Kelly

Tote Bag Weave Along, Lesson 4

Now you can really get excited about your tote bag project – it’s time to get weaving! If you missed the last post on threading, you can go here to read it.

Just one more teensy thing before you start to weave – the header. The header helps to spread the warp so that you don’t have big gaps at the very start of your weaving. As with most things in weaving, there is more than one way to put in a header.

*This post contains affiliate links.

My preference is (I think) the easiest. I use 2 cardboard separators (or warping sticks as they are also called). With the heddle/reed in the up shed I insert one stick, then change to the down shed to insert the second stick. Then beat to push them into place. You may want to weave an additional header with spare yarn if you feel your warp is too gappy (I demonstrate this in the video at 1:10) Pop the heddle into the up position again and you’re ready to weave!

Don’t forget to wind your stick shuttle.

It doesn’t matter which side you enter into the shed with the shuttle, but it is useful to develop a habit when working plain weave to always enter from the same side to avoid any confusion as to which shed you should be in and to easily develop a weaving rhythm.

I give yarn recommendations in this post, but a variegated yarn is particularly effective and makes the plain weave look more fancy than it is. I dyed my own yarn for this project. You can also get a bit fancy by using a novelty yarn as a feature. I used an eyelash yarn as an occasional stripe to accent this bag.

If you are a newer weaver, you may be worried about obtaining neat edges. This is very much a matter of practice makes perfect, but this video shows you my pinching technique that has helped many newbies improve their edges.

You also want to try to keep your beat consistent and even. One way to see if you’re beating evenly is to stand up and look at your weaving from time to time. You will see quite clearly whether you are beating straight or at an angle.

Don’t forget to measure your weaving as you go. I do this in a simple manner by using a tape measure and marking my last measured place with a plastic or glass head coloured pin. I always write down the measurements as I go so that I don’t have to try to remember!

You will be advancing your warp every so often, and this video will show you how to do that.

Remember to refer back to your essential information project sheet, available as a free download for all the measurements you need to follow.

In the next lesson we will be talking more about continuing to weave and advancing the warp. Be sure to leave me a comment if you need to ask questions or are unsure of anything.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Tote bag Weave Along – Threading and getting ready to weave, Lesson 3

by Kelly 2 Comments

Now you’re ready to wind on your warp.

Your warp is secure with the choke tie you already put in place. If you need to read over the last lesson, please go here first.

Decision time! Are you going to warp with a helper or independently? This decision can often come down to whether you have someone to help you or not. But, if this is your first warp or if you’re not too confident with warping yet, I always recommend warping with a helper. This is a time to get to know your next door neighbour better! Or invite that friend or family member around for a cuppa and just casually mention that you need their help with something and that it won’t take but a minute!

*This post contains affiliate links

If you feel like you really need more information on warping at this stage, I have an excellent class, Warping for Beginners.

To roll your warp onto the back beam your will need something to use a separator. In the Youtube video demonstration I use my cardboard separators (also known as warping sticks) but you can also use a roll of paper or a blind if you prefer a continuous separator.

Having a helper takes the pressure off the newer weaver. You can concentrate on turning the clicker and pawl system which rolls the warp on without having to worry about uneven tension. It also means that you have two hands free instead of just one.

Place 1 cardboard separator for each full warp rotation.

I like to keep winding until the end of the warp is just over the front apron bar. This ensures that I have enough length in the warp for comfortable threading.

At this point I cut the warp ends, then undo the choke tie.

Time to begin threading! Before you start, I highly recommend that you watch my free Threading Tips video. So, for plain weave, I thread one in the left hole and leave one in the slot. It doesn’t matter whether you thread in the right or the left hole, but the left is my habit and I stick to it.

Keep threading in this simple fashion right across the width of the warp.

Now we tie on to the apron rod. Some weavers prefer to leash on but I only do that for slippery threads as I find I get better tension when I tie directly on to the rod. For this section, I will refer you to the video near the end of this post – it is much easier to show than to explain the knotting system.

Go back over your knots and tighten them all to an equal tension. You are trying to obtain firm and consistent tension, not necessarily to get them as tight as you can. If you have consistent tension, everything will tighten up when you advance the warp in readiness for weaving.

Here is the video that goes along with today’s lesson, I think you will find it very helpful!

Well, now we are almost ready to weave and things start to get exciting. Join me next time for options for putting in a header and beginning to weave!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Interview with Felicia Lo from Sweet Georgia Yarns

by Kelly Leave a Comment

Today I’d like to introduce you to the lovely Felicia, who grew a successful yarn company from the humble beginnings of a small blog. I love Felicia’s adventurous spirit when it comes to all things fibre and how she continues to learn, explore and create. She also happens to have possibly the cutest two kids I’ve ever seen!

You have a strong interest in more than one type of fibre art. Can you tell us about some of them?

“Yes! Sometimes I wish I could streamline my making and narrow my focus to just one fibre art… but I really do love the interaction of weaving, spinning, dyeing, and knitting. If you’re going to weave, you’ll need yarn… and what’s better than weaving with yarn that you dyed yourself or even yarn that you spun from fibre that you dyed? It’s so powerful to be able to control and affect the finished object at so many levels and can open up your creative possibilities. So the things I make tend to take longer since I want to be involved in the dyeing and weaving processes at the very least. And since colour is so significant as a personal expression, I feel like the work doesn’t have my “signature” on it if the yarn isn’t hand-dyed.

And while we create hand-dyed yarns and fibres at SweetGeorgia, knitting with hand-dyed yarns is really my hobby. I nearly always have a project with me for car rides, soccer practice, swimming lessons, and Netflix nights.”

What attracted you to weaving? How did you learn?

“When I think back, I remember my parents giving me a Fisher Price toy loom when I was a kid. It was basically a rigid heddle loom and it was AWESOME. I remember weaving really thick white acrylic yarn and making a fabric that I hand sewed into a tiny purse. It wasn’t pretty, but I was so young, I just thought it was magic to be able to make something like that.

It wasn’t until I was almost 30 when I actually started to weave. It was actually my spinning teacher that gently enabled me to really start weaving. She taught both spinning and weaving at a school here in the Vancouver area. I took the spinning classes in a room that was FILLED with floor looms. It was inspiring and the itch to weave was inescapable. Originally she told me that weaving used up lots of yarn and since I was making tons of hand-dyed yarn, I just thought it would be a great way of using up yarn.

I joined the weaving class and remember learning how to wind a warp, how to dress a loom back to front, and then for one of my first projects, I wove a silk scarf from yarn that had been handpainted. Every part of the process felt addictive — threading the heddles, sleying the reed, tying onto the front apron rod, throwing the shuttle — all of it was addictive and I was always craving a little bit more. “

How did SweetGeorgia Yarns come about?

“SweetGeorgia happened quite unintentionally. It was 2004 and I was a web developer at the time and I was familiar with blogs, but didn’t realize there was a growing community of knitting bloggers until I started searching Google for information about this Rowan sweater design I wanted to knit (it’s this sweater, if you’re curious: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/audrey). Turns out there was a “knit along” for this sweater design and knitters from all over the world were knitting this pattern, taking photos of it, writing about their process, and documenting their successes and failures. And that’s when I realized that a blog was more than just a way of communicating or recording project details — it was (at that time) a way to participate in the greater craft community.

So of course, I started a blog so that I could also report on my Audrey sweater progress and random bread baking escapades. There were only one or two bread baking blog posts and then I continued to document my learning and experiences in knitting, dyeing, spinning, and weaving. The hand-dyeing I was doing caught the attention of the community and I found a lot of encouragement to continue dyeing and begin a little Etsy shop. So in 2005, I opened a small Etsy shop from my dining room table with three skeins of yarn. Now almost 14 years later, we have a team of about 13 people who help run our production dye studio! “

As a successful business woman who also has a young family, you must get asked the question “How do you do it all?” What are some of your strategies for balancing family, business and creative time?

“It’s funny because I’m asking every other mom/boss the same thing! I think I even asked you, Kelly, this same question over email! I can say, it’s not easy, but I try to keep a good balance of work and family life. Since my kids are still young, they go to school for part of the day and then my youngest, Nina, who is only three years old now, will join me for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. So I squish work time into the hours when they are at school. Then when the kids are with me, I try to be present and put my work away, but we might do things like go to the dye studio together or do some craft room tidying and tasks (they like to wind balls of yarn). I generally never work on weekends or evenings anymore and I try to spend evenings with my husband, but that’s when I also try to squeeze in some knitting or weaving time.

I’ve also discovered this phenomenon where work expands to fill the time that you give it. If you give yourself 4 hours to do a job, it takes 4 hours. But if you only have 3 hours to do the same job, miraculously, it takes only 3 hours. So, I’ve started doing more “time boxing” and giving myself a set amount of time to do any one thing and the thing has to be done within that time frame (because there is no other time to do it). So, this allows me to schedule out my week and account for all the things that need to get done. For example, filming the vlog always happens on Wednesday afternoons between 3 and 4 pm, editing the vlog always happens on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am, and all of that needs to happen because the vlog HAS to be published at 10 am on Friday morning. It’s kind of great to give yourself this set window to work… otherwise, editing a video could easily take 8 hours if you let it and then you’ll definitely feel like there is never enough time. “

How many looms do you personally own and which is your favourite?

“It’s so hard to pick favourites! Over the years, I have acquired a few looms including an 8-shaft Louet Spring 110 cm loom, an 8-shaft Schacht Baby Wolf in cherry, a 4-shaft Leclerc Nilus 45”, plus a handful of smaller looms like a 4-shaft Schacht table loom, a Louet 4-shaft Klik loom, an Ashford 16” Sample It rigid heddle loom, an Ashford 20” Knitters loom, and a Schacht 25” Flip loom. Oh and that’s not including two wooden frame looms from Woven Wood Goods and a whole bunch of tiny frame looms from Purl & Loop. Oh dear, when you list them out like that, it looks like a lot of looms… but I’m generally weaving on just about two at a time. And I enjoy having this “fleet” of looms (what’s the word for a whole bunch of looms?) because it gives me the opportunity to lend the portable looms out to weaving-curious friends! I love them all… ok maybe I like the Spring, Baby Wolf, and Sample It looms the best right now because that’s mostly what I’m using on a regular basis. “

What are your favourite fibre/threads to use and why?

“Silk has always appealed to me and so when I first started learning to weave, I only wanted to weave silk and everything with 100% silk. But since that time, I’ve grown to love all kinds of fibres and yarns for weaving. I love untreated wool in the way that it fulls and blooms. And I love cashmere for unrivalled softness. I’m also totally in love with kid mohair and silk and love to use that in the weft. Ultimately, I’m really drawn to the texture and feel of the yarn itself and so I consider how the textures can meld together between warp and weft to make something fabulous to feel. “

What items do you love to weave the most?

“This year I tried doing a little bit of rep weave, having been obsessed with images of it on Pinterest. But I’ve loved weaving big blankets for family and friends and also scarves and shawls. I could just play with the interaction between colour and texture for the next decade (as I have for the past decade) and still wouldn’t tire of it. “

What did you do for work before starting your business?

“I’ve had a number of career changes in my life. I started off as a community pharmacist after graduating from the University of British Columbia. And then shortly after, I transitioned into my own design business. I had started doing graphic design and web development for clients when I was still in university and so when I graduated, so slowly moved away from pharmacy work and moved towards design work. And then when I was 28 years old, I started the SweetGeorgia blog and it morphed into what it is today. I just rolled up my graphic design skills and experience into focusing entirely on SweetGeorgia. “

One of your more recent endeavours is the School of SweetGeorgia. Tell us a little bit about that.

“Yes! Two years ago, I began building an online video-based fibre arts school called the School of SweetGeorgia. The idea was to build up a deep knowledge resource of education for the full spectrum of the fibre arts. From dyeing to spinning to weaving to knitting, sprinkling in a good dose of colour theory and design content as well. The School is currently offered as a subscription-based membership that also includes an active discussion forum and monthly livestream Q&As to help support our members.

This all began when I first published my book “Dyeing to Spin & Knit” and people were inviting me to travel to teach workshops at conferences and shops all over. I have two little kids at home and didn’t want to be away from my family with all these traveling and teaching opportunities. So instead, I decided to film my teaching and workshops so that I could provide education from wherever I am to my students, wherever they happen to be. Then we can all learn and connect from wherever we are.”

What are your plans for the future of your business?

“SweetGeorgia will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2020 and we will be three years into the School of SweetGeorgia at that time too. Our mission has always been to bring light to people’s lives through colour and craft, and we’ve been aiming to do that through making beautiful hand-dyed yarn and fibre and designing timeless knitwear patterns for our craft community. In our future, I’d like to see us welcome more makers, weavers, spinners, dyers, and knitters to the craft community. I’d like us to use our focus on education to introduce people to a new hobby or craft that might bring their lives light and joy. “

Being based in Vancouver, Canada, what is one of your favourite places to visit?

“If you come to Vancouver, no doubt I will offer to take you to two of my favourite places — Grouse Mountain where we ski and snowboard in the winter and where my husband and I got married, and Finch’s Tea, my favourite place for sandwiches.”

**********************************************************************

Thank you for joining me here Felicia, I know my readers will be so inspired by your story, your enthusiasm and by all you do!

You can visit Felicia by following these links:

Sweet Georgia Yarns

Instagram

Facebook

Thanks for reading friends, until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Tote Bag Weave Along – Warping, Lesson 2

by Kelly 4 Comments

In today’s Tote Bag Weave Along post, we will cover warping. The last post containing details about materials can be found here.

You can download the PDF with essential project information below.

tote-bag-weave-along-essential-info Download

Prior to warping for any project I find it very useful to mark out the width of the project with some waste yarn to avoid having to count and re-count slots, which can be a bit tedious! I just thread the waste yarn through the slot and tie it at the bottom of the reed. Easy peasy.

*This post contains some affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

You can begin warping on the left or the right side of the loom, it doesn’t matter, but my habit is to start on the right. Tie your first length of yarn onto the apron rod, take it through the first slot and around your warping peg, back through the slot and then around the apron rod again. Alternate so that your thread goes over then under the apron rod each time.

By the time you are finished warping, you should have 2 threads in each slot. Place your yarn gently on the peg – we are not aiming for tight tension at this point, just consistent.

When you are finished warping the required number of ends, cut your yarn and tie off on the apron rod.

Now you’re ready to place a choke tie around the warp near the peg to keep it all together as you wind the warp onto the back beam. A piece of waste yarn in a bow is perfect for this.

The step by step video instructions for this lesson are available for free.

If you need the basic equipment to get started on this project, here are my suggestions:

I have a 24″ Ashford Rigid heddle loom (most looms will come with a 7.5 or 8 dent reed, a threading and reed hook, one stick shuttle and a direct warping peg.

Ashford also have a 16″ rigid heddle loom that is appropriate for this project.

A sewing machine is really invaluable for making bags or any other sewing you want to do with your handwoven fabric. You do not need to spend a fortune on a fancy schmancy machine with all the bells and whistles, just a basic straight and zigzag stitch machine. I have a basic Janome and am very happy with it.

I’m not going to tell anyone that a serger is a must have for sewing hand woven, but the truth is, if you do a fair bit of sewing it will make your life a whole lot easier. I have an old Toyota serger that I bought cheap many years ago as it was an ex demo model. Sergers have actually come down in price since I bought mine, so a new one would set me back the same as what I bought my old one for. I do recommend checking out Janome sergers if you’re in the market for one though.

Yarn suggestions area covered in the last post.

If you have any questions at this stage, please leave them in the comments below.

Next time we will learn how to wind the warp onto the back beam, then thread and tie on in readiness for plain weave.

Happy Weaving!

Winter Butterscotch Pudding

by Kelly 8 Comments

Winter is well and truly upon us in my part of the world, so what better indulgent family dessert to serve up than butterscotch pudding? It uses simple ingredients and only takes 15 minutes to whip up and throw into the oven.

Many of the recipes I’ve tried in the past have had a cloying and somewhat sickly sweetness to them. I thought it about time to come up with my own recipe and it went down a treat!

Before we get started, I’ll answer some questions I know someone will ask.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Golden Syrup is made with cane sugar and has a very particular, recognisable toffee flavour. It is readily available here in Australia, but this may not be the case for you. Suitable substitutes are Light Corn Syrup or Honey.

The dish that I use for many of my puddings is a 9″ Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven. We have only ever purchased the more affordable types (my husband actually found this one in an op shop for $10 – score!) but if I had spare cash lying around, I would definitely invest in a large Le Creuset. In fact, I’d invest in several, but that’s another story.

You may not be familiar with Pyrex jugs, once are again, they are easily obtainable here. Honestly, my 2 Pyrex jugs are among some of my most used kitchen equipment – they are heat proof and the measurement markings never rub off. They’re also super strong and easy to clean. I love them!

Now, let’s get to that pudding!

Kelly

Winter Butterscotch Pudding

The perfect comfort food!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings: 6

Course: Dessert

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1.5 cups Plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
80 grams butter, melted
1 egg
1 & 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 & 3/4 cups boiling water
2 tbsp golden syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar, extra, for topping
1 tbsp cornflour

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, or 350 farenheit.
Sift flour and baking powder together in a cast iron or casserole dish.
Add brown sugar and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk and vanilla together.
Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Whisk melted butter into the batter.
In a Pyrex jug or similar, combine boiling water and golden syrup.
In a separate small bowl or cup, combine extra brown sugar and cornflour and mix thoroughly.
Sprinkle the sugar and cornflour mixture over the batter in the dish.
Gently pour the hot water syrup mixture over the top.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until cooked and golden on top.
Serve with thickened cream or icecream.

You could also serve with custard. Or custard and cream. Or custard and cream and ice cream. But that’s probably taking it too far.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, please do let me know if you make it, I’d love to hear what you think! Oh! And did you know that you can rate this recipe? There are some little stars underneath this post so you can leave your own star rating, cool huh?

Bon Appetit!

June Weaving Boot Camp opens today!

by Kelly Leave a Comment

Hi Weavers!

Just a quick heads up to let you know that in just over 2 hours, I will open the doors of Weaving Boot Camp for a short time.

If you are a new weaver or you simply wish to get to know your loom and increase your confidence, this is the course for you!

To sign up, follow this link.

If you want to know more, follow this link.

If you have any questions, leave a comment under this post.

I hope to see you there, I can’t wait to get started!

Tote Bag Weave Along Lesson 1

by Kelly 13 Comments

It is almost 3 years since I first posted my Tote Bag Weave Along series on Youtube. It has been my most popular series ever, and I’ve been thrilled to see so many bags woven by others!

I’ve wanted to add extra functionality to the series for those who desire it, and that is what I’ll be doing here over the next couple of posts. I will be giving yarn details and help, printable PDF’s, as well as some step by steps for some sections of making the bag.

I’m beginning with the materials list that you can now download and print out.

totebagweavealongmaterialslist Download

OK, lets get into some extra details and questions you may have from the list.

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click and purchase on the link’s given, I receive small commission at no extra cost to you 😉

Do I need to have a 24″ or 60cm rigid heddle loom?

Not necessarily! Although weaving the bag in one piece is the easiest option, it’s not the only way. If, for example, you had a Sampleit loom, you could weave 2 panels, 10″ wide and sew them together for each bag panel you need. (So that would be 4 panels you would weave for one bag). You could even make a design feature of your panels by weaving the wefts in different colours so that each side of your bag would contrast. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

Do I need to sew the handles myself?

Nope. You have other options for the handles too. If you have an inkle loom, you could weave them yourself, in either matching or contrasting colours. You can also purchase ready made handles and these come in a huge variety nowadays. You can choose from metal, acrylic, wood, rattan, and faux leather, to name a few!

I can’t get Australian 8 ply merino – what are my other choices?

There are many yarns you can substitute with and you don’t have to use wool. Cotton, acrylic, bamboo and others can be used too. One world of caution though. When you iron on your interfacing, your chosen yarn needs to be able to take the heat without being scorched. Cotton or superwash wool are good choices.

Here are some suggestions for you:

Lily Sugar n Cream is a range of cottons that come in the most gorgeous colours and varieties. Their variegated cottons are wonderful and they even have curated colour packs! Cascade Ultra Pima is another possibility.

For wool, you have Cascade Superwash, Patons Classic, Carlton Merino and so many more. Yarnsub.com is an excellent resource for checking and comparing yarns.

Do I have to line my bag?

No, but it does give a really nice, more professional looking finish.

Do I need to use a sewing machine?

Technically, you could hand stitch this whole project, but that is not something I would do! If you decide to, make sure your stitches are small and strong, a bag needs to be hard wearing. Whether sewing on a machine or by hand you should always use a good quality thread like my favourite, Gutermann. Cheap thread is cheap for a reason!

Next time we will go through some of the steps for the project. If I have missed anything or if you have questions about the materials, please let me know in the comments. Also, please let me know if offering the series in this format is helpful to you.

In the meantime, if you want to take a look over the Tote Bag Weave Along video series, you can start with the introduction video below.

If you have any questions about the project or anything from this post, please let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to Use Pick-Up Sticks

by Kelly 24 Comments

Pick-up sticks can be a game-changer for rigid heddle weaving. These simple tools expand your loom’s capabilities, allowing you to create intricate patterns beyond plain weave. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to elevate your skills, this guide will help you understand how to use pick-up sticks effectively.

A rigid heddle loom has 2 shafts, essentially the hole threads and the slot threads. These 2 shafts allow you to work plain weave, which is a perfectly lovely weave structure on it’s own, but most weavers will begin with plain weave and then want to increase their own skills and their loom’s capabilities.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click a link and purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This is where pick up sticks enter and shine. Basically, they are simple, flat and smooth lengths of wood. You pick up warp threads and operate the stick/s from behind the heddle/reed. Your pick up sticks need to be longer than the width of your project, or they won’t hold the picked up threads. For my 24″ rigid heddle loom I use 24″ pick up sticks. I can use these same sticks whether my project is narrow or full loom width.

Incorporate one pick up stick and you can weave on 3 shafts. Incorporate two pick up sticks and you can weave on 4 shafts. And you can keep going from there, although you will probably want to learn about installing heddle rods to increase time efficiency. I happen to have a video showing you how to do that:

If that is a bit much for you at the moment, you can run with the knowledge that pick up sticks allow you to weave pretty patterns!

One of the rules of picking up warp threads with a stick is that your heddle needs to be in the “down” position. The threads we want to pick up must be slot threads, as the hole threads are already committed and are therefore inflexible.

Trying to pick up hole threads would be like trying to pick up the same threads twice! The slot threads are normally our shaft 2 threads and when we place the heddle in down position, they are raised.

Because we push our pick up stick/s to the back when not in use and they lay flat between the warp threads, they do not hinder you from being able to still operate shaft 2, as well as an additional shaft when the stick is engaged.

But I don’t think that you need to understand any of the above in order to use one or two pick up sticks, I certainly didn’t know what I was doing when I started with them. I just played around and liked what I saw and you can do the same!

Even if you are using a written pattern, you still don’t need a lot of understanding to follow them. If you see the instructions “1 up, 1 down” for your pick up, it simply means 1 warp thread will sit on top of the pick up stick, the next will sit underneath it and this will repeat across the warp.

The instructions for the actual weaving will be a little different, but easy to follow. Here is a simple weaving sequence as an example:

Up (heddle up)
Down (heddle down)
Up, pick up stick (heddle up and slide pick up stick behind the heddle, leaving flat).

If you want to see pick up sticks and examples of pick up patterns demonstrated, watch my free Youtube video:

If you’re interested in exploring pick up in the form of a project, I can help! My Kitchen Cloths on a rigid heddle loom project is available as an online class.

In my Etsy shop, you will find my Lux Hand Towels pattern, which also uses pick up.

Oh, and let’s not forget the free pattern you receive when you sign up to my email list, the Moroccan Dream Scarf, which is easy enough for beginner pick up stick adventurists and can look so varied, depending on the yarn and colours you decide on.

I have some really cool pick up patterns for free, along with a video tutorial in this post.

I’m quite sure that you will be interested in taking a look at my Pick Up Stick Playlist on Youtube:

I also have a comprehensive course, Pick Up Perfection, available for purchase. If you have a membership to the Online Weaving School, this class is included for free.

I hope this has helped you to understand how pick up sticks can be utilised in your weaving. If this post has been useful to you or if you have any questions, please leave me a comment, I love to hear from you 😊

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Pinwheels on a rigid heddle loom!

by Kelly 15 Comments

Pinwheels are a bit of an ultimate goal for some of us rigid heddle weavers. I’ve often heard it said that it was a picture of another weaver’s pinwheel project that first excited the interest of some to the rigid heddle loom.

I’ve had many requests for a pinwheels class over the past couple of years, so I finally knuckled down, and as a result “Pinwheels for the Rigid Heddle Loom” is now available.

*This post contains an affiliate link. For further information, please view my disclosure policy.

I really enjoyed making this class, as it’s always a thrill to introduce my students to a project that I know just naturally has the “WOW!” factor in abundance.

Pinwheels can be woven on either 8 or 4 shafts, and are essentially a twill draft combined with colour and weave to produce something really impressive, but not all that difficult. You have to love that!

For this class, I chose to weave on 4 shafts (for obvious reasons – 4 shafts is way more achievable on a rigid heddle loom than 8!) using a single heddle/reed and 3 heddle rods. The set up is a little time intensive, but very comparative to the time it would take to set up on a multi shaft loom. And once you start weaving, you are more than rewarded for your efforts.

The class demonstrates a Table Topper project (rather like a table centrepiece) but also provides all the calculations for a table runner, if that is your preference. I chose my colours (Latte and Peacock) to co-ordinate with my dining room curtains, which are a greyish coffee colour.

It is important with pinwheels to choose colours that are harmonious yet have enough contrast – you want those pinwheels to pop out at you!

Before undertaking this class, I highly suggest that you complete the “Converting Pattern Drafts to the Rigid Heddle Loom” to gain a good understanding of setting up your loom according to traditional pattern drafts. The Pinwheels class would then build on that knowledge and demonstrate that there are several ways to achieve the same result.

This class is available as a part of any membership to my Online Weaving School, or can be purchased as a single class.

Until next time….

Happy Pinwheel Weaving!

Celebration Giveaway!

by Kelly 144 Comments

Two recent events have been a cause for celebration for me.

Firstly, my Youtube channel reached (and passed) 20,000 subscribers!

And secondly, it was the 2 year anniversary of my Online Weaving School!

These are both wonderful milestones and I’ve decided to share my happiness by running a giveaway.

The first prize is a Yearly Membership to my Online Weaving School. If you already have a yearly membership, don’t worry, you can still enter and win this as a credit for your next year.

Prize number two is a $50 voucher to spend in my Etsy shop.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are a number of ways to gain extra entries and you have right up until the end of the month to enter.

Winners will be randomly selected.

All the best with your entry!