Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Search Results for: cutting

Cutting handwoven cloth, one method

by 3 Comments

*This post contains affiliate links
Cutting a length of cloth of the loom is so exciting! But then what? If you’re not leaving a fringe you have to finish the fabric somehow, and if you’re cutting into it you may be afraid of unravelling. This is a great, easy method to use for either finishing to hem or if you need to cut into the fabric.

Firstly, once off the loom, the fabric needs to be wet finished and dried before you consider cutting.

When you’ve determined your cutting line (whether it’s at the end of the fabric or somewhere else) cut a length of light, fusible interfacing the length of the cut and about 2 inches in width. It must be the fusible type or this won’t work. Iron it so that your cutting line is roughly in the middle (so you have half of the interfacing on either side of the cut line). For me, the cut line was where the end of the woven fabric met the beginning of the fringe. Cover with a pressing cloth and iron until fused. 

The underside of the fabric now looks like this, nothing is really visible from the front side.

 Using your cutting line as a guide, serge right across. Can you see where the fringe begins and woven cloth ends? That was my guideline for serging. If you don’t have a serger, a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine will suffice, but the serger definitely does a superior job. Janome is a reliable brand if you are in the market for a serger.

Now you have a neat serged edge. The threads are completely secure and haven’t moved in the serging process due to the interfacing fixed in place. From this point you can go on to use your fabric according to your plans or begin to hem.

To finish the fabric with a hem, I fold over the serged edge once and iron down flat.

Then a second fold to enclose the serged edge and interfacing, press with the iron once again and pin in place if you wish.

Sewing the hem can be done by machine or hand. I used my machine with a straight stitch, close to the folded edge at the back. My machine is a very simple and straightforward Janome, although mine is an older model you can see something similar here.
Voila! Easy peasy and all secure, no loose or displaced threads and the interfacing gives extra support when hemming!


I have a Youtube video covering this topic for your further research.

Corn Flake Slice (easy recipe!)

by 4 Comments

Corn flake slice is one of those absolute classic grandma recipes.

I got my corn flake slice recipe from my mother in law and have used it so many times. It’s a real hit with children of all ages and was often featured in shearing sheds at smoko time.

One of the great things about a recipe like corn flake slice is that it’s so quick and easy to bake up with ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry already – no special shopping trips for fancy ingredients.

If you don’t have corn flakes in your home supply already, they are easy to come by and one of the most affordable cereals.

You will also want to have a basic slice tin (you might know it as a brownie pan). I find it well worth having this specific tin size, I use mine all the time.

Corn Flake Slice (very, very easy!)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 125 grams butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup cornflakes
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to a moderate (around 180 degrees celsius or 170 fan forced).
  • Melt butter and honey together.
  • Add to mixed dry ingredients.
  • Place in a shallow slice tin, press to even and flatten out a little.
  • Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 15 minutes) and leave in tin to cool.
  • Turn out and cut into squares.

It’s important to let your slice cool completely before cutting so that it hardens and holds together. Store in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this vintage recipe that was handed down to me.

Happy Baking!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

Soft White Sandwich Bread

by 3 Comments

Jump to Recipe

I’ve been making bread for a very long time now but there is one thing that many of my loaves were lacking – lightness and softness.

My loaves were often on the dense side, not in an unpleasant way, actually in quite a substantial way, but I did have the desire to be able to make a lighter bread if I wanted to – more like a bakery style sandwich loaf.

So I started testing ingredients and methods and investigating bakery methods.

There are a few things I stumbled upon that led to the formulation of this recipe:

  1. A higher yeast proportion for a faster rise plus using sugar for taste and fast rising
  2. The addition of butter
  3. A long mixing time with the mixer

Using a mixer with a dough hook takes a lot of work out of it for you and just kneads up the most beautiful dough.

I have an older model Kenwood mixer, it does the job OK, but if and when I have to replace it I think I would be leaning towards a Kitchenaid or something similar.

The bread is quite sweet and you could definitely reduce the sugar (though each batch does make 2 loaves) or you could also substitute honey. Other sweeteners I’m not sure on as I haven’t used them.

Personally I don’t use fancy bread tins, just something similar to these rectangle loaf tins and I line them with parchment baking paper on a roll that I then save a reuse many times, this really cuts down on dishes to wash.

Soft Sandwich Bread

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg White baker's flour
  • 620 ml Warm water
  • 3.5 tsp Instant dried baker's yeast
  • 3 tbs White granulated sugar
  • 2.5 tsp Salt
  • 2 tbsp Butter (room temperature)

Instructions
 

  • Place yeast, sugar and warm water in a mixer bowl. Allow to sit until the yeast froths (5-10 minutes).
  • Add flour and salt and mix on low until ingredients start to incorporate. Keep mixer going as you add softened butter, a couple of cubes at a time. 
  • Turn mixer up to level 1 and allow machine to knead dough for 10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and soft and pull away from sides of bowl.
  • Oil bowl lightly, cover with plastic wrap and leave in warm place until dough has doubled in size (may take 45 minutes to 1.5 hours or even longer if placed in a cool place). 
  • Divide dough into 2. On a lightly floured surface, press each piece out with your hands into a rectangle shape. Roll the rectangle starting at one short end, tucking in ends a little as you go. Pinch the seam lightly. Place in baking tin lined with parchment paper with seam side down. Do the same to the other loaf. (Don’t fuss over this part, just try to get a seam at the bottom)
  • Cover lightly with plastic wrap and leave until risen, this can take 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 200C (fan forced) or 210 conventional.
  • Bake loaves for 35mins.
    Allow to cool on a rack before cutting.

The bread is freshest when eaten on the same day but it makes wonderful toast for days after that!

I love eating it toasted and topped with eggs from our homestead. The bread also freezes well, I leave the loaves whole to freeze, or you could cut into smaller pieces if you need less bread at once.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you try it out I would love your feedback 😊

Would you like to see just how I make this bread? Check out my instructional video:

Until next time…

Happy Baking!

This post contains affiliate links. For more details please see my disclosure policy.

Should I abandon my project?

by 20 Comments

The other day, I cut the warp off my loom way before I was finished the project.

But let me explain!

This project was literally months in the making, from dressing the loom (which I did in stages and just that step alone was worked on over weeks!) to tweaking the loom, to the actual weaving.

This was my first “big” project on my countermarch loom and I felt I was ready for it. I ordered the threads and made my plan – a full width warp (almost 60″), very long (I don’t even remember how many yards I initially put on), fairly fine threads and a 4 shaft, straight draw twill. The plan was to weave enough yardage for 2 skirts. I like long skirts, so wanted plenty of fabric.

So, what went wrong with this grand plan?

Probably too many things to include here, but here were the main issues:

  • I warped at my warping board and then used the plain beam to warp. Given that it was such a long and wide warp, this was very difficult to do on my own and achieve a suitable tension.
  • I discovered what weaving a wide warp is like. It’s harder than I thought. It put a lot of strain on my back, having to reach and shuffle across my weaving bench with every throw of the shuttle.
  • My sheds were… not good! A result of my poorly tensioned warp.
  • I really should have practiced more with the “new to me” countermarch loom before attempting a project of this magnitude.

It was just a struggle from the beginning and there were no real “ah” moments of settling in and getting into a happy weaving groove with it. It was mostly troubleshooting and battling.

I spent a lot of time at the loom, trying to work through it. I did not want to waste all that warp yarn I still had left.

But eventually it became too much, a built up stress in my mind and I took the scissors and cut the warp off.

PHEW! What a relief! At this stage, I have a little bit of useable fabric and no regrets for the wasted warp. I chalk it up to a learning experience, and boy, did I learn a lot!

I decided to make a list of positive and negative outcomes of this whole experience to see how they balanced out:

The positive outcomes

  1. In my attempt to make this project easier, I attached the flying shuttle race, which I had not yet tried on this loom. I was hoping it would improve my edges and speed up my weaving. Guess what I learned? I don’t like to use a flying shuttle! My edges were worse and the flicking action required for the shuttle irritated my old wrist injury.

2. I bought an end feed shuttle. This was my next attempt to improve my weaving experience, and yes it did and I’m super glad to now have an end feed shuttle in my weaving tool kit. I will be using it frequently!

3. There was a lot of loom/tie up/tension problem solving to do. So, even though it wasn’t a good project for me, it did help me to get to know my loom better and fine-tune things that needed it.

4. I learned that large and long projects in a basic twill are boring for me. I still love the idea of weaving larger projects like blankets, but would choose my weave structure and pattern more carefully.

5. Here is something really important this project taught me. It’s OK to abandon a project!

The negative outcomes

  1. I did feel guilty for wasting yarn. I’m a careful, frugal person in general – I use the material goods I’m blessed with wisely and it went against my natural inclinations to waste yarn when I know there are others who would just love to be able to afford some yarn.

However, the positives have outweighed the negatives considerably and I am glad that I made the decision.

*This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

So, what is my advice to you?

I am frequently asked about abandoning projects, which is the reason I’m sharing this in the first place. I always encourage a weaver to press forward with a project if they can. But I spend a bit of time troubleshooting with them first, because, more often than not all they need is some encouragement and to try a different technique or two before they are on their way again.

I also encourage you to think carefully and reasonably (as I did with this project) before making any decisions. Getting to a point of extreme frustration and grabbing the scissors before you’ve really thought about it is not a good idea and could lead to real regret.

Here are the things I recommend you consider before making the decision to abandon your project:

  • If the project is preventing your from moving forward, cut it off. I have heard of weavers who will put a loom away for years because they can’t bring themselves to finish a project – not a positive solution.
  • Imagine cutting the project off the loom. How does it make you feel? Relieved? Anxious? Happy? Unhappy? Defeated? Enthusiastic?
  • Is the project sapping your weaving joy? Would starting a new project alleviate that?
  • What is happening in your life right now? How is your mental health? Do you need to strip things back to basics?

One more thing.

If you are the type of weaver who has the problem that you find it difficult to NOT abandon project after project, that is a separate issue and needs to be addressed. I do think it is important to have discipline and finish projects rather than constantly “project hopping”.

I hope this post has given you some points to think about and make the right decision for you.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Studio Sign with Cricut Maker 3 Tutorial

by 5 Comments

Ever since I moved into my very first studio this year, I’ve wanted to put up an official studio sign. I thought about purchasing one online, but couldn’t decide on one that I liked.

So when Cricut Australia contacted me recently and asked me to partner with them, my first thought was “Awesome! I can make a studio sign!”

If you have never heard of Cricut before, (pronounced “cricket”) you are missing out! I admit that I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when my Cricut Maker 3 arrived and even felt a bit intimidated by the thought of learning new technology, but I have been very pleasantly surprised.

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

The machine has been very easy to learn and I’m excited by how much more I can explore. Cricut also included a rotary cutting tool that fits into the machine so that I can experiment with cutting out shapes with my hand woven fabric. I can’t wait to do that!

Here are some of the things I’m loving about this machine:

  • The design possibilities are awesome. In addition to the availability of the app, Design Space, which has hundreds of images and fonts, you can also upload your own designs.
  • The Cricut Maker 3 doesn’t just cut paper and vinyl. It can cut fabric, leather, balsa wood – a total of over 300 materials can be used.
  • The Adaptive Tool System matches the cutting direction and pressure to match the material you’re cutting. Tools can be changed according to what you want to do.
  • Design Space is compatible with iOS, Android, Windows and Mac (I use it with my MacBook Pro).

My husband and I worked together on this project so it was double the fun – I love any excuse to work together!

My idea for the studio sign was to repurpose everything to make it a low to no cost project. Thanks to finding materials around our property and of course to Cricut for sending me the Maker 3 plus tools and materials, I am happy to report that the final result was a NO cost project!

We found some planks of wood that had been stacked on top of a low shed. Absolutely perfect, as I wanted to use naturally distressed wood and these planks fit the bill perfectly. We also used some waste wood as the braces at the back of the sign. My husband already had an old sheet of MDF (medium density fibre board), and that was used for the front of the sign.

The cut pieces of distressed wood measured around 18 x 4″ each, with a depth of just over 1.5″.

We loved the rustic look of the timber, so we left it rough without sanding, but we did need to remove the rusty nails!

My husband nailed on two short and narrow pieces of wood (also found on our property) as a brace to hold the two main pieces together. These measure about 7.5 x 1.5″ with a depth of around 1.25″.

Then we took some MDF (plywood would also work) that we had lying around to use as a front plaque on the wood frame. This was an important step, as the Cricut vinyl I wanted to apply to the front of the sign needed a smooth surface to adhere to.

My husband eyeballed the MDF to match the size of the wooden backing. He drew up some quick measurements, then cut the piece, which ended up measuring around 13.5 x 5.5″. He also cut the corners off using our scrollsaw. Then he gave it a good sand with a fine sandpaper to smooth rough edges.

We painted the MDF plaque with some old paint we found in one of our sheds. It just happened to be a great colour that would set off the gold vinyl lettering perfectly! We let this paint dry completely before the next step.

The plaque was then nailed to the wooden backing.

The rest was up to me! I measured the plaque in order to get accurate measurements for my vinyl lettering.

I went into the Cricut Design Space to get my text organised. This is really simple to do using the Design Space app. I simply typed in the text (“Studio”), chose the font, then adjusted the measurements to suit my plaque.😊

My laptop is paired with the Cricut Maker 3 using Bluetooth, which works really well with no need for cables.

Following the prompts from the Design Space app, I lay in the material I’m wanting to cut, in this case Smart vinyl in Champagne. The Smart materials from Cricut don’t require a cutting mat, it simply feeds into the machine, cuts out the design, then feeds out again.

The next step is to peel away the excess vinyl from the design using the handy weeding tool (the hook) to pull up any vinyl still stuck to the backing.

The Transfer Tape is placed over the top of the design. This allows you to peel up your design and place it precisely where you want it to go.

I positioned the design onto the plaque, smoothed it down and removed the transfer tape. All that was left to do was to hang my beautiful new sign outside my studio. I love the way it looks, and it makes my studio feel really official.

I had so much fun making this sign that I couldn’t stop at just one! In Design Space there are so many great images to choose from, so I wanted to take advantage of some of those.

I got my girls involved so that we could work together to make some signs relevant to their own hobbies and spaces.

For my 14 year old horse lover, it was a no brainer to make a sign for her tack room.

My youngest daughter is chicken crazy and the caretaker of our chicken coops.

These signs were all no cost projects for us, thanks to Cricut Australia and New Zealand, and thanks to repurposed materials.

What I’m really looking forward to now is checking out the Cricut rotary cutter tool with some of my handwoven fabric. Stay tuned for that!

If you would like to see the full free video tutorial for how I made the studio sign, click on the video below:

The Cricut Maker 3 can be found at Spotlight or Harvey Norman in Australia. In New Zealand, suppliers are Spotlight and Warehouse Stationary.

You can also find Cricut here-

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cricut_anz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cricutanz/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCffy4UQ9lfgQPDlyEUCgWPA

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Soft and Sweet Bread Rolls

by 2 Comments

Our family just loves fresh, home baked bread.

I bake all the bread for my family, four loaves at a time. That way we have some fresh and some to store in the freezer for the following days.

But there are some days (more often than I care to admit!) when we’ve run out of loaves and I need to do something fast! Those are the days that my rolls make an appearance. They are much quicker to make than bread loaves and I can get them to the table super fast.

These rolls are very similar to how I make my scrolls, but you bake the dough as rolls instead of being rolled up with fillings.

There are many fillings you can serve in the rolls once they are baked. You can serve them warm or allow to completely cool first. Here are some serving ideas:

I posted on Instagram that I was serving bacon and avocado rolls and everybody wanted to know about them!

Bacon and avocado-

Serve the rolls while still warm. Cut open, spread with mayonnaise, mashed avocado, cheese and fried bacon.

With soup-

You can make the rolls “dinner roll” size if desired. Serve warm, spread with butter. This makes a real meal out of your soup and completes it perfectly.

Egg and bacon rolls-

Similar to the avo and bacon, only this time you also fry eggs with your bacon. Serve with or without cheese and mayonnaise.

Dinner roll sized

Ham and salad-

Allow rolls to cool before cutting open. Serve with ham and whatever salad you like, whether it’s some mixed leaves or a coleslaw.

Hamburger or Veggie burger-

These rolls make great hamburger buns! Fry your meat or veggie patty and team with your favourite extras in the roll. Personally, we’re fans of hamburgers “with the lot”! You can make Hawaiian style burger by adding a ring of tinned pineapple.

For afternoon tea-

These are delicious enough to serve with butter and jam or marmalade for an English style afternoon tea.

Grilled cheese-

My kids love it when I do this. Cut the rolls in half. Using a grill, lightly toast both sides of each half. Top the halves with cheese and place back under grill until melted. Delicious for lunch or paired with soup.

Soft and Sweet Bread Rolls

Kelly
Delicously light and soft rolls for any meal
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rising time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 9

Equipment

  • Stand mixer (optional)
  • Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 800 grams Bread flour You can do all white flour or a mix. I like to do 200grams wholemeal and 600grams white flour.
  • 1 tbsp Dry active yeast
  • 2 tbsp White sugar or honey
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 3 tbsp Sunflower oil
  • 2 & 2/3 cup warm water or milk I use milk powder in water

Instructions
 

  • Place all dry ingredients in mixer bowl, fitted with a dough hook. Place in a mixing bowl if mixing by hand. Mix lightly to combine.
  • Combine oil and warm water/milk in a jug. If using honey, add it with the liquids also.
  • Set the mixer on minimum and gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Keep mixing until well combined, then turn the machine up to number 1 mixing for 5 minutes. If mixing by hand, mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined, then knead for 5 minutes.
  • Place some oil in the bottom of the bowl to prevent the dough from sticking while rising.
  • Place a clean towel over the bowl and allow the dough to double in size. The time this takes depends on the room temperature. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • When doubled in size, take the dough out of the bowl and press down to expel air. Cut into roughly 9 equal pieces. If you want larger rolls, make 6 equal pieces. Form the pieces into little rounded ball shapes and pinch underneath to ensure seams are underneath.
  • Place into greased or non stick baking tray (I like to use non stick baking paper to line it). Place the balls in lines to fit your tray. The balls should touch each other. Cover loosely with the towel once more.
  • Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius (428F) conventional or 200 (392F) fan forced. Allow the rolls to rise for around 15 – 20 minutes.
  • Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes (this will vary according to your oven) or until nicely browned.
  • Remove from oven and place rolls on a cooling rack.
Keyword baking, bread, bread roll

Would you prefer to see this post in video format? Let me know in the comments if you do, and I’ll see what I can come up with 😉

If you are interested in baking your own bread, check out these resources:

Milk and Honey Bread

Whole Wheat No Knead Bread Recipe

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Easy Flat Bread Recipe

Cheese and Bacon Scrolls

I hope this recipe blesses you and that you love these yummy rolls as much as our family!

New towels for our new home!

by 19 Comments

I had two reasons for warping up my floor loom for some new towels recently.

With our house moving date looming closer, I felt the need for a “sanity project”. While all of my yarns and equipment were being packed away, I kept a few cones aside so that I would have something to weave during the in between time of packing up house and moving to the next one.

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for further details.

I also wanted to have some brand new kitchen towels to adorn our “new to us” kitchen, as all my current towels are ageing and starting to look a little shabby. I wanted special new towels for our special new place. This project turned out to be special in another way, but I’ll tell you about that shortly.

I chose one of my all time favourite drafts for kitchen towels, a 4 shaft twill on M and W threading. I love the design and I love the resulting fabric so I didn’t have to think too hard on that one!

The threading for this draft is not difficult and the tie up is a regular twill tie up – all things that I’m very familiar with and that make the process easy for me. I used my Louet David 2 Floor loom (link is for the new David 3), which has 8 shafts but for this project I wove on 4 shafts.

Having woven kitchen towels with this draft before, I was also sure of the yarn I wanted to choose. My favourite weaving yarn for soft and absorbent tea towels is 8/2 cottolin. The cottolin I use is 60% organic cotton and 40% linen. It’s a great yarn for those who want to incorporate a little linen but want something that is a bit easier to use than 100% linen.

For the warp I used:

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin in Blanchi

For the wefts I used (one colour for each towel):

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin in Charcoal

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin in Magenta

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin in Royal

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin in Brick

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Tips for working with cottolin:

  • Cottolin sheds a lot of fibre whilst on the loom. It is a more course yarn than just cotton on it’s own, which is very smooth. I sometimes opt to wear and apron while weaving and try not to wear anything black! The shedding nature may be irritating to some who are sensitive, it’s not a big problem for me but does make me sneeze sometimes! It also means that you will want to vacuum your loom when your project is finished or even during the project if the tiny stray fibres bother you.
  • It feels quite stiff on the loom. I remember the first time I wove with cottolin, I felt disappointed that the towels felt a bit rough. A hot machine wash was like a touch of magic – the towels softened up and the pattern came together beautifully. This is another thing that I love about cottolin, it softens more with each wash.
  • Your first one or two uses of your towels to dry dishes will not be optimal. The cottolin can leave small fibres on your dishes initially, and the towels are not as absorbent as they could be. Don’t lose faith! With a bit of use and a couple of washes, they will become a huge asset to your kitchen!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

C

I tried some different techniques in the weaving of these towels, to help counteract some of the issues arising as I wove.

Firstly, I doubled my floating selvedges – something I haven’t done before. My reasoning for this was that for the towels I’ve woven in the past, the first place they would start to wear down was at the edges. A doubled floating selvedge gave a more defined, and stronger edge to the fabric.

Secondly, I switched to beating on an open shed. It is very much my habit to beat on a closed shed, but my beats were feeling a little stiff and the weft wasn’t settling as nicely as I would like. As soon as I switched to open shed beating, everything settled down and became much more fluid. Lesson learned – Don’t be stuck in your ways, be open to experiment from project to project as needs dictate 😉

And thirdly, when hemming my towels, I decided to also hem the long edge. I have never done this before, but as I already mentioned, the edges are susceptible to wearing and I think this single turned hem will make a difference. Time will tell, but perhaps I will make this a regular technique for my towels.

Hemming the long side of the towel with a single fold hem.
Finished hems. The ends of the towel have a double fold hem.

I mentioned that this project turned out to be special in another way. My husband has been interested in having a go on the floor loom for some time now, so I decided the last towel of the warp would be a good opportunity. I wasn’t too worried if it didn’t turn out well, as it was just for us.

Imagine my surprise when he took to it like a duck to water, quickly declared that it was “fun” and promptly finished off the second half of the towel I had started on! After giving him a few basic pointers, he surprised me with how quickly he picked up the steps. Now he is very interested in weaving more and even learning how to dress the loom. Victory! 😀

If you love this pattern draft as much as I do, you can find it on page 88 and 89 in Anne Dixon’s Handweaver’s Pattern Directory – a most excellent book and awesome resource for 4 shaft drafts.

I also recommend Patti Graver’s Next Steps in Weaving for weaving at this level.

If you’re interested in getting started in floor loom weaving, check out my Introduction to Floor Loom Weaving, my Follow Up Floor Loom Weaving, or save by purchasing a bundle of the two courses together.

I made a little video to compliment this blog post to help you feel confident about cutting your hand woven fabric. I explain my 3 Key Ingredients to cutting without fear:

If you have any questions about my towel project or using cottolin, let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

What do I need to get started in rigid heddle weaving?

by 9 Comments

I’m going to make a bold statement. 2020 is the year of the weaver!

Yes, this year has been very difficult, very strange, and frequently lacking in positivity. But as I’m the kind of person who likes to look for the good things in the face of adversity, I think in many ways it has been a really wonderful year, full of opportunity and promise!

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

I don’t have any exact figures, but I know that weaving, and rigid heddle weaving in particular has seen a massive popularity surge this year.

It totally makes sense. Most of us have been through some sort of lockdown (some of us multiple lockdowns!) and have found ourselves shut in our homes with a lot of extra time on our hands.

I’m so happy to see that so many people have used this unprecedented time to start something new or to dive in to something they always wanted to do.

Perhaps we can use this as life inspiration for going forward. So many of us are waiting for just the right time to do what we truly love. The fact is, for some, that right time may never come. If we have learned anything this year, I think maybe it should be – DON’T WAIT! START NOW!

So, if you are one of the many who have started weaving this year or are waiting on your new loom to arrive, welcome! It’s so good to have you on the journey.

I thought that it might be useful today, to look at the bare basics you need to get started in rigid heddle weaving. I’ll break down and explain each item you will need to get up and running.

  1. A rigid heddle loom

That’s a can of worms right there! There are a lot of choices and in the interests of not keeping you here for the next 3 days, I’m going to keep this section brief and refer you to further learning resources if you need them.

I do want to say, you do not need the biggest, most expensive loom if you’re just starting out. If you’ve never used a rigid heddle loom and are not sure what to expect, start out small. A Sampleit (I have one of these!) or Cricket is a perfect size for practicing weaving, and you might be surprised at the range of items you can weave, even on a small loom.

If you have already tried out a loom and have goals for the types of items you want to weave, you may want to go with something larger. As a general guide, a 24″ loom is great for scarves, towels, table runners and bags. A 32″ and larger is great for large shawls, baby blankets and yardage fabric.

For a larger loom you will also want to consider purchasing a stand for ease of use.

If you want to know more about various looms available, how to choose a loom that will suit you and what you can achieve with a rigid heddle loom, go here.

2. A heddle/reed

You will receive a heddle/reed with your rigid heddle loom. It will either be a 7.5 or 8 dent, depending on the brand. This is a great size to start out with and you don’t need to purchase any other sizes initially unless you are really keen to work with some lighter (fingering weight, 8/2 weight) yarns.

If you do want to grab an extra heddle, I recommend a 10 dent – it’s a great all rounder.

3. A stick shuttle

You should also receive a stick shuttle appropriate to the size of your loom when you purchase. This is what you wind your weft yarn on to in order to weave.

If you want to weave with more than one weft colour (say if you’re weaving stripes) you will want more than one stick shuttle. They are quite affordable, and some weavers even make their own.

If you need to know how to wind a stick shuttle, check out this video:

4. A threading/reed hook

You may or may not receive a threading and reed hook with your loom, but you will definitely need them! They can be purchased as a separate threading hook or reed hook, but I love to use my double ended heddle hook.

These are two tools in one, they are cheap, I like that they lie flat and don’t roll off surfaces and I find the flexibility of the plastic great when threading. I have also found that metal hooks tend to split my yarn when I’m using a thicker yarn, whereas the plastic is a little kinder.

If you need tips on how to thread your rigid heddle loom, check out this video:

5. Separators

You will need something to separate your warp with when rolling it on to the loom. This is crucial for good tension. You have a few options for separators.

6. Warping peg

Most weavers start out warping their looms directly, using a warping peg. This is a really fast and easy way to warp and also means you don’t have the added expense of a warping board, frame or mill. A warping peg and clamp may come with your loom, as well as an extra clamp for fixing your loom to a table.

7. Inch ruler

This is used to determine the correct sett of your yarn. This is particularly important when you’re starting out and getting to know how different yarns behave in different projects.

You could also use a wraps per inch tool or yarn gauge or a sett checker.

If you need to know how to determine sett for your yarn, have a look at this video:

8. Scissors

A nice, sharp pair of scissors will save you a lot of headaches. I have a large pair of dressmaking shears for cutting off the warp and cutting my handwoven fabric and a smaller, embroidery sized pair I keep close to the loom for snipping weft threads. Some weavers like to use thread snips as their smaller pair.

9. Tape measure

You will need a tape measure to measure out your warp length and to measure your weaving as you advance your warp. I am frequently seen with a tape measure hanging around my neck, I use them so often!

They are very affordable, so I like to have a few that I can leave in different places and always have one near at hand.

10. Yarn

We’re not going to be able to achieve much with our looms and equipment unless we have the yarn to play with! Many of you will have come to weaving from knitting and crochet and will already have a healthy stash to delve into. Knitting yarns are great for beginning weaving.

For those of you with no stash, don’t worry, just start out simple. Don’t go out and buy all the yarns – plan your project and just get the yarn you need to begin with. Or weave a sampler with small amounts of yarn.

But wait, you say! I have no idea where to start with yarn. You’re not alone in that, but relax, I have created resources to help you with that:

Choosing and using yarns in weaving

3 Yarns beginners should avoid

Which weight of yarn should I choose?

If some of the terminology I’ve used in this article is confusing to you, why not head over and check out my Weaving Glossary? I suggest you bookmark it so that you can refer back to it as much as needed.

Once you have all the tools you need to begin, then it gets really exciting! If you are ready to dive in and get weaving, I recommend you check out my Online Weaving School. You will find classes for all levels, including free and paid classes.

If you are an absolute beginner, you definitely need to enrol in my best selling From Woe to Go! Beginner Rigid Heddle Weaving course.

If it’s a free project you’re looking to start out with (or for a second or third project perhaps), have a look at my list of free tutorials here. In particular, I want to recommend a project that has been massively popular this year, the Wash Your Hand Towels.

I hope this article has been useful to you, if you have any questions or comments, leave them down below!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Weaver’s Gift Guide 2020

by 6 Comments

2020 has been a pretty rough year for most of us. I am so looking forward to celebrating Christmas and enjoying the festive season!

Our family of 6 will be reuniting to celebrate Christmas together after being separated from our son due to COVID lockdown for most of this year. I can’t wait for that!

One thing that 7 months of lockdown prompted me to do was to buy all those weaving books (ahem, OK, they weren’t just weaving books) I had always wanted. I don’t feel the need to tell you how many books have landed on my doorstep this year, but lets just say that I’m a lot more challenged for bookshelf space now than I was at the start of the year!

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, check out my disclosure policy here.

Books make the most fabulous gifts though, so I’m going to be including a few of my personal favourites in this 2020 Weaver’s Gift Guide.

If you’re looking for fictional books to dive into (heads up, I’m a big classics fan!) you can find a list of suggestions in the Book Lovers section of my Amazon Shop.

If you need further inspiration, why not also check out last year’s Weaver’s Gift Guide?

Without further ado, let us launch into the gift guide! Items are in no particular order 😉

  1. Ashford Sampleit Loom

I have used my Sampleit a LOT this year, in fact it has rarely been without a warp on it’s sweet little frame. I have found it so perfect for not only sampling (which it is absolutely perfectly sized for) but also for weaving smaller projects. Would you believe that my Rainbow Lap Blanket was woven entirely on my 10″ Sampleit?!

Another thing I love about my Sampleit is that it’s so small and light it hangs on some hooks mounted on the wall when it’s not in use. I hang it up whether it has a warp on it or not. Easy and efficient storage!

I use mine without a stand, but stands are available.

A little loom is a great way for a new weaver to dip their toes into the weaving world without making a big financial investment.

The Ashford Sampleit comes in two sizes – a 10″ and a 16″.

2. Lacis Cards

I just started card weaving this year and I must admit I’m pretty hooked! I use my inkle loom to weave bands with cards, but rigid heddle looms and body tensioning can work too. Card weaving is so cool and there are so many variations on patterns that you can weave – I’ve only just scratched the surface and look forward to doing much more. The Lacis cards are really great – they are durable, have a light, shiny coating that allows easy turning of the cards, they are a good size for your hands and the holes are marked with A, B, C and D to help you keep track during threading and turning.

Another great card weaving resource is Candace Crockett’s book Card Weaving. Candace puts her instructions in laymen’s terms so they are really easy to follow. It’s a great book to start out card weaving with. The book + a pack of cards = a wonderful weaving gift!

3. Fringe Twister

Many newer and seasoned weavers would appreciate the gift of a fringe twister. If you have been twisting fringes by hand (or know a weaver who has) a fringe twister is an absolute game changer!

I own the LeClerc fringe twister with 4 clips. The more clips you have, the more fringe you can twist at once. I’ve had my twister for many years now and it is in constant use. It still functions just like new.

4. Rosie’s Flexible Tablet Holder for Loom

A little disclaimer here – I do not own one of these. But as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to include it in this year’s gift guide. Why?

Because I knew it would be the perfect thing for so many of my students! Many students watch my classes on their iPad or tablet and actually follow along with instructions whilst seated at the loom.

This tablet holder can attach directly to your loom or table, and it has a flexible arm so that you can get the positioning of the tablet just right.

It’s also surprisingly affordable for such a task specific tool. I love it!

The Smart Phone Holder is also available.

5. Clover Jumbo Bent Tip Tapestry Needles

Ok, I’m a weirdo, but seriously, these needles have changed my life! At least when it comes to hemstitching. I’ve written about these needles previously, but for a quick re-cap, I love them because:

  • They have a coating that is just slippery enough. They glide through hand woven fabric like they were born to do it.
  • The bent tip makes them ergonomically wonderful to use – less stress on your hands and wrists.
  • They are a great size for holding and using.
  • They are cheap to buy/
  • They come in a 2 pack, just in case you lose one, which is unlikely because they are gold.
  • Did I mention they are gold?! 🤩

6. Weaving Books

It’s hard to know where to start with books, as the weaving world has been SO blessed with an abundance of excellent weaving books. Here are just a few of the books that are in my personal library:

Rigid Heddle Weaving:

The Weaver’s Idea Book, Jane Patrick

Inkle Weaving:

The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory, Anne Dixon

Multi Shaft Weaving:

The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory, Anne Dixon

Card Weaving:

Card Weaving, Candace Crockett

Tapestry:

Tapestry Weaving, Kirsten Glasbrook

The Art of Tapestry Weaving, Rebecca Mezoff

7. Yarn!

Once again, there are just so many choices for weavers when it comes to yarn. But if you’re looking for gifts for weavers, here are a few of my favourites:

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cotton

Maurice Brassard 8/2 cottolin

Maurice Brassard 8/2 tencel

Maurice Brassard 8/2 bamboo

You may have noticed I’m a bit of a Maurice Brassard fan! Their yarns are affordable, reliable and beautiful so I use them a lot.

8/2 tencel that I hand dyed

8. Laptop and iPad Skins

Well, if we’re going to use tech we might as well make it look good, and what better way than to slap some beautiful weaving on it?

My Society6 store has a huge range of printed weaving themed items, from coffee mugs to doormats, tote bags to greeting card, face masks to bath mats. It’s crazy just how many different items are available in my shop there, take a look!

9. Dressmaker’s Shears

My dressmaker’s shears are one of my most valued tools in my weaving studio. That feeling of finishing your weaving and cutting the warp off with beautifully sharp shears is just wonderful. Using dull scissors can be a huge frustration when you are cutting yarn all the time. And if you happen to sew with your hand woven fabric, a good pair of dressmaking shears is an absolute must.

In my opinion it is worth spending a little more on a good pair. I have had my Stag 9.5″ dressmaking shears for around 10 years. Strangely, this brand does not seem to be readily available nowadays, but I’ve read some rave reviews on Kai shears.

I simply have my shears sharpened every 2 – 3 years and they work perfectly. Sharpening only costs around $10AUD, so it’s a cheap way to maintain a sharp edge.

10. Tape Measures

Most days you will see me with a tape measure slung around my neck, and if not, it’s never far away. I have an assortment of tape measures so that I always have quick access. My tape measures are all inch plus metric measurements and I use both at various times.

You can go with the standard, basic tape measure or something cute and novel. I have both!

Basic tape measures.

Cute tape measures

11. Last, but not least, I couldn’t finish the Gift Guide without mentioning my Online Weaving School. Perhaps it’s time to give yourself the gift of weaving through the huge number of classes available. If you want to dive right in, a membership is the perfect option. Or, if you’re dipping your toes in, you may want to purchase single classes. The choice is yours!

Here is what students are saying:

“I love, love, love my gold class membership! I love that I have access to all the wonderful classes any time I want to watch them. Kelly is a fabulous teacher. She explains things in such a straightforward and understandable way, learning is much easier. A great bonus is the weaving community that comes with the gold membership. How wonderful to be able to encourage each other.”

Lori

“For the first time, I am seeing exactly how to do the things I keep reading about or see “snippets” of in other videos. Kelly explains and demonstrates each and every step, making it easy and enjoyable to do my weavings. She’s real, and down to earth. She’s not trying to “impress”, or show off her skills like I have seen in other videos. I truly do recommend Kelly Casanova to any and all who wish to enhance their Textile and Fibre Arts.“

Pamela

You can also gift memberships to others, simply contact me for more information.

Well, I certainly hope this Gift Guide has inspired you and something (or somethings) have caught your eye.

Whatever your are doing during this festive season, I pray that you be blessed with peace and joy and surrounded with love ❤️🎄🙏🏻

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

3 Yarns Beginner Weavers should NEVER use!

by 61 Comments

Choosing the right yarn for the right project can be a huge conundrum for newer weavers. There are so many yarn choices for weaving that it can be very confusing to know where to start.

If you want to know more about the basics of choosing yarns when you’re just starting out, you will want to read this post which includes a couple of super helpful videos where I walk you through some of my stash and the ways I’ve used certain yarns in my weaving.

I usually recommend specific yarns for new weavers to try, based on my experience with which yarns are the most economical, easy going and likely to give consistent, more predictable results.

This post contains affiliate links

But today, I’m going to do the opposite. I’m going to talk about the yarns that a new weaver should not use, and even go so far as to say that a newer weaver should NEVER use these yarns to begin with!

Pretty extreme, huh? Trust me, you will thank me for it!

So, how do I know about these three particular yarns that should be locked up and kept in a closet marked with NO GO – NEW WEAVERS NOT PERMITTED?

Because I hear about it all the time! The anguish of a new weaver who unwittingly picked a yarn that “looked pretty” and now is in a terrible anguish, caught in the balance between the idea of cutting the project off the loom prematurely or giving up on weaving altogether because it “doesn’t seem like my thing“.

Friends, it does not have to come to that and I am here to tell you how!

There are three yarns that you should avoid at all cost. Not forever, just to begin with. Later, you will have the experience, know how and possibly patience to deal with these yarns, but to begin with you want to keep it as simple and achievable as possible.

Think of your beginning weeks, months, or however long it takes (remember we all learn at a different pace and that is absolutely fine and normal. If you have any qualms on this note, please take the time to watch the video on Slow Learning down below).

The first few projects at least should be devoted to getting to know your loom. It’s like a honeymoon period, hopefully a happy one! But, if you think of your beginning stages in this way, as the learning phase, it won’t matter so much if you don’t always get amazing results as you will be learning what you need to know.

You’re probably itching to know what these three avoidable yarns are. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.

  1. Mohair.

I’ve put this one at the top of the list for a reason. Don’t use it if you’re a beginner. I can’t be much more blatant than that. Just don’t do it. You will be sorry.

Meet Anna. Why do I have a random doll included in this post? I’ll explain. I made this doll for youngest daughter’s first birthday present, almost 10 years ago. She has stood the test of time pretty well, but is in need of a wig refurbishment. At the time, I was a dollmaker and sold my dolls on Etsy. I made the dolls from all natural materials, so their skin was a lovely soft cotton, they were stuffed with clean, carded wool and I would often use mohair to make wigs or hair. By the way, if you’re interested in a 10 year old tutorial on making a doll similar to this one, I have a two part tutorial here.

The point is, I used to have a huge stock of mohair but have used it all up in dollmaking. So instead of showing you a ball of mohair, I’m going to show you the back of the doll’s head to help illustrate why you should not use mohair as a beginner weaver.

Check out that fluff. Yes, mohair is uber fluffy! See that halo? (This is going to become a recurring theme!) Mohair sticks to itself. Very much. You carefully warp your loom and begin weaving, only to find that you don’t seem to be a able to get a clear shed. Sound familiar? Every. Single. Time. You change sheds, the warp threads stick to each other and you wonder how on earth you are supposed to get your stick shuttle through an either non existent or at the least, very messy shed. It doesn’t make for a fun weaving experience.

2. Fine, rigid threads.

By this I mean a weaving thread like an 8/2 cotton. These types of yarns will usually be sold on a cone rather than in a ball or skein.

Why do I think they’re a bad idea for beginner weavers? Firstly, they will have little to no elasticity. This is a problem for newbies (ahem, and veterans!) because they are difficult to warp with the correct and consistent tension. Which can be really frustrating. Especially on a rigid heddle loom where you can’t achieve as firm a tension as you can on a floor loom. When you’re not familiar with these types of yarn or don’t have much general weaving experience, you don’t want a yarn that won’t stretch a little. Yarns with elasticity (like, say a dk or light worsted wool) are so much easier to warp and work with. They will stretch out and contract back nicely on the loom and for that reason I call them very “forgiving” yarns. They help rather than hinder your warping and weaving process. They will be your newbie friends. The inelastic, thinner yarns can be your friends later.

The second point about these yarns is that they are thin. Which means they take longer to warp. Then they take longer to weave. When you’re just starting out you really want to choose shorter, approachable projects that don’t feel like a year long commitment to finish one item. Thicker yarns will be a huge help in this respect. They weave up quickly and with less problems.

3. Luxury Yarns

There are plenty of yarns that come under this category so I will point out a few specifics.

Baby alpaca is a gorgeous, sumptuous yarn. No, it doesn’t come from actual baby alpacas, it is classed and graded as a very fine fibre, and is extremely soft, hence the name. It also has a halo. It’s not fluffy in the same way that mohair is, and it’s not as difficult to weave with. But yes, it will still be a pesky, sticky yarn to weave.

The exact same rule applies here to Angora, possum and some cashmere fibres. Once again, save their scrumptiousness for a little later on.

Ah, silk, beautiful, shiny, luscious silk. I love weaving with it. Now. I didn’t attempt weaving with it until I had a lot of experience under my belt. I mean, have you seen how expensive silk yarn is? 😲 I knew I didn’t want to make that investment unless it was for something really special that I was ready for. Also, the fineness of the 60/2 silk above (similar to sewing thread in thickness) makes it doubly unsuitable for newbies.

Luxury yarns are just that – a luxury. Which means they will have a price tag to match. I’ve heard some newbie weavers say that they couldn’t resist a luxury yarn for their first project. I understand that your first project is a special one, but you need to be a realist about it too. Weaving is a learning curve. Skills like weaving neat edges and achieving good tension take time and are not likely to be perfected in your first project. You are really feeling your way with your first project. If you add the stress of having to make something nice with your very expensive luxury yarn on to the experience of learning to actually use your new loom, it will often be a recipe for disaster.

Let me put it this way: I’ve never heard a new weaver regret that they used inexpensive yarn for their first project. But I’ve had many, many, many messages from people in distress that things are not going according to plan and they spent so much money on the yarn. Save yourself the stress and start out with an inexpensive, light worsted/dk/Aussie 8ply wool.

Now, if I could only find a way to get this message to every new weaver in the world, I think there might be a lot more happy weavers out there.

This post is also available in video format-

So, time to fess up. Have you had a less than positive beginner experiences with one of these three yarns? Let me (and everybody else, just in case someone needs more convincing!) know about it in the comments.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!