if the tension of weaving is causing it to pull out. The t-pin can be removed once the end is firmly anchored by weaving.

8. Continue weaving! After wet finishing the repair will be invisible!

If you are going to use textured yarns with thick and thin bits, single ply or handspun yarns, drifting will occasionally happen no matter how careful you are. But let’s look at a few ways to help prevent them.

1. Pay attention to how you move your reed…this is the single most important prevention tip. Bring your reed forward level with the warp to reduce how much the heddle rubs on the yarn. Press the weft into place with a single firm press (not two or three). When you move the reed back, change sheds at the heddle block so the reed stays level with the warp as it moves back. Really, you want the reed to touch the yarn as a little as possible.

2. Do not unweave more than one or two rows of weaving. It is far easier to fix mistakes after the project comes off of the loom.

3. Keep your tension as loose as possible. You want your tension high enough to give a nice clean shed, but not so tight that changing the shed puts too much pressure on the weaker spots.

4. Finally, do choose your yarn carefully. Do a pull test in several areas. If it drifts apart no matter where you pull, perhaps use this yarn for weft instead! Or, psych yourself up mentally and go for it. One of my favourite finished scarves was made with a yarn called Motley by Sugar Bush Yarns. Drifting ends galore while I learned to deal with them, but I loved the results so much I wove a second scarf…and had far fewer drifts. Practice really does make a difference!

Be brave and weave the scary yarns!

Deciphering The Rogue Weaver Charts

A good pattern makes all the difference in the world! If you’ve been following me over the past three years and compare one of the older patterns with my more recent patterns, you will see a significant difference! They’ve more than doubled in length, include far more detail and have more charts, check boxes and other things to help you succeed. My editor is kind enough to remind me that the old patterns are “an older style of writing” and still very good. (Thank you Moira!)

Much of my improvement over the years is actually thanks to you: weavers who support me through purchasing my patterns and then email when you have difficulties. Like any good designer, I listen to the issue each person has, then try to do better, so, thanks for contacting me when you have a problem!

I know my patterns don’t look like other patterns, and that is purposeful. When I first started writing, I met weavers all the time (and still do) who have no idea how to read weaving patterns. I think this is because most rigid heddle patterns assume a knowledge of floor looms. And so, even though they are very different looms, rigid heddle patterns follow the floor loom format. So when I started writing I assumed no floor loom knowledge and created my own style. (There is a reason I am The Rogue Weaver!) I know that we all learn differently, so I try to write in a way to be understood by as many learning styles as possible! That means I keep adding more “things”. My latest “thing” is pick-up charts. I’ve already had a few questions about them, so that’s what this blog post is about. But don’t worry, if you don’t like charts, the written instructions will still be there!

So, enough preamble, let’s look at the charts you will find in the Hopscotch tea towel pattern. This is for Pick-up B and Option 3a.

Chart 1

Here are a couple of basics about rigid heddles and pick-up sticks.

1. A rigid heddle has 2 sheds, an up-shed and a down-shed. (A shed is the space that the shuttle travels through.) Adding a pick-up stick creates another shed. So this pattern has 3 sheds.

2. Pick-up sticks are always inserted with the heddle in the down-shed. This means that only the ends that are in slots will be picked up on the pick-up stick. So, in the chart above, you are only seeing the slot ends.

Now that you know the two points above, let’s look at the chart. The chart has two rows. The top row represents the threads on top of the pick-up stick. The bottom row represents the ends that will be under the pick-up stick. (Remember that this chart shows only the slots.) When the pick-up stick is used, these threads will be pushed down, creating weft floats.

So for this pick-up pattern, the stick will go under all the yellow ends. Then it will go under the first green, then: over 1 green, under 2 greens, over 1 green, under 2 greens, over 1 green, under 2 greens, over 1 green, under the final green. In the pattern it is written as follows:

Place the heddle in the down position.

Step 1: Slide the pick-up stick under the 12 yellow ends.

Step 2: Go under 1 green end.

Step 3: (Go over 1 green end, under 2 green ends) three times.

Step 4: Go over 1 green end, under 1 green end (this should be the final green of the block on the pick-up stick).

See the picture to the right. (The orange in the picture is the yellow in the chart and the yellow is the green.)

There, that covers the insertion of the pick-up stick, but what about the weaving? There’s a chart for that!

Chart 2

Remember that a rigid heddle has 2 sheds. The addition of the pick-up stick adds one more shed, so for this pattern you will have 3 sheds.

Take a look at the chart to the right. There are three columns. The left column represents the down-shed. The middle column represents the up-shed and the right column represents the pick-up shed. In this case, the pick-up stick is used while the heddle is in neutral and the pick-up stick is behind the heddle and on edge.

So, this chart tells us to weave 1 pick pink in a down-shed, then using green weave:

1. Heddle up

2. Heddle neutral, pick-up stick on edge

3. Heddle up

4. Heddle down

   Repeat steps 1-4 two more times, then steps 1-3 one time for a total of 15 picks (16 if you are counting the initial pink pick).

   See the picture to the right. It’s woven with yellow instead of green, but you can clearly see each pick. The row with the floats is step 2.
   
   

There! That’s how the charts work, and I hope that you find them helpful in your weaving! Want to give them a try? I’ve updated the Hopscotch pattern. The original was good, but there were a few things that bothered me…so I fixed them. I’ve also included several different colour combinations and 6 (!) weaving options so you can personalize your towels. You’ll also find videos, check boxes and blog posts to help. You can get the pattern here. And…if you need a kit, Cotton Clouds has you covered!

Happy weaving!

The Rogue Weaver

Souvenir Yarn AKA How To Shop Without A Plan

Summer is coming, and for many of us that means travel and new yarn shops!!! New yarn shops are a weavers dream and their worst nightmare. So much new gorgeousness all in one place and we want it all. But we don’t know what we are going to do with it or how much to get. I’m here to help!!! What you will find today is a *very* rough guide to buying for basic projects. Warning: there will be math involved.

Before we can even begin to think about how much of a stash to buy, there are a couple things to look at. The first is wraps per inch (WPI). I talked about that a little in last week’s blog. Just a little review, wpi help us determine the reed we will need for a particular yarn. But we don’t all carry a wpi tool when we travel, and yarn shops really don’t appreciate it when customers start pulling skeins apart! So, an easy way to get an estimate is to use your finger and a tape measure. Very gently slip your finger under the strands for about an inch. Count the threads on your finger and divide by 2. This is your reed size, maybe: keep reading!

Next consider the fibre content. If it is silk, cotton, hemp, superwash or other fibres that don’t full as much, consider a smaller reed. If it’s super fuzzy like mohair, llama, brushed alpaca or a boucle yarn, consider a larger reed.

Next you have to make some decisions. How long? I have 4 basic lengths I make. This is just what I do, if you have basic sizes, use your numbers! The box to the right is my guide. This is what I warp…not the finished size after it comes off the loom and is wet finished.

Next comes the math. If you know the reed size and the length of your warp, it’s not hard to find out how many meters you will need.

Take the width you want in the reed and multiple that by the reed size, this will tell you how many ends you need.

Take the number of required ends and multiply that by the length of the desired warp.

For example, let’s say that you are weaving a scarf. You want a 100” (2.5m) warp, 12” in the reed, and will be using a 7.5 dent reed.

12 x 7.5 = 90. You will need 90 ends. (Width x Reed Size = Total Number of Ends)

90 x 2.5=225m. You will need a total of 225m. (Total Number of Ends x Warp Length = Total Meters Required)

That takes care of warp. What about weft? Again, things to think about! How wide is your project and how many picks per inch will you weave? Remember that the yarn doesn’t travel in a straight line across the warp, it is in waves as it goes over and under each warp end. So you will need to add a little extra. I usually just add an inch or two, I’m not very exact.

So, more math! Take the length of each weft pass and multiple it by your desired picks per inch. This gives you how much you need per inch of weaving. Then, multiply that by the number of inches you plan to weave. This is not going to be the same as your warp length. For example, when I warp 100” I usually weave 84-88”, the rest is loom waste and take up. (Because just as the weft travels up and down, so does the warp once the weft is introduced!)

So, let’s say that your width in the reed is 12” (.3m) and your picks per inch is 7.5 and you will weave about 84”. First, add 1” to the width for 13” (.33m) . This takes care of the over/under of the weft. (Width of Warp + 1-2” = Length of Each Weft Pick)

.33 x 7.5=2.47m. Each inch of weaving will need about 2.5m. (I’ve rounded to 2.5 just for ease.) (Length of Each Weft Pick x Reed Size = Amount of Weft Needed For Each Inch of Weaving)

2.5 x 84=210. You will need 210m of weft to weave your project. (Weft Needed Per Inch x Desired Woven Length On the Loom)

Now, let’s pretend you are shopping your own stash and you discover a gorgeous hand-dyed skein and you want to know what you can do with it. You can work backwards. Take the amount on the skein (it’s standard weight sock yarn, superwash, 420m/100g. The wpi is about 10-11, which seems like the 10 dent reed will be fine…but remember it’s superwash, so, I’m going to go up to the 12 or 12.5 instead. I want to make a shorter scarf, an 84” (1.7m) warp for a 70-ish” woven length on the loom + fringe. I can take the length of the skein, divided by the length of the warp. This will give me the total number of ends I can have from the skein. Take the total number of possible ends, and divide it by the reed size. This will tell me how wide I can make the warp.

420m/1.7=247. I can have 247 ends. (Total Length/Length of Warp)

247/12=20. I can warp 20” in the reed on a 12 dent reed (Total number of Ends/Reed Size)

If you are trying to use the single skein for both warp and weft, you will be able to use slightly more than half of the skein for warp and the rest for weft. But this is a little risky, it’s good to have a back-up plan in case you run a little short. A complimentary colour to add some stripes is a good idea!

And just a little word of advice from someone who has answered many phone calls from weavers looking to finish their project (and from one who has run short and added surprise stripes), always (ALWAYS) buy the extra skein! And maybe bring an extra suitcase!

Weaving Basics--What Reed Should I Use?

If you are a beginner weaver, you will understand that there is a whole new language that weavers use. There’s warp and weft and sett and picks, then add in the abbreviations, ppi, epi and wpi, and soon your eyes just start to glaze over. But don’t be discouraged, the language will come, and experienced weavers will understand even if you use the wrong word (or the right words the wrong way)! We are generally a gracious bunch.

Today we are going to talk about reeds. What they do, what the rules are and when to break them!

The shed is where the shuttle passes through

So, first, the reed is the part of the loom that has the slots and holes. You thread your yarn through these slots and holes. The reed also gives you a shed (the area that the shuttle passes through). Reeds come in different dents (sizes). Ashford has a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15. Schacht has a 5, 8, 10, 12 and just added a 15. The number refers to how many threads are in an inch of width. So a 5 dent reed has 5 ends per inch of width. Ends Per Inch can also be shortened to epi.

If you are a knitter, you already know that different yarn weights require different needle sizes. It’s the same for weaving and reeds. There are general guidelines to help you choose the right reed size for your yarn. The box to the right is a general guide. There are things to consider that might cause you to use a different reed. You may be familiar with the term Wraps Per Inch (wpi) from knitting. This is also a useful term to weavers.

Wraps Per Inch Tool

Wraps Per inch refers to how many wraps are in an inch of yarn. (Everything clear as mud now?) There are tools that can help you determine the wpi, or you can use a ruler or pencil, or even a shuttle! Simply wrap the yarn around your chosen object with an even tension. The yarn should be snugged up to its neighbour and not pulled out of shape. Wrap for a few inches, then using a ruler, count how many wraps are in 1 inch. This tells you the wpi. To use that number for determining which reed to use, divide the wpi by 2. So if your count was 20wpi, the reed size would be 10. Maybe. There are other things to consider. Let’s look at them.

Fibre Content: Some fibres will bloom more than others. Wool, alpaca, llama, mohair and other animal fibres will bloom more than silk, linen, tencel or synthetic yarns. Blooming means that during the wet finishing the yarn puffs up and becomes fuller, filling in the spaces in your weaving. In the chart above I listed lace as using a 15 dent reed…however, if my lace is a pure wool (like Malabrigo Lace) I will use my 12.5 dent reed instead. Mohair is super sticky, so for a lace-weight mohair I might use a 7.5 dent reed. The weave will look much like a screen door on the loom, but when it wet finishes the stickiness of the mohair gives the fabric stability. For a pure silk that wraps at 20 wpi I will likely use my 12 dent reed. Even a silk blend will bloom less than a pure animal fibre so might need the smaller reed. How do you know? Sampling and experience!

Superwash vs Non-Superwash: Superwash wool is treated in such a way to make it machine washable. This means it will not bloom as much as a non-superwash fibre. So, if I have a superwash fingering-weight yarn (like a standard sock yarn) I will use my 12 or 12.5 instead of the 10 I would use for same weight of non-superwash.

Weft: What you choose for weft can have an impact on the reed as well. If you are using a bulky yarn with a fine weft you might want to consider a smaller reed, particularly if the fibres won’t bloom too much. If you are using a bulky warp and weft, you might choose a slightly bigger reed to create a fabric with drape.

Desired Finished Effect: The final thing to consider is what you want the finished object to look like and be used for. A light, airy summer scarf may cause you to choose a larger than expected reed. An object that might see a lot of heavy wear, such as a floor rug or pillow cushion may cause you to go a little smaller. If you want a weft-faced piece, you will want a bigger reed, for a warp-faced piece choose the smaller reed.

As you can see, there is no “simple” answer to the question “what reed should I use?”. Nothing replaces experience (and sampling), but isn’t lovely that we can learn from each other so we don’t need to all make the same mistake! And none of this even touches on the issue of picks per inch (ppi) which is a whole different topic that can impact your reed choice!

Looking to play with different reed sizes? The Saori Style Scarf acts as a bit of a sampler for mixing different weights. Lighter than Air combines two very different fibres at very different setts (on a 12/12.5 dent reed). Or next time you weave a tea towel with 8/2 cotton try using a different-sized reed. 8/2 cotton doubled will work on a 10, 12 and 12.5 reed to produce beautiful towels. The Bohemian Towels are a great set to try this with.

New Tricks!

I love that you can think you’ve found the best way to do something and then you learn something new! Learning is always happening. I’ve always tied my warp onto the front warping stick the same way: take a small bundle, split it in half, go over, then under the front warping stick and tie using a surgeon’s knot. I’ve tried lashing and didn’t really like it, mostly because that long string for lashing was just annoying to me.

When I warp my floor loom, I attach the warp to the back beam using a lark’s head knot. In my head it seemed a bit (but not really) like lashing. I tried it on the back warping stick when indirect warping my rigid heddle and it worked beautifully. But you know brains, they get an idea and run with it! Mine said…what if we use the same idea on the front warping stick of our rigid heddle? So I tried it, first with wool, then with cotton. And was amazed!

I’ll walk you step by step through the process, but let me give you a little review first. This is easiest with wool that has a little bit of stretch because if the knots aren’t all perfectly lined up, the stretch in the wool will make up for it. With cotton you need to be much more careful about the knots. This method seems to produce less tie-on waste but I haven’t actually measured. It is something to keep in mind if you want a long fringe though. Also, when I got it right with the cotton, both sheds were perfect from the start! If the tension is a smidge off, the insertion of a couple cardboard warping sticks fixed any issues. If it was way off, the only way to fix it was retie some of the knots.

Ok, tying on The Rogue Weaver way! (If you try this, I’d love your feedback.)

You will need Texsolv heddles, 1 for each inch of width (so for 18” of width you will want 18 heddles. You can make your own string heddles. Be sure they are all the same size! Here’s a video to show you how to make string heddles.

1. Warp and wind your loom as usual. You may want to leave less warp in front of the reed than usual, just be careful it doesn’t slip through the reed!

2. Attach the string heddles to the front warping stick. Place the heddle under the front warping stick, open up one hole in the heddle, fold the heddle over the front warping stick and pass it through the loop that is under the warping stick. On my Schacht loom I put about 6 heddles in between each of the sections between the texsolv that holds the front warping stick to the loom.

3. Take about 1” of the warp and tie a knot in the end. Continue across the loom. You want the knots to be at about the same distance from the reed in each bundle (this is very important with cotton, not quite so important with material that has a little stretch.

This part is a little tedious. It’s one reason why I’ve never really given lashing a fair chance. But this might be worth it, and if I do it enough I should get really good at getting the knots in the right place, right?

4. Attach the warp to the heddle using a lark’s head knot. It took me a ridiculously long time to figure this out because I was looking at a picture and not a video. Once I figured it out it was so obvious I felt pretty dumb! Open up the second loop of the heddle…the loop that isn’t attached to the front warping stick. Put your thumb and forefinger through the loop and grab the heddle. Pull it back through the loop. You will have a new loop! Put your fingers though this loop. Take one section of the warp and pass the knot through the loop. Pull the loop tight. It will tighten up so the knot can’t slip out. Do this across the loom.

Now you can wind the warp forward to tighten everything. If you have placed your knot correctly, you are ready to spread the warp and weave! Otherwise, if you see spots that are really loose, release some of the tension and adjust those knots. Below you can see the “before” I tightened the warp and the “after”. Both my up-shed and down-shed were perfect from the start! I’ve attached a video as well showing the whole process. In it you will see I had a few “soft spots” where the tension was too loose and I had to adjust some knots. In the end, I did need the warping sticks to get the perfect sheds…but since I would add them to any project, I was pleased with the results.

If you try this and like it (or don’t), post it on social media and tag me, telling me what you liked or didn’t like. Also, feel free to share this blog with other weavers who you think might be interested! Or if you already do this, I’d love to hear your tips!

Float Prevention and Intervention

There are 5 floats to the left of the needle

We all make mistakes, and that’s ok. Sometimes it’s not even a mistake, it’s just learning how not to do something. This is what I tell myself when I am learning something new. And on the topic of learning new things, let me digress for a moment. Be gentle with yourself…especially when you are learning something new. Pay attention to the words you use in your head and out loud. If you wouldn’t say those things to a friend, don’t say them to or about yourself. If you would be angry if someone said that to your friend, don’t say it to yourself. You are worthy of being treated with respect and honour by everybody, and by yourself in particular! By the way, I’ve been making some pretty spectacular mistakes lately!

Ok, I’ve stepped off one soapbox, and I’m about to step onto another, thank you for bearing with me! Mistakes do happen. I do not call mistakes design features. They can become a design feature if after you make the mistake, you like it and make a deliberate choice to continue weaving the mistake. There is a common saying that the Amish deliberately make a mistake in every quilt because only God is perfect. My research says this is a myth. And by the way, did you know that Persian rug makers have this same myth (it would offend Allah to make something perfect so a flaw must be inserted) and so do Native Americans in reference to The Great Spirit. (Here’s just one of the pages I searched.)

I wove this for Little Looms and didn’t see the mistake until it was off the loom. This was impossible to fix, so I kept it and wove another for Little Looms. I wear this scarf all the time and only I know it has a mistake.

So, a mistake is a mistake. And if it is a mistake, it should be fixed. I get that this can be a little controversial. If you decide not to fix mistakes, that’s ok. We are weaving for fun and maybe mental health, and maybe to learn to let go of perfectionism. If it is going to cause you mental anguish or ruin your joy, then embrace your mistakes: this may be what you need to learn from weaving. And you are no less a weaver because you leave your mistakes. Occasionally I leave a mistake because it is so hard to fix, or I know it will never be seen…and if it has a mistake, I get to keep it!

However, if you are striving to improve your skills, you will want to learn how to fix mistakes. The good news is that most mistakes are pretty easy to fix! Today we are going to look at floats, the easiest of all mistakes to fix. First we’ll look at what a float is, how to prevent them, and finally how to fix them when they happen. (And they will!)

See the pink float?

A float is when the fibre does not follow the proper over/under sequence. When we use pick-up sticks we are adding floats to create a pattern. A float may not look like much on the loom, but it really pops after wet finishing.

Float prevention begins with good tension. A float generally happens because a warp end is loose. Learning to wind well and using good warp separators will help. Here’s a couple of videos of my favourite way to wind my warp onto the back beam. Video 1 and Video 2. If you like to use the “Crank and Yank” method, here’s another video.

This is not a result of poor winding, rather the pick-up pattern is causing tension issues! S-hooks to the rescue!

It is possible that you will have done everything right, and you still have a loose warp end. This is why you should have s-hooks on hand! Just slip one on the loose end and it will add just enough tension to tighten up that end. If you don’t have s-hooks, get creative! A clothespin, pen, Lego blocks, or pill bottles will all work. Anything that will attach to the warp thread will work. I like s-hooks because they move with your warp as you wind forward.

Pay attention as you weave. My floats usually happen when I am weaving an up-shed. I can check for floats before the shuttle leaves the shed by flipping it up on edge and glancing to make sure there are no unusual spaces or extra ends on the stick.

Sometimes a float gets past me, and I don’t want to unweave. Floats can be easily fixed off the loom. In fact, I will often choose to fix the floats off the loom rather than unweave. (I hate unweaving, it does not bring me joy!)

You might need a little extra courage the first time you fix a float, after that you should have no troubles! The only tool you need is a darning needle. I have however been known to use my phone camera as a magnifying glass on really fine weaves.

I like to fix my floats before wet finishing. You might be able to see the fix before wet finishing, but it will disappear after wet finishing.

1.      Pull out the offending warp to the mistake. It will be ok, I promise!

2.     Thread the end into the darning needle and weave it back into the fabric (see the pictures below).

3. Be sure that you follow the pattern correctly if you have a pick-up pattern.

There! Now you can prevent and fix your floats, happy weaving!

Help! I've Used Mohair for Warp!

We’ve all put a warp on our loom and regretted it later. Sometimes we even know ahead of time that it isn’t a good idea and we do it any way! And if you’re like me, when it comes off the loom and is so beautiful and soft and cuddly and you just love it so much, you promptly forget how terrible it was to weave and you actually choose to do it all over again!

Today we’re going to look at mohair. Specifically the really fuzzy mohair. You definitely need the right mindset to weave with this as warp. Usually I limit myself to using this as weft, but occasionally I have a moment of weakness and think “how bad can it be?” I assure you, it can be bad, but I’ve put together a list that will hopefully make it easier for you.

First, use a bigger reed than you think. Remember all that fluff is going to spread. And the fluff will hold everything together, so if the work looks you’re weaving a window screen, it’s ok! Second, prepare yourself mentally. This will be a slow weave. You will need to clear sheds, maybe every single one. Keep the finished project in mind. Have a good audio book downloaded, or a podcast or a binge-worthy show ready to go! I also have a nice cup of tea. (But I always have a nice cup of tea!)

Ok, the mind is ready, let’s look at the actual weaving! Here are my tips to help you survive and thrive!

1. Insert a shuttle or pick-up stick in the down-shed behind the heddle and push it to the back. That will clear your down-shed...just slide it forward on edge each down-shed or as needed. Make sure that it is longer than the width of your project.

2. Keep your tension high. I always have a high tension, but this is especially important with a fuzzy or sticky warp. Mohair is strong, it is not going to break under tension. (If you need a reminder of this, try breaking it with your hands…can’t be done without leaving deep, painful, grooves!)

3. When moving from the down-shed to the up-shed, pull the heddle slightly higher than usual to help clear things out. I actually lift the heddle so that the reed is completely above the heddle block, then lower it in to the block. You will probably still need to clear the shed some.

4. The fuzz builds up behind the heddle...this binds the warp ends together. Regularly clean out that fuzz! I wish had taken a picture of this…the fuzz is amazing, both behind the reed and under the loom. There is so much fuzz that you might consider masking up.

5. Send the shuttle through the shed close to the reed. When the shuttle is fully inserted into the shed, flip it on edge to check you have gone under every end and have no floats. Then, while the shuttle is still in the shed, slide it down to the weaving (the fell line). This makes sure the ends are all separated and will make it easier to bring the reed forward.

6. Finally, don't try to unweave! Fix any floats after the work is off the loom!!

Of course, these tips will work with any sticky warp, not just mohair, so, now that you know how to weave a sticky warp, it’s time to put the knowledge into action. Go see what’s in your stash and put it on your loom! A single skein of hand-dyed mohair with a lace-weight weft is beautiful! (picture 1 below). Need some inspiration? Try these: Saori-Style Scarf or Lighter Than Air. I promise that they won’t be terrible to weave, but these tips may come in handy!