Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Weaving

Table loom, rigid heddle loom, floor loom?

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It is so hard to choose a loom when you are brand new to weaving! Without a doubt, the “which loom?” question is the one I get the most. And while I can’t tell you which loom is the perfect one for your individual circumstances, I can tell you a little about different types and their advantages/disadvantages.


Lets start with the humble hero that I recommend most often for absolute beginners:

THE RIGID HEDDLE LOOM

The little champion of the weaving world! That is how I think of this humble loom anyway. I believe it’s thanks to this loom we have seen such an enthusiastic resurgence in weaving. You can view the rigid heddle looms I own (affiliate links):
Ashford 24″
Ashford Sampleit 10″


They come in a variety of sizes, are lightweight and portable, are much more affordable than table or floor looms, are customisable by adding a stand and extra heddles, plus they are simple enough for beginners to get up and weaving quickly. The ability to direct warp means you don’t need a warping board to get started. Threading is straight forward and easy. There is very little yarn wastage. You can adapt the loom to weave tapestries.You can even weave 8 shaft patterns on this loom (I’ve seen it done, but I don’t intend to do it myself – waaay too much work for me!)




That all sounds great right? Surely there must be some drawbacks to this loom? 
Well, there are limitations to the rigid heddle loom. The tension, for example, is not like a floor or table loom. Weaving is slower, as you need to put your shuttle down after each pick in order to beat. I mentioned that you can weave up to 8 shafts, but it would take a lot of patience and mucking around that would have me personally reaching for my floor loom in a jiffy (though I realise that not everyone has that luxury!) 
I don’t really think of these things as negatives, the rigid heddle loom has too much going for it to warrant any real criticism. What I have listed above are more differences as opposed to negatives.






Want to know more about the rigid heddle loom? You may wish to watch my free Rigid Heddle Loom/Table Loom Comparison video. I also have a huge range of videos for rigid heddle weavers or those interested in starting out on my Youtube channel, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe to ensure you don’t miss new videos.


I also have a big range of rigid heddle weaving classes available on my Online Weaving School, I recommend you taking a look!


I hope this article has been helpful to you, next time I will discuss table looms!

Towels just for moi!

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 I recently completed a project that I undertook just for me. Most of my weaving is for classes, patterns or customers, so to set aside the time to weave something for myself was pretty special!


As you may already know, I make bread for my family. I use kitchen towels to cover the rising dough and to cover the finished loaves as they cool. Perfect! Bread towels were what I needed!
I warped with 22/2 cottolin in natural with a red cotton stripe to accent.

Then I decided on M & W threading and some 2/2 twill variations.


I changed up the colour for each new towel so that some have bold patterns and others subtle.


For this one I changed both the colours and the treadling for a feature border.
To finish off, a little embroidery.


I am very happy with my new set of towels. Being hand woven with quality yarn, I know these will last many years in my kitchen.

How about you? Do you find that you’re always weaving or making for someone other than yourself? Perhaps you want to follow my lead and put aside some time to make something special just for you!

Spring Table Runner Free Rigid Heddle Project!

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Winter is fast approaching us here in Australia, but for those in the Northern Hemisphere, you are looking forward to the mildness and beauty of Spring. It’s a wonderful time to be freshening up household linens and table decor with new hand wovens!
 
*This post contains affiliate links
 
The Spring Table Runner project was initially run as a weave along, but can of course be undertaken at any time. I chose light and pastel colours to give that spring feel and also embroidered a delicate spray of flowers on either end of the runner to really make it feel like Spring.

 
The table runner is woven with lovely thick and soft cotton for easy care. The design is worked by using colour in the warp and weft, plus some simple pick up for additional interest.
 
You can download the free, printable PDF for the Spring Table Runner right here-  
Spring-Table-RunnerPDFDownload

What you will need to complete this project:

*A rigid heddle loom, 20″ or wider

*A 7.5 dent reed/heddle

* 2 x stick shuttles, at least as long as the width of your project

*A pick up stick, longer than the width of your project

*A double ended reed and heddle hook or a separate threading hook and reed hook

I know that many of you do not have access to the same yarns that I do. Let’s have a look at some suitable yarns you could use to complete this project:

For the 10 ply/ worsted/aran weight:

Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton 10 ply

Lily Sugar n Cream cotton

Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton

Knit Picks Dishie Worsted cotton

Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton

For the 8 ply/ light worsted/dk weight:

Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton 8ply

Cestari Old Dominion 100% cotton

Maurice Brassard 8/8 cotton

Yarnsub.com is also an excellent resource for finding a variety of yarns with similar characteristics to what I used. It is a simple site to use, but if you’re unsure, here is an example:

On the homepage, enter into the search box the yarn than you wish to substitute. Here I’ve entered “Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply cotton”.

Hit “enter” on your keyboard or click on the little spy glass. Choose the correct yarn from the list below. In this case, I will click the top yarn.

When you see this page, start scrolling down for all of the listed possible matches or near matches. This particular search gave 50 results!! You will see after each suggested yarn there is a percentage match – that will tell you how well the suggested substitute matches your original search. It’s brilliant!

You can of course substitute colours depending on availability and individual tastes. One of my favourite runners that I’ve seen is this one, woven by Juliet.

A very different colour scheme is used here, but still feels very Spring like and is absolutely beautiful!

The entire playlist of videos for the class can be found here-

The video series plus PDF can also be viewed at my Online Weaving School, if you prefer.

I really hope that this Spring Table Runner brings a little freshness to your table and joy into your home!

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them under this post, I would love to hear from you.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Fear of the loom!

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I am sometimes surprised by the fear that can exist in newer weavers (and often not so new weavers as well). The fear that you will get stuck and not know what to do, the fear that the project won’t turn out the way it’s supposed to, the fear that you are not smart enough to learn how to use your loom, the fear that you will waste yarn if you make a mistake… I could go on.





I know people who have abandoned a new loom into a corner, a spare room or (dare I speak it?) a dusty garage. The fear is too great to make a start and they feel they have failed before even beginning.


I say that I am surprised, but I really shouldn’t be. All it takes is a few moments of thinking back to when I was a new weaver. I was so excited by this beautiful piece of equipment, but silently terrified! What a privilege, but what a responsibility! 

Is that fear still with me? No, although I do sometimes feel an apprehension when trying something new with very expensive yarn!



So, how to rid yourself of the fear? It’s actually very simple. You arm yourself with the knowledge you need and you practice! Read books, find resources, take courses, find weavers, join groups and network. And practice! Start simple and work your way up. Think of how an athlete trains. That is you, at your loom. Training, practicing, learning from mistakes and building knowledge.

If you do this, the magic will start to happen. That magic is CONFIDENCE! And with confidence, the sky is the limit.


If you are at that frozen with fear stage with your loom, perhaps you need some extra resources to help you out. 


My Youtube channel has a plethora of videos to help you get started in weaving.


My Online Weaving School is a great place for learning and gaining confidence. 


My Facebook Group is a friendly and welcoming place for weavers of all levels.





I hope this post will inspire you to go out there and weave beautiful things!



New Introduction to Floor Loom Weaving course

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I am so excited to bring you the news that this course is now available! The Introduction to Floor Loom Weaving course is my biggest class yet, with almost 4.5 hours of video instruction plus printable PDFs.


I designed this course for new floor loom weavers, or those who simply want to “make friends” with their loom and gain confidence weaving. 
The topic list is huge, but includes loom anatomy, calculations, reading drafts, warping, dressing the loom, the mechanics of weaving, and much more! 


The course is project based so participants will end up with a beautiful 3 shaft double cowl scarf. 

I hope to make follow up classes to take students through 4 and 8 shaft projects in the near future.

If you’re interested in this course, visit my Online Weaving School, where you can watch a preview for the class. It is available as a single purchase, or, if you are a subscriber, this course is included in your subscription, simply login to view.

Happy Weaving!

DIY natural hand softener

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Do you ever have problems with dry hands that become rough?

Gardeners are very familiar with this issue, but it can also happen if you frequently use soap for hand washing or are often in a heated environment.

 
 If you work with your hands, dry skin can be frustrating – you will have threads catching on rough skin and if it gets bad enough it may become painful to use and wash your hands – not nice!
 
*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.
 
 
 
So today I am sharing with you an old embroiderer’s trick to smooth and silky hands in no time, using  natural ingredients that most of you should have in your pantry. And, it really works!
 
 
2 tablespoons white, granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Yep, that’s it!
 
If you want to really treat yourself, you could add a drop or two of essential oil. I use oils from Eco Modern Essentials and my personal favourites to use are lavender, peppermint or rose.
 
 
Mush the two ingredients together in a bowl until it comes together.  Now, with both hands, rub the mixture all over the fronts and backs of your hands. There is not set time for the rubbing, but if you do it too long it may over exfoliate and start to hurt – less is probably more!
 
 
Wash your hands in warm water (you may need just a little soap or wipe on a paper towel or similar to help dissolve the excess oil). Pat your hands dry with a nice soft towel.
 
Follow up with a moisturiser if you wish, though I don’t find it necessary. Enjoy your soft and silky hands!
 
P.S. This towel is the underside of one of my hand woven Lux Hand Towels, the pattern is available in my Etsy shop.
Until next time…
 
Happy Weaving!


Weaving for Christmas

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My favourite time of the year is coming and what better way to celebrate the festivities than by weaving for family, friends and your home!


I have quite a few free video tutorials to get those creative juices flowing:
                                                Christmas Table Runner
 
Christmas Bunting

I hope these inspire you to add some beautiful hand woven

Christmas cheer to your home or someone else’s!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

🎄 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Overshot uh-oh!

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I tried overshot on 4 shafts for the first time. I put on a massive 8/2 cotton warp (my first mistake – too wide, too long!) thinking I would have a couple of table runners or plenty of baby blankets by the time I was done.
The threading was somewhat complicated, but I got through that and started weaving.
I don’t know, maybe I just don’t enjoy weaving overshot or maybe it’s a bit of inexperience, but this project became a struggle.
Some threading errors became apparent and then the breaking warp threads started. My progress was slow, very slow!
The errors stick out like a sore thumb, but I still wanted to share these photos, firstly to share the disappointments and imperfections, but also in appreciation of the pattern, which is actually pretty cool. The above piece was woven with black bamboo for the pattern and white bamboo for the tabby.
The back of the same piece. 
This was my favourite piece, I used a hand dyed, variegated tencel for the pattern and a mercerised cotton for the tabby.
The back of the same piece.
And this piece I quite like also. I used a thicker hand dyed cotton (8ply) for the pattern and a white bamboo for the tabby.
 
So, what did I learn from this humbling experience? That I’m not as good as I thought I was? Definitely. That my slow progress on the floor loom is starting to frustrate me? Uh huh. That I want to do something about it? Yes!
I’m not giving up, I’ll keep trying and I think that, for now, that is the best I can do.

Weaving suppliers list

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This is certainly not an entire list of all suppliers, but I hope it’s a start for new weavers.
 
Thank you to my Facebook group weaving friends for your assistance in putting this list together. Please comment with details of other suppliers, particularly for countries not listed here.


Australia:

Petlins Spinning and Weaving Supplies, NSW, Ashford dealer, huge range of supplies.

BB Yarns Supply, QLD, Weaving threads and online correspondence courses.

The Thread Collective –  (Affiliate link) Online supplier of threads and looms. Louet and Ashford dealer.

Crafty Frog, Canberra, ACT, Ashford dealer, looms, yarns, accessories, instore classes.

Glenora Weaving and Wool, NSW, yarns, accessories, magazines and books.

Knit, Spin, Weave, S.A, fibre arts supplies, looms, dyes, yarns, books.

Woolganics, NSW, Australian organic wool.

Aunt Jenny,   Fibre arts supplies, weaving supplies, looms, Ashford dealer

New Zealand:
Ashford Handicrafts, New Zealand, large range of looms, weaving accessories, yarns and supplies.

Fibreholics, wide range of interesting yarns, classes

Wheels and whorls, Ashford dealer, huge range of looms, yarns and supplies

D.E.A. Yarns, Luxury yarns

Canada:

Jane Stafford, Louet looms, spinning wheels, yarns, workshops

Penelope Fibre Arts, large range of looms, weaving supplies, yarns

Maurice Brassard, Quebec, huge range of weaving yarns


Camilla Valley Farm, Ontario, Leclerc looms, weaving yarns and supplies

USA:

My Amazon Shop 

The Woolery, Kentucky, huge range of everything weaving related! (Affiliate link)

WEBS, Massachusetts, Huge range also.

Revolution Fibers  Looms, weaving yarns, craft kits, wheels, fibre supplies
Yarn Barn, Kansas, lots of yarn options Looms, weaving yarns, craft kits, wheels, fibre supplies

Paradise Fibres, Washington, huge range of yarns, looms and fibre art supplies

Weaving South West, New Mexico, Gallery that also stocks some small looms and varieties of yarn

Weaving Works, Seattle, looms, yarns, classes

Bountiful Weaving, large and little looms, yarns

Studio Thre3, AZ, Leclerc looms, yarns

Fibre Creek, AZ, range of looms and yarns

Heartland Fibre, Iowa, yarn (beautiful looking retail shop!)

Halcyon Yarn,  looms, yarns, everything!

Lofty Fiber, weaving, knitting, spinning, yarn and classes

UK:
George Weil, looms, yarns, tapestry looms


The Handweavers Studio and Gallery, London, huge range of looms, equipment and yarns

Fibre Hut, Ashford dealer

The Threshing Barn, beautiful location in a converted spinning mill, looms, supplies and yarns

Wingham Woolwork, Wentworth, Ashford and Kromski stockist, looms, supplies, yarns
Colourmart, Online weaving yarn supplies

Hilltop Spinning and Weaving, Kent, Ashford looms, accessories, yarns

Frank Herring and Sons, Dorset, Ashford and Leclerc looms, yarns, supplies 

Weft Blown, Ashford dealer, large selection of looms, weaving supplies, yarns and fibre art supplies.

Wonky Weaver , Located in Wales. Wide range of looms including Glimakra, Schacht and Louet. Spinning, dyeing and fibre arts supplies.

Spain:

https://tejoloquehilo.es/es/ – Weaving supplies, Ashford dealer, fibres for dyeing and spinning. This site is only available in Spanish or Catalan but can easily be translated with Google Chrome.

https://www.textilesnaturales.com/ – Ashford supplier but also sell Louet table and floor looms. Their website is in English and Spanish.

France:

https://www.artifilum.com/ – Ashford supplier, they also sell Glimakra, Toika and Leclerc looms. Their website is in French and English.

The Netherlands:

Stephen and Penelope – Beautiful range of knitting yarns from lace weight to bulky, big range of fibre to choose from.

Wools of Nations – Excellent range of natural knitting yarns

Can you really weave that on a rigid heddle loom?!

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I hear that a lot. And most of the time, the answer is yes!


Take my newest pattern release as an example. Did you know I have 2 patterns in my Etsy shop now? Yes, I’ve been a busy little bee.

My new project is entitled “Happy Fibonnaci Kitchen Towels”. “Happy” because of the happy colours and “Fibonacci” because I based the design on the Italian mathematician’s sequence. These are a perfect example of using the rigid heddle loom to obtain the WOW factor.


With the right arrangement of colours and a pick up stick you can weave a towel that looks like it’s hot off a multi shaft loom.

I hope you find the time to weave some beautiful towels for your kitchen or to give as a special gift.