Tammy Bast 3/22/19 Tammy Bast 3/22/19

More About Yarn

I love yarn. I love how it looks on the shelf all neat and tidy. I love petting it and feeling the different textures. I love the feel of it running through my fingers, some so soft and smooth you hardly feel it, others can leave a groove in my finger if I wind too fast. Cotton, wool, silk, alpaca, yak, llama, bamboo, linen, cashmere…it’s all beautiful. Each has it’s place in weaving. Nearly anything can be used for weft. Even non yarns like lavender stalks, cloth strips, wood slats or strings of beads. Choosing the right warp yarn takes a little more care.

Warp threads refers to the long end to end fibres that run the length of a scarf, placemat or bolt of fabric. Warping the loom means placing each of those threads on the loom in a neat orderly way with no twists and an even tension. The threads need to be under enough tension to allow them to rise and lower to create a clear shed for the weft to pass through. Even 1 loose thread can cause havoc in a project. It’s the tension that can cause problems when choosing a warp yarn and that’s what we’ll discuss today.

If you’re willing, you can warp with almost any yarn on a rigid heddle. A rigid heddle needs less tension than a floor loom and using a stick shuttle rather than a boat shuttle helps with a challenging warp. The one thing to really steer clear of is a loose spun yarn particularly if it is a single ply. How can you tell if it is loose spun? First, take a look, does it look like its been twisted a lot or just a little? Next, pull on it. Hold your hands about a foot apart and gently pull. Does the yarn drift apart? If yes, this will not make a good warp! If it breaks with a snap it’s probably ok.

Top yarn snapped, bottom yarn drifted apart

What about a thick and thin yarn? If you look at a thick and thin yarn you will see that the thin bits have lots of twist and the thick bits have very little (there is a sciency reason for this, but we don’t need to know it to appreciate the yarn!) Do the pull test…the twist in the thin bits *might* be enough to hold the thick bits together if you are willing to fiddle a bit and repair a thread or two. In my experience the trouble is worth the texture created by a thick and thin yarn. The pull test is useful, but don’t eliminate a fibre just because it fails this test. Try 5 or 6 ends together and see what happens. There is strength in numbers and while a single thread may not have the strength to withstand the pull test, many threads working together may.

The second consideration when choosing warp is the abrasion test. A warp end will break because it is pulled too tight or because it shreds. Put a piece of the yarn through a hole in the heddle you want to use and rub it back and forth. Does the yarn start to shred? And if so, how quickly? If it shreds in just a few swipes I’d avoid it. Unless you really love it in which case *maybe* thread a few ends as accents in slots only. If it takes a couple dozen rubs, go for it. If you don’t like the fuzz that is created by the abrasion advance your warp more often. Alternatively, you can reduce the abrasion to almost zero if you use a hair pick to press the weft into place rather than the heddle.

This failed the pull test, I used it anyway and love the result…and did’t break a single thread!

There are people in the weaving world who will say “never use this or that” for warp. They have good reasons for this. I’m sure the rules they follow ensure that they have a successful (and enjoyable) project every time. I’m the Rogue Weaver for a reason. I don’t follow rules well, in fact, I see them as a challenge. It means that not all my projects work out. Or they do but the process wasn’t as smooth as I might desire. But I weave for pleasure not production. When weaving for pleasure, we might be more willing to fiddle to create just the effect we want. And who knows what you might inadvertently discover by trying something different? There are no Weaving Police, so go ahead, break the rules, try something a little risky and have fun!

Tammy Bast 3/15/19 Tammy Bast 3/15/19

What Yarn Should I Use?

Asking what yarn you should use is a bit like asking what you should eat. There are no right and wrong answers, it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Even as I have started to write this, I’ve realized there are just too many answers for one blog. Today then, we will talk about what you want to make and I’ll give some of my favourites. This post will give you some guidelines to consider but will not pretend to know everything, or even very much!

A small sample I wove before making a shirt

What do you want to make? This is a key question. A light summer wrap will use very different fibres than something intended to withstand the winter winds! A floor rug needs to be tough and heavy (or be backed with something to stop it from slipping everywhere) but also easy to care for. Tea towels need to be absorbent and washable. Placemats need to be heavy enough to stay put. A shirt needs to have a nice drape but not be see though, but a sweat shirt or hoodie is ok with less drape.

This is where sampling can save you! Take the time to weave and finish a 12” piece. Measure it before and after finishing so you know what the shrinkage is. Handle it. If it’s going to be sewn try sewing a little bit of it. It’s better to know now that the sett needs to be higher or lower or that it feels awful than after you’ve woven 3 meters!

A summer shawl is meant to be light. Just enough to protect from a light breeze or maybe protect your shoulders from the sun. My summer shawl favourites are fingering or lace weights, silk, silk blends, linen, and tencel. Pairing the fingering warp with a lace weight weft is also lovely and a great way to let a special hand dyed warp really shine. Using a sticky yarn (mohair for example) allows you to use a wider sett creating a very airy fabric.

Airy Mohair and Silk

Sooo drapey!

Barely there weft!

Alpaca or wool in a worsted weight make a fabulously warm and quick weave for winter. Using a thick and thin yarn adds a lovely texture without any extra work. Or a simple waffle weave gives a really cushy feel. Long repeats in warp and weft can give a plaid effect without you ever needing to change colour! Since alpaca is so warm, fingering weight is also a good choice for fall and winter. A woven blanket can also double as a cozy wrap.

Unmercerized cotton, cotolin and linen and hemp are great in the kitchen. Tea towels, dish clothes, placemats, or floor rugs. They are all washable and hard wearing…meant to be used! (do not use fabric softeners when washing towels, they will become less absorbent) On my rigid heddle I like to use my 10 dent reed and 2/8 cotton or cotolin doubled for tea towels. For placemats I use a 7.5 heddle and 4/8 cotton doubled. For a rug try warping with 4/8 cotton and using old sheets or t-shirts or jeans for the weft.

Weaving for clothing a whole topic on it’s own. But as a general rule, think about drape and thickness. The fabric will be cut and sewn…always finish your fabric before cutting! Think about the thickness of seams. Everything I’ve woven has been much heavier than any store bought fabric. You’ll want to find patterns to suit your fabric and think about the best way to finish the seams with the least bulk. Investing in a walking foot and an overlock foot will make sewing much easier.

Tammy Bast 3/8/19 Tammy Bast 3/8/19

Design Your Own Shawl Pt 2--Choosing the Right Reed

There are so many places you can start once you have decided that you want to make a shawl. Today we are going to start with reed size. The reed you choose determines how many ends per inch (epi) the warp has. This in turn determines the density of your final fabric.

I use an ashford rigid heddle and it currently has the widest selection of reed sizes: 2.5, 5. 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15. To my knowledge it is the only rigid heddle with 2.5 and 15 dent reeds (I could be wrong, please correct me if I am) When paired with a double heddle option the Ashford looms can achieve 2.5, 5. 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25 and 30 epi when doing plain weave, making it possible to use almost any yarn you could want. When you consider the change in epi when threading for twill there are even more options (2 10 dents threaded for rosepath twill produces 12 epi for example).

But what is the best option for you? How do you choose the right reed? We will stick to simple today. There are two primary methods: 1, if you have already bought the yarn and 2, if you have a specific reed size.

1. You already have a beautiful yarn that you want to use. In this case, use the wrap test to determine the epi. There are some nice tools for this, or you can use a pencil or ruler. Wind the yarn around the tool or ruler for 1 inch and count how many wraps then divide the result by 2. The result will give you a rough idea of which reed to use. In my example, there are 18 wraps per inch (wpi), divide that by 2 and I get 9. The closest size reed is 10. Notice that the yarn isn’t pressed tight together or pulled tightly around the ruler.

2. You only have a 7.5 and a 10 dent reed. In this case, the yarn you choose will depend on the reeds you have available to you. Here is a general guideline. We’ll look at other things to consider next in this post.

2.5—super bulky

5—bulky/aran

7.5—aran/worsted/dk

10—sport/heavy fingering/4/8

12.5—fingering/heavy lace

15—lace/2/8

The above methods give you a place to start. Following these guidelines will likely result in a successful plain weave project as well as work for most pick up or finger controlled techniques. But there are other things to consider.

1. Are you using a superwash or non-superwash wool?

A superwash wool is not going to full as much as a non-superwash. So if you do your wrap test and the result is between 2 reed sizes (say 8.5) the wool will determine which reed is best. For superwash choose the 10, for a non superwash the 7.5 might be just fine.

2. What is the fibre?

Bamboo and Tencel—still lots of spaces in the weave

Pure silk, bamboo or tencel for example do not full as much as wool, alpaca, llama or angora. So again, consider how much fulling you can expect from the fibre and choose your reed accordingly.

3. Is the fibre spun worsted or woolen?

Woolen and worsted spun refer to how a wool is spun (not to be confused with worsted weight) Very simply, worsted is smooth and has the air squished out during spinning, while woolen is puffier because the fibres are every which way which holds in lots of air. Woolen will full more than worsted. It will also stick more to its neighbour so a wider sett might be preferable.

4. What is the end result you want?

Again, back to the wrap test. If we get a result of 9, going up to a 10 will give a slightly denser fabric while going down to the 7.5 will give an airier, more drapey fabric. Either can work depending on what you want. If you want placemats you might want a fairly dense material. A sticky yarn, like a mohair blend, will make a lovely stable fabric at a wider sett.

So, there you go, a “few” things to consider when choosing a reed size! Next week we’ll talk about choosing the actual yarn.

Tammy Bast 3/1/19 Tammy Bast 3/1/19

Design Your Own Shawl PT 1

I love to teach. I really don’t care what the subject is, just give me a group of people who are interested in learning, tell me what to teach and I’m happy. In fact, I’m on a bit of a high when I teach, I have boundless energy and endless patience. Some, maybe even some in my very own family, might suggest that what I really like about teaching is hearing my own voice. While I freely admit I can, (and do) talk a lot, what I am really interested in is helping my students learn what they want to learn.

*Disclaimer: If you are expecting a technical blog, this isn’t one. This was going to be technical, but it had a mind of its’ own. I *think* the next few blogs will be more technical discussing some of the things to think about when designing a project.

I may not be particularly planned and organized in my daily life, but I’m very organized in my teaching style. I spend a great deal of time thinking about the skills that need to be learned, topics that should be covered and writing a layout that includes time limits. This level of organization then frees me to teach as if I have no schedule. Counter-intuitive I know but it really works. Then there are classes that seem to defy organization. There is no linear way to get from beginning to end, it’s a big circle.

Last weekend I taught a “Design your own Shawl” class for rigid heddle weaving at Gaspereau Valley Fibres. It was one of those “where do I begin?” classes. And to be honest, the first time I have taught such a class. My previous classes have all had very clear steps (how to knit a sock, how to weave a double width blanket, how to weave log-cabin). Continuing with the honesty…I was a smidge anxious about many things the 2 weeks before the class. I had a failed weaving project that absolutely could not fail, a couple knit items on a (self-imposed) deadline and several things added into my normally quiet social life that I deemed important enough that I couldn’t say no. A few times I had to give myself a little lecture, “self, relax, take a deep breath, drink a cup of tea. If everything doesn’t get done, the world will go on.” My other self was a bit like a panicked bunny… “Do this first! No! Not that, this! No no! If you don’t do this first your whole world will end!” The lesson to be learned here is about self-importance. In the grand scheme of things, I’m not that important; if I don’t get things done the world won’t end…in fact it probably won’t even notice! (Don’t get me wrong, I think we are all valuable, myself included, and the things we do do matter, but not everything is a big thing)

But I digress…designing your own shawl. So many things to cover…choosing yarn, choosing the right reed, choosing colours, choosing patterns, calculating warp and weft amounts. And I am far from an expert on any of these topics; fortunately I don’t have to be: there are experts we can and should use. In the case of this class, I had notes and ideas and internet resources for the various topics and simply asked my students what they wanted to learn. In the end we covered all the topics in the morning. We put some of the resources to use over lunch to choose the right yarn and get enough of it and then spent the afternoon warping and beginning to weave.

The class flowed as if I had it perfectly choreographed from beginning to end. And best of all, each student learned exactly what they wanted to learn. I got all my stuff done on time, my failed weaving project is not a failure and I got to practice choosing to be calm!

Ps, I’d like to thank my husband and children who took up the slack by cooking, cleaning and not asking for anything while I spent the two weeks weaving and knitting and worrying like a mad-woman! They are awesome and I am so thankful for them!

Tammy Bast 2/22/19 Tammy Bast 2/22/19

My Favourite Hoodie

ave wanted a shirt like this my entire life. It’s a South American hoodie, or a Baja, and sometimes called a Drug Rug. I knew when I stared weaving that I would eventually weave one of these. With my resolution to make my own clothes, this year seemed like the right year to give it a try.

I have wanted a shirt like this my entire life. It’s a South American hoodie, or a Baja, and sometimes called a Drug Rug. I knew when I stared weaving that I would eventually weave one of these. With my resolution to make my own clothes, this year seemed like the right year to give it a try.

Usually these shirts are made of cotton. In South America that might make sense, but in Canada, in January, wool is a much better option: Briggs and Little wool.

I really like Briggs and Little. First, the sheep are raised in the Maritimes. Second, the wool is milled in New Brunswick, neighbour to my home in Nova Scotia. It’s a rustic yarn; some people find it a little scratchy. (If that’s you, try rinsing it in your favourite hair conditioner…it really helps.) Finally, I love Briggs and Little because it comes in so many incredible colours! It wasn’t hard to choose my colours.

Winding the warp is rather satisfying. All the threads look so straight and organized and it gives an idea of what the finished fabric will look like. Winding onto the loom went beautifully (only 1 mistake) and threading was straight forward. At 10 ends per inch, it was pretty quick too.

Initially I had planned the fabric as a plain weave but before threading I decided that a twill would be nicer. I was also a little concerned that plain weave might not have as much stability as twill for cutting and sewing.

It may seem like a small change, but changing from plain weave to twill makes for some significant changes. The biggest being how much weft is needed. Plain weave would mean 10 picks per inch, twill meant between 14 and 16…that’s half again as much weft required than I had initially calculated. I had to put the project on pause while I waited for more yarn to arrive. Also, and much less problematic, was the arrangement of the zigzag of the twill. Had I decided on this twill before winding the warp, I could have lined up the grey and black stripes a little better in the zigzag.

I’m getting much braver about cutting my weaving! I’ve also stopped zigzagging the cut edges. It caused the fabric to stretch a little and made the edges wavy. I’m still concerned about the cut edges unravelling after sewing though. I’m also trying to finish seams without too much bulk. Everything I’ve sewn, I’ve tried something different for the seams. I think this shirt is the best yet. It fits with my philosophy of “as pretty on the inside as the outside” and has virtually no bulk. I’m not so great at straight seams yet so this might actually be prettier on the inside than the outside! Each seam is sewn with a straight seam, and finished with an over-locked zigzag. Finally, I bought some ½” black sewing tape and sewed that over the seam.

I made a few changes to the pattern (are you surprised?). The hood was supposed to be lined and the front piece and pocket should be in a contrasting fabric. Not being a sewer I ran into a few problems. The front piece was a challenge to sew on, partly because it was supposed to be 2 pieces and I had only 1. So I made it up! Looks ok, but I will learn for the next time. I love my hoodie though, it’s my new favourite item of clothing. I see many more of these in my future! I also see variations…zippered jacket, a little more tailored, contrasting cuffs, lined with something soft and warm…

If you are wanting to make this hoodie, you can find the sewing pattern from www.interweave.com . The pattern is called “Baja Hoodie”

Tammy Bast 2/11/19 Tammy Bast 2/11/19

Sampling

I’ve been asked to design a pattern for an up coming Interweave publication. I am, needless to say, very excited, a little proud and quite nervous. They have published several of my patterns already but this is different. The previous ones I’ve sent pictures of finished projects and they either say yes or no. This one they actually contacted me(!) and asked if I would design something to certain measurements with yarn from a company of their choosing (I still got to choose the yarn). I have approximately 2 months to write a brief article, send in three reports (one of which must show the sampling process) weave the project, write the pattern and get the finished item back to Interweave.

I received the yarn this week and began sampling. It’s beautiful yarn! Wool with just a touch of silk, super soft and with lots of spring. I’ve never really sampled before. You know how I feel about sampling…I know its important, I just can’t convince myself to do it. However, that is part of this project, so sample I must! It’s been a valuable learning experience.

I wove a number of samples…if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it well. Sample #1 was 4 up 4 down honeycomb, 3/1 lace, 3 up 3 down honeycomb, and some waffle weave variations. Sample #2 was on a smaller reed and included a 3 up 3 down honeycomb, a variation on honeycomb, and a variation on waffle weave. Sample #3 was all plain weave with colour patterning and finally, sample #4 was 2 heddles to weave twill.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Weaving without sampling is like cooking without a recipe. It might turn out ok, but you might end up with a disaster!

2. Again, with the cooking analogy, a little spice is good, too much is not! The variegated yarn is beautiful but too much and all patterning is lost (this is supposed to be a log cabin pattern) Using a strong solid helps anchor the busyness of variegated yarn.

3. Just like in life, sometimes the rules change. I did the wrap test and determined that the 10 dent should be just fine. But it’s not for honeycomb; the back floats are much to long and the finished fabric is not what I had anticipated. Switch to a 12.5 dent and the floats are smaller and the fabric so squishy soft! But, use the 12.5 dent for plain weave and the bounce of the yarn is completely eliminated.

4. Again, just like in life, sometimes things are hidden until the end and we just need to faithfully persevere. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the twill on the loom. But you could not see the pattern at all. Even after soaking and drying the pattern was barely visible (actually, I was a little depressed as this was the most time consuming and I had the highest hopes.) But after pressing the pattern does show! (and you can see lesson 2 in action…see how the pattern shows best with the yellow warp and blue weft. This should be done with a solid warp and variegated weft)

So, am I a sampling convert? Probably not. It has its place and I will certainly consider sampling for large projects or projects that need to meet particular specifications. For the most part though I weave for my own pleasure and if something doesn’t turn out as planned I’m ok with it.

Tammy Bast 2/4/19 Tammy Bast 2/4/19

Trying to Create Order

My family likes to tease me. One of their favourite topics is my cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good cook, they like my food, but they also know they will never ever get the same dish twice! My cooking consists of choosing a couple ingredients I want to use, finding multiple recipes then taking a little from this one and a little from that one and replacing this with that… It drives my kids a bit batty. They want to make something I regularly make and ask for a recipe. I can tell them how to make it but I certainly don’t have a recipe or even consistent measurements! They’ve mostly given up asking. (They go to the recipe book my M-I-L put together instead!)

I weave the same way. I’ve only woven someone else’s pattern once (and even then I changed it). One of the things I find myself saying over and over at work is “patterns are just guidelines”. Now, if you want something exactly like the pattern you do need to follow the pattern exactly. But even something as simple as changing the fibre or colour can have a significant impact on the finished project.

There are pros and cons about weaving this way. Not being tied to a pattern gives you freedom to use whatever materials you have on hand…it also means that what you pictured in your head might not be what you get. Too much choice can lead to weaving paralysis (a condition that occurs when you have so many choices you get overwhelmed and quit before you ever get started or alternatively, spend the whole day putting different combinations together, thus accomplishing nothing, it’s a thing!).

I’ve had to pull myself together a bit though, and I’m sure it will be good for me in the long run. In a few weeks I will be teaching a “Design your own Shawl” class. I’m really excited about this; I love to teach, I love to inspire people and I love seeing people who thought they “couldn’t possibly” realize that yes they can!

Teaching requires order. Over the last few weeks I’ve been creating some order in my brain. Thinking through the weaving process from beginning to end. I can clearly see the end, but there are many different ways to get there. Should we start with yarn choice? Or available reeds? Or with what the desired end result is? Each of these is a viable starting point. At the same time, each can also be the wrong starting point. The more I think the more I realize how complicated weaving really is. And I start getting overwhelmed. And then I see all I have woven and I think “just do it, it’s only string!”

And it is only string. A weaving failure isn’t life altering. There are no long term effects. I’m not even sure that weaving failures exist. It’s really just learning what not to do. And if, in the end, your finished project holds together, that is success. You may hate it, but hold onto it because someday a friend will see it and absolutely love it!

Tammy Bast 1/25/19 Tammy Bast 1/25/19

Variety is the Spice of Life

I love weaving. I spend as much time as I can weaving. Sometimes I batch cook just so I don’t have to stop to cook. My family thinks I’m a little obsessed (they’ve never actually said it, but I can see it in their eyes). Occasionally though, I take a break…and turn to knitting, with the same obsessive zeal.

Last week my husband asked me to knit him a pair of mittens. This request is actually epic. I’ve been knitting for over 20 years and in all that time he has never asked me to knit him anything. A few years back I did knit him a pair of socks. But if I remember correctly I rhapsodized over the yarn, (Herriot Fine), said what a great sock yarn it was, how he needed a pair of socks, that I’d never knit him anything and surely that was wrong. He finally, just to hush me, said I could make him a pair of socks. (Yay! He pays for the yarn!) But, back to mitts and him asking, I jumped on it!

I wanted something super warm, but not bulky. That meant probably 2 colours. I also needed a design that looked sophisticated…something a particular accountant type might want to wear (symmetry and clean lines are important). I, of course, decided to design my own. A nice, subtle pinstripe look (sophisticated and clean) and Ultra Alpaca (super warm)

Ultra Alpaca usually uses a 5mm needle, I cast on with 3.75mm. I really wanted a smooth dense mitt. A vertical stripe takes longer to knit than horizontal, but also gives double density as one yarn is always carried behind. It was a bit of a challenge to shape the thumb gusset. The increases are worked over 2 rows, 1 for the main colour, one for the contrasting colour. I think it looks beautiful! My husband good naturedly tried on the mitten many times so I could make sure the fit was just right.

In the end, the first mitt was just a little off. Second mitt is perfect! I’m currently in the process of test knitting the pattern, need to make sure it is perfect before it will be available.

It’s great to have a passion, something that you love to do. It’s also important to take breaks. When I weave I am closed in my weaving room down in the basement. It’s quiet and peaceful and I can really focus on what I’m doing. On the other hand it so easy (maybe too easy) to block out the rest of the world. Knitting brings me back up into the main living area of our house. The place where everyone else hangs out most of the evening. As much as I love weaving, it is good to take a break.

Tammy Bast 1/18/19 Tammy Bast 1/18/19

One Goal Achieved!

n my first post this year I said I wanted to make the clothes I needed. Here’s the first! Consistent with my nature, I think I tackled the hardest one first. Not on purpose. I really, truly planned to start easy and work my way up to more and more complicated, but I got impatient! At the very end of December I warped both my looms; my rigid heddle with a lovely wool silk blend ( Rustic Silk by Ella Rae) for a shirt and my floor loom with some Briggs and Little Sock for a hoodie. The hoodie was supposed to be the easy project. But I ran out of yarn (that’s another story, I’ll tell you about it another time!).

In my first post this year I said I wanted to make the clothes I needed. Here’s the first! Consistent with my nature, I think I tackled the hardest one first. Not on purpose. I really, truly planned to start easy and work my way up to more and more complicated, but I got impatient! At the very end of December I warped both my looms; my rigid heddle with a lovely wool silk blend ( Rustic Silk by Ella Rae) for a shirt and my floor loom with some Briggs and Little Sock for a hoodie. The hoodie was supposed to be the easy project. But I ran out of yarn (that’s another story, I’ll tell you about it another time!).

Back to my shirt. I warped 4 yards, wove as much as I possibly could, slightly fulled the fabric (also known as felting on purpose) and ended up with just about 3 yards x 28” of gorgeous fabric. I admired it for a day or two while I wrestled with myself…find a pattern and just do it or be patient and get a little more experience. (The patience battle was lost before it ever began but waiting made it look like I was really trying to be disciplined. I did at least buy a pattern, initially I seriously contemplated making my own, so there is that!)

I scoured Pinterest and found exactly the shirt I was looking for. Flannel style, proper collar, hood option, full button up or half button option, long sleeve, short sleeve…the options are numerous. The pattern is called “Julianne” and I got it from The Do It Better Yourself Club (DIBY Club…they have a facebook group and can be followed on Instagram) Just so you know, buying a pattern online, printing it at home on a home printer and taping it all together is a lot of work. Worth it if you want it right away though! I spent an evening (and maybe early morning) printing, taping and cutting the pattern.

I wanted the full collar but after creatively laying out my pieces had to settle for the half collar. This is where planning and sampling are so important. I did actually weave a sample (!) but finished it differently. My fulling reduced the yardage significantly. Also, had I purchased the pattern before warping I would have known exactly how much fabric I needed instead of guessing. Even so, the cuffs were cut across the grain instead of with the grain and my inside yoke is two pieces not one.

And sewing! Here I really did slow down. My impulse is to sew until I’m done. (Sleep is definitely over-rated). I even sewed a few scraps first to see how the fabric would sew. For Christmas this year I got this fabulous kits with numerous sewing machine feet, one of which was a walking foot. Oh. My. Goodness. What a difference! The seams went together beautifully and the pattern matched. If you are tempted even a little to sew your weaving, get a walking foot. Also, the overcast foot! Amazing! Check out these seams!! Had high hopes for the rolled hem foot but my fabric was too thick. I sewed slowly and carefully. One thing about handwovens, you don’t want to have to pick a seam out. I did have one seam to rip out…sometimes instructions are confusing. I was surprised at how easy the sewing went together. I’m sure it is thanks to a great pattern…I highly recommend it. They even have videos if you need extra help (no, I’m not being paid to advertise).

Choosing buttons was fun! I took my shirt to work and laid out all the possibilities. After thinking I wanted something fancy, I ultimately choose the plain and simple. Square fit with the pattern and fancy was too much. Button holes were hard! I couldn’t use my button hole foot because it wouldn’t slide on the fabric. But if you are close enough to me to see my button holes clearly you are too close!

Over all, I’m really pleased with it! Cuffs need some work…on the next one, these ones are staying put.

Tammy Bast 1/11/19 Tammy Bast 1/11/19

Inspiration is All Around

You know you weave too much when you see weaving inspiration everywhere! I was on vacation recently. It was lovely: hot, sunny and chock full of inspiration. Mayan ruins, waves, the silky smoothness of sting rays, the exquisite patterning on the shell of a turtle. I’ve come home with so many new ideas that I hardly know where to begin.

That’s what I love about weaving, and especially rigid heddle weaving. I can look at everyday things and see how the colours and patterns can be worked into weaving patterns. I didn’t have my loom with me (I’m seriously considering a flip loom for future vacations) but I spent happy hours on the beach imagining how to weave a turtle shell pattern and thinking about combining the symmetry of the Mayan temples with lace “vines”. I wonder if chenille would feel as soft as sting rays?

Inspiration is all around us, we just need to look. My camera is my best friend. I see a colour combination I like, I take a picture. I see an interesting pattern I take a picture. A cityscape…take a picture. I have pictures of flowers (how can I weave a Queen Anne's lace?), spiders (check out the pattern on her back) seaweed (what an amazing colour).

Weaving is about creating something beautiful and useful, but it also about creating art. Taking what we see in nature or man made objects and bringing them into our art. The pictured scarf was made before we left, but it so beautifully shows the Mayan ruins. I’ll make another one…richer in colour and texture, showing the deep greens of the jungle that so quickly over runs anything man can build, combined with the structure and order that man attempts to bring to everything.

Tammy Bast 1/4/19 Tammy Bast 1/4/19

New Year, New Goals

One day I looked in my closet and my drawers and realized how many clothes I had. I decided to stop buying clothes. I figured if I couldn’t make it I didn’t really need it. I made a few exceptions…jeans and cashmere sweaters (both from our local second hand shop) and underwear (always new!) This was about three years ago. Last year around Christmas I gave in and bought a few things because they were so soft and warm. I love them, wear them lots but ultimately, I’m disappointed because they were intentionally designed to wear out. Did you know the fashion industry has invented micro-seasons and bring out a new line of clothing every week?! I don’t believe everything I read on the internet, but you might find this article interesting: http://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-truths-the-fast-fashion_b_5690575

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of clothes that don’t fit, that come with loose buttons or clothing that the seams wear through so very quickly. Also, I really hate shopping for clothes! So, I’ve bought and borrowed some sewing books, dusted off my sewing machine and plan to do some serious sewing this year. With my weaving. My goal is to be able to sew or knit everything I need (except underwear and bathing suits…I’m not that dedicated!) I expect there will be a few other exceptions, but I’ll look to secondhand shops first.

I don’t expect everyone to do this, or even most people. We all do what we are able and what we feel is important. For me, right now, making my own clothing will be fun. I have the time and the over full closet to back me up if it doesn’t work so well! My goals for the year are to make flannel style shirts, a baja style hoodie, casual pants and a wool coat. Big goals for a nearly non-sewer so I’ve got a couple little projects to try too: little project bags, unpaper towels, cute little lunch bags. Perhaps these little projects will encourage me to sample! I’ll keep you posted on my progress and welcome any advice, tips, patterns or websites you might recommend.

Tammy Bast 12/27/18 Tammy Bast 12/27/18

Colour

One of my biggest challenges when it comes to weaving is choosing colours. I know the basics of colour theory. Ok, I know about the colour wheel and how to mix the primaries to create the secondary colours. I even know a tiny bit about putting colours together. Weaving however, adds a whole new element. If my warp is red and my weft is blue, those colours will blend when my eyes see them and it will look purple. My two colours give birth to a new colour. And I’m not always sure how it will look , so I play it safe: I use the same colour way for both warp and weft or pick a variegated and pair it with a solid colour that is in the variegated or I stick to neutrals.

I recently tried to be a little more adventurous. Rowan Yarns has a lovely yarn called Felted Tweed. The green, yellow and orange were calling my name. I think it had to do with it being the height of fall and all the trees were yellow and green and orange. If nature can pull off those colours, so can I !

At the same time as getting adventurous with colour I decided to figure out how to use two heddles to create double weave only in certain parts of my weaving. And how to bring different colours to the front. And use an extra pick up stick in double weave to add more pattern. Have I told you I never start easy?

I ended up with fabric that holds together, so I guess that is some success. The rest really didn’t come together well. I'll stick to the colour issue for this post. A few things happened.

First, I used tweed. When a tweed yarn is spun, little bits of other fibers in contrasting colours are added to the wool. So my colours weren’t pure colours, they all had flecks of other colours mixed in. I experienced first hand what it means to have “muddy" colours.

Then, some of my patches have all three colours together. It’s not that using three colours is a bad thing, but add the tweed and it really doesn’t work so well. On the orange, the strongest colour, it works pretty well but using only 1 colour, or 2, works even better.

Proportions are important too. Using 3 colours in equal amounts might be ok for some projects, but using 1 colour sparingly can change ok to fabulous. Note in the first picture the primary colour is green, then yellow, and finally just a little bit of orange. All the colours look more distinct and the orange draws the eye. But use mostly orange (second pic) and it over powers the other colours.

I know that sampling is (part of) the solution to my problem but we all know how I feel about sampling! (Actually, this was a sample! I had no plans for the finished product and was ok if it didn’t work!)

Knowledge is also power. I just received a book about colour. It's not specifically a weaving book, but it tells me about colour, colour theory, gives numerous colour combinations and gives proportions as well as grouping them into families (soothing, neutral, bold, dynamic, powerful etc.). I'm looking forward to experimenting with new colour combinations!

Tammy Bast 12/17/18 Tammy Bast 12/17/18

Knitters are Never Alone

If you knit, you will never be alone.

Our cruise ship had about 4,200 passengers and 1,733 crew members. The 2nd day at sea we had an informal knit group that met every sea day. One lady was working on a massive crochet blanket…it travelled in it’s own suitcase! She finished it on this cruise. Another had only brought 1 sock project with her…she was knitting slowly so she wouldn’t finished too quickly. Still another was a beginner knitter making a cotton scarf because wool was too itchy. On the last day I saw her project…she had ripped it all out and started again because “it had holes”. Another brought a hat kit that she had bought on a previous cruise to Alaska. Still others came to the group thinking they were going to learn how to knit. (note to self, next time take some extra yarn and needles to share). The best part was even though we came from different places with different backgrounds we were instantly friends because we all loved yarn and creating.

Knitting brings people together. Often in the afternoon I would relax in the café with a cup of tea and my knitting. People I had never met before came over and asked about what I was making. Telling me about their mothers and grandmothers who knit. Asking about my wool, telling me about their current project (which they left at home and now regretted). Even the entertainment director shared how he had to learn to knit in school. Turns out it was actually latch hooking, but still, fibre related!

Knitting is a universal language. Not everyone on the ship spoke English, but it wasn’t a barrier to enjoying knitting together. Many women (and a few men) had to come and touch my project. And even if we couldn’t understand the words, we understood that we had a mutual love for fibre and creating. One of the crew members, trying to ask what I was making finally asked “what part of your body does this cover when you are finished?” Another lady in broken English painstakingly told me about the baby sweater she was making for her grandson. I saw her later knitting during a concert. Her sweater was beautiful!

The lesson I learned this cruise? If you want to make new friends, knit in public!

Tammy Bast 11/23/18 Tammy Bast 11/23/18

Enjoying Every Moment

I spent many years rushing through life, anticipating the next stage when the current stage had barely begun. Many things got done and accomplished but I don’t ever remember standing back and admiring what I had just completed. Before I had time to catch my breath I was onto the next task. I felt like I was living in fast-forward…some days I even felt like I was eating in fast-forward! And I get it, it was a busy time with 2 young children, a husband and a hobby farm. Life was full and tasks had to be completed.

When I started weaving I made a conscious decision to take my time and to enjoy every step…including the learning. This is contrary to my nature. I am impatient, eager to see the finished product, notice every mistake, fear making mistakes and therefore am very cautious. At the same time, I’m too impatient to wait to work up to complicated. I never start simple and I’m not much for slowing down and taking the time to learn slowly. This picture is a double-weave blanket after only 3 months of weaving!

I’ve partially succeeded. I do enjoy every step. I love the feel of yarn running through my hands. Seeing all those orderly lines of yarn and winding them onto the back beam is quite satisfying. Threading the heddle allows me to check for mistakes, think about what will be created and catch issues before they happen. It’s slow and rhythmical. Winding a tightly-packed shuttle. A neat, tidy hemstitch. Then finally, the weaving. Side to side with the shuttle, back and forth with the heddle. Many times, the actual weaving time is dwarfed by the time spent preparing the loom and finishing after the project is removed from the loom. A twisted fringe can take hours. (It’s the one part I haven’t convinced myself to love).

So orderly!

Tidy hemstitch

Colour!!

Do the twist

This deliberate decision to enjoy every moment weaving has spilled over into the rest of my life. Life is meant to be lived, enjoyed, savoured. I’ve begun to approach life more slowly, with a deliberate decision to enjoy every moment of it. Even the boring bits…laundry (it’s pretty satisfying to see a pile of neatly-folded laundry, or how about the warmth fresh from the dryer, or the smell when it comes in from the line). Or I look at my coffee table, overflowing with books and appreciated the variety (accounting textbooks, cookbooks, carpentry books, Puritan books, Bibles and philosophy books all mingled together!) I still want things tidied up occasionally but what interesting children I have! Even driving has taken on a new meaning. It’s not just about getting from point A to point B it’s a chance to see the glorious world we live in. (And the speed limit forces me to slow down and enjoy it for jut a little bit longer!)

Even a snowy drive becomes something to exclaim over

Sometimes we need to rush. And some stages will be enjoyed more than others. But your weaving is for you. Enjoy it. Stop every so often and just admire what your hands are creating. Take a deep breath and savour the rhythmic thumps and clicks of your loom. And let that peace and satisfaction permeate your whole life!

Tammy Bast 11/16/18 Tammy Bast 11/16/18

Learning is Hard Work!

I attended my first 2 spinning classes this past weekend. I’ve been spinning for about 2 years and, like everything else, I’m self-taught. The first class was a beginner class. I didn’t really need it, but hoped to learn some things I didn’t already know (which I did). It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room full of people who are all learning something for the first time and it was a reminder to me.

A little diversion this week. While not technically about weaving, the points at the bottom are directly transferable to learning to weave (or anything else).

My first day with my own wheel…concentrating hard!

Watching the group learn to spin I got to see a wide range of reactions to challenge. Deep looks of concentration, fumbling hands, whitening of knuckles, muttering (some positive some not so much), exclamations of delight or startled surprise.

Friday I watched other people struggle to learn, Saturday it was my turn. Spinning art yarn so it looks good is hard! My hands were clumsy, my feet forgot to treadle, or treadled too fast. I was the one talking to myself, sometimes so deep in concentration that I couldn’t hear what the instructor was saying. I spun a few mini skeins; they look surprisingly like the first few skeins I spun when I just learned to spin!

I learned a lot this weekend:

A cup of tea soothes the frazzled nerves

Learning means making mistakes. Except they aren’t really mistakes, it’s just learning how not to do something. Learning how not to do something is just as important as learning how to do something
Learning is gradual so we need to go easy on ourselves. Cheer when the fingers get it right even if the feet don’t. Cheer when the yarn is so twisted it can’t feed onto the bobbin. Over twisted yarn means you are getting twist!
Learning continues to happen when we take breaks. When the tension was high our instructors suggested we take a break, have a cup of tea or coffee and a treat. While we were resting our bodies, our brains were free to process what we had learned and to file some muscle memory. And it worked! Coming back to our wheels after even a brief break the anxiety in the room was lower and real yarn began to fill bobbins.
Learning takes a lot of energy. We can’t focus on everything all at once. It’s ok to go back to an easier step. It’s ok that we can’t listen and do at the same time or that we mess up every time we try to talk. And if you are a teacher, this is especially important to remember!

I’d love to hear about your learning experiences. What helps? How do you keep a positive outlook?

My 2nd and 3rd skeins plied and knit. Plying hides a multitude of sins!!

Tammy Bast 11/9/18 Tammy Bast 11/9/18

Mistakes and What to do about Them

Have you ever been so caught up in the actual doing of a project that you aren’t really paying attention to the details? Everything is flowing smoothly. Than you step back to look at what you’ve done, and BAM! There it is. A glaring mistake and you’re thinking “how in the world did I miss that???” Now you must decide what to do with it.

Sometimes Mistakes Happen

I was very happily weaving away on a scarf and it was going beautifully! I’d figured out how to place the pickup stick so the selvage threads were always picked up, the beat was even, everything was perfect. Until I stopped for a minute and saw THE MISTAKE. It glared at me. I glared back. I called my daughter over and asked if she could see it. She could. If her lovely (but untrained) eyes could find it, so could everyone else. I glared at it some more. I had to make a decision.

Some people say that mistakes are “design features” or they prove that an item really is handmade. Others say if you want perfect buy machine made. So, what are we to do with mistakes? Sometimes I do leave mistakes. 1 extra pick in a log cabin pattern will never be noticed. Sometimes the fibres involved don’t allow for correcting mistakes unless it is caught immediately. Mohair, for example, is very difficult to unweave. Sometimes unweaving will damage the integrity of the finished project. Sometimes the error will be easier to fix after I’ve removed the project from the loom. But mistakes are mistakes. And it’s okay to make them. It’s also okay to decide to leave them. Sometimes though mistakes need to be fixed.

I glared a little more at mine then got out the scissors. I could have unwoven the work and saved the yarn but in this case, given the fineness of the warp, the stickiness of alpaca, and the length of the mistake, I decided that cutting out the weft was the best option. It hurt a little to snip the weft threads. And I was terrified I would accidentally snip the warp.

It was worth it. Mistakes that look small on the loom tend to grow after finishing. This one would have glared at me every time I looked at that scarf.

Tammy Bast 11/2/18 Tammy Bast 11/2/18

The Magic of Finishing

I just finished a project this weekend. The whole time I was weaving I was feeling a little disappointed because it just wasn’t looking the way it ought. I was weaving a traditional hounds tooth pattern for the first time. But the hounds tooth wasn’t looking properly toothy. In my head I knew that once it came off the loom and was properly finished everything would be fine but my eyes were having troubles believing.

When a weaver uses the term “finishing” it doesn’t necessarily mean that the project is complete. Finishing (also called fulling) refers to the process of washing/soaking and drying the fabric to allow the fibres to plump up (full) and pull together (this isn’t technically accurate, but a very simple explanation of what it looks like happens). It gives the fabric stability and structural integrity. And it’s a little bit magical. Suddenly a loose weave that your fingers can easily poke through become fabric. A pattern that couldn’t be seen on the loom appears. And reed lines disappear

Reed Lines

Reed Lines Gone!

Before Finishing

1/2" less after finishing!

When I look at my weaving on the loom I can usually see right through the fabric. If the fibres are pressed too tightly in the weaving process then during the finishing process, when the fibres try to move, there is no space and the resulting fabric is very dense and thick. (I discovered this on my very first project). There are times when you want your weaving to be very tight (when making a rug for example) but usually at least a little bit of drape is desired.

When I finish a project I take it off the loom and straight to the washing machine. I fill the tub with hot water, add a little bit of eucalan and agitate just long enough to mix the eucalan. I then very gently add my project and push it under the water to make sure it is fully submerged. Then I leave it alone for about 1/2 hour just to soak. After the 1/2 hour I run the spin cycle. (At no time is the project actually agitated, only soaked and spun—unless I’m using cotton, then I run a regular hot wash cycle) I take it from the washing machine and throw it in the dryer and dry for about 10 minutes. Sometimes it takes a little longer than 10 minutes to get the density I want and I’ll give it a few more minutes.

In the case of my houndstooth scarf, it took 20 minutes in the dryer. Everything pulled together. The teeth are toothy, the scarf is drapy and it was so soft my daughter couldn’t keep her hands off it!

Nice and Toothy!

A Scarf

A Poncho

A Cloak

Tammy Bast 10/26/18 Tammy Bast 10/26/18

The Making of a Rug

I’m always interested in trying something different. In a previous post I mentioned having a little sitting room. It’s the coziest room in the house. The only thing missing is a rug for the floor.

As soon as I saw this yarn I knew that it was perfect. The colours are exactly the same as the picture on the wall! It even has a tiny bit of purple.

As soon as I saw this yarn I knew that it was perfect. The colours are exactly the same as the picture on the wall! It even has a tiny bit of purple.

I’ve said before that sampling is very important, but I never do it. I tell everyone that they should always sample. But I hate it, I just want to weave. I might have learned my lesson with this one though. I wanted a good sturdy rug but also wanted the yarn, not the cotton, to take center stage. I warped the cotton double and very quickly realized it would overwhelm the yarn. I ended up unthreading half the cotton

Plain weave is beautiful, but I wanted some texture for this mat. I thought I would try pulling loops out to create a diamond pattern. Then I needed something to hold the loops in place. In the end I wove one row yarn pulling out individual loops and giving them a little twist, then a row of cotton pressed firmly to hold everything all together.

I’m really pleased with the results. It shrunk more than I had anticipated (I warped for 32” width, finished it is only 24”) and boy it takes a lot of yarn on to make all those loops! But I love the texture! It’s possible I am going to need a bigger loom though; I’d love to make this wider and longer. Longer I think it would make a fabulous hall runner. In my little sitting room though it is perfect!

Tammy Bast 10/19/18 Tammy Bast 10/19/18

Double Width Weaving

Some People might think that a rigid heddle loom is just a beginner loom. The loom to get if you can’t get a “real” loom. But a rigid heddle loom, even one that is small, has endless potential. Mine is a 32”. It’s about as big as I think I can comfortably weave on with stick shuttles. But I just recently wove a 48” blanket, in one piece. And the pattern is actually designed for a 24” loom.

Double Width Weaving

What? 48” on a 24” loom? How does that work? It’s really quite simple. All you need are 2 heddles, a double heddle kit and a couple pick up sticks. The trick is to create 2 layers to weave at the same time. On the loom, it looks like one layer, but if you look from the side, you will see 2 layers. One side closed, one side open. When the blanket comes off the loom, you can open it up and voila! A blanket twice the width of the loom! This was actually the first weaving class I taught. The hardest part is setting up the loom. We started at 10 am and finally got to the actual weaving at about 3pm! If that seems a bit daunting, relax, we took breaks and we waited until everyone completed each step before moving on. With practice, it takes just a few hours to get to weaving.

I love working with the Berroco Ultra Wool for double width weaving. It’s 100% superwash wool, it isn’t too stretchy or sticky and it fulls beautifully. Plus there are dozens of colours to choose from. The wash-ability means that it is perfect for baby blankets. But there is no reason to limit this to only a blanket. It makes a great wrap…check out the drape! Or picnic blanket. Take it camping, dress up your living room or carry it in your car for emergencies.

The colours of this blanket were inspired by a trip to Lunenburg, NS. Lunenburg is a beautiful seaside town with the typical brightly painted houses. I was amazed by the number of shades of orange houses. Clementine and orange, orange and purple, orange and green. And they all looked beautiful! I really wanted a tiny bit of yellow/green in this blanket, but we didn’t have it and I was too impatient to wait for it, so orange and rust it is. I took many pictures of the houses though, I’m sure they will inspire other colour combinations in the future.

Want this blanket for yourself? Click here to purchase.

Tammy Bast 10/12/18 Tammy Bast 10/12/18

My Craft Room

I dream of a ‘ real’ craft room. I think all crafters do. I dream of a big airy space filled with giant windows and sunshine. And sky lights! My dream room has a big center work table, my 32” rigid heddle, room for a 60” 8 shaft loom, a wall of shelves to keep all my skeins and cones and fibres for spinning in view and easy reach. A corner for spinning and a corner for planning, drinking tea and dreaming.

I’ll bet you also have a dream craft room. But so much can be done without it. I am fortunate enough to have a craft room. It’s pretty tiny, an 8’ x 9’ basement room. (One small window, no sun) Until recently it held a 36” 4-shaft floor loom, a 32” rigid heddle loom, a dresser that acted as storage and sewing station, a warping station, a spinning wheel and a dressmaker’s dummy. I really couldn’t move in it. Both the spinning wheel and the rigid heddle loom needed to move out to be used. So they moved into the rec room. (Come on, be honest, your craft stuff is quietly taking over your house too!) The rec room worked well until my husband’s office moved into it. I may have shed a tear. Then I pulled myself together and redirected my takeover. My rigid heddle temporarily moved into the living room (along with all my rec room furniture, it was a mess!) I didn’t have room to warp so it moved into the kitchen or to the back deck for the warping process.

In the office moving process, we freed up a room in the house (the old office). I seriously considered just taking over that room (in addition to the one I already have) but decided that wasn’t really fair (my kids think they need space too) so I took over the closet instead. It isn’t very wide but it is quite deep. I moved my dresser/sewing station, dressmaker’s dummy and spinning wheel into it. I can close the door and we have a lovely sitting room. I can open up the closet and have a lovely sewing station or pull out my wheel to spin. And my rigid heddle moved back down to the basement craft room. Except when I’m doing a longer warp, then it moves to the kitchen, or I’m using the full width, then it’s back in the living room.

So don’t let lack of space stop you from weaving. If it weren’t for the floor loom I could quite easily manage without a room altogether. If my house were more open I wouldn’t need a room even with the floor loom. If you really want to do something you can make it happen in the space you have. You get creative, find solutions and weave on.

Do you have a dream craft room? Or have you found ways to manage in small spaces? I’d love to hear about them!