Trim. Thread. Loom.
Materials: Inkle loom, #5 Pearl Cotton
Just because
"If I can do it, so can anyone." -THL Arabella de Mere
I've made reference before of the one who got me involved in the SCA, and she has also gotten me into a few art forms: kumihimo, learned at my very first event, which was a novice schola, learning what's period by way of garb and what's not, and most recently, inkle weaving.
I have watched Arabella from the beginning of her weaving grow exponentially. Her talent amazes me. If you haven't seen her blog, please check it out - it's worth it.
My first warp was 16 strands of #5 DMC pearl cotton: rainbow, edged in black. It was a practice piece that I am surprisingly happy with! This warp gave me the chance to get a feel for tension and how hard to beat between shed passes. It took me approximately a week and a half, including waiting for a task light to be delivered. I have approximately 83" of completed weave, and I may use it as border trim on a Viking hood.
In true "I learned it by watching (Arabella) you" form, my second warp is 73 strands. I've got about 2" of it completed at the time of this writing, but I'm finding the left-to-right tension much easier with the wider area to play with. My goal initially was to use this for trim and shoulder straps for a Viking apron dress, but it may turn itself into a strap for a Hedeby bag. We'll see what it says it wants to be as it goes on.
Decidedly... I like inkle weaving!
My second
Things I Learned:
-Make sure you tie your heddle strings TIGHT! If they pop, it could take some digging to figure out which string it was, and it may be difficult to tie back down.
-I learned how to tie down a heddle string right smack in the middle of a 73 strand warp.
-Proper lighting is your friend! I purchased a clip on LED task light just for this purpose, and it was worth every penny.
-Your finished piece will be slightly smaller once it's off the loom because it won't have the tension holding it anymore.
-There is a pattern generator that is SO MUCH FUN to play with.
-Use a popsicle stick at the start of your weave to help it stay where you want it, and have a nice even line to start from
-If you have floating threads, unweave to that point and make sure your shed isn't getting stuck on heddle knots.
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