Weaving

Targeted wedging for better tension

In an ideal world we would have perfect tension every time we warp our looms, but that is just not realistic!

There are many challenges to achieving great warp tension, but the good news is that practice helps a lot and this is something you will improve on over time.

But, even for the seasoned weaver, there can be the occasional curve ball just to keep us humble 😆 For me, that was a recent double width project on my rigid heddle loom.

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

I warped independently, which is do-able but not 100% ideal when you’re using thicker threads and those threads are doubled. When I started weaving, I found that my tension was firmer in the middle than on either side.

This began interfering with the “cleanness” of my sheds, meaning that not all my warp threads were settling into position well when I changes sheds. And for double width weaving, that can be a huge headache!

I’ve covered wedging before, as you can see in this video:

But I also wanted to get a bit more specific about wedging problem areas in your warp. This is very quick and easy to do and can make a big difference to your tension.

I start out by identifying the areas that need help. For me, that was either side of the middle section, towards the edges. If I wedges all the way across the warp at this point, that would also increase the tension in the mid section, where it is not needed.

There are several materials you can use for wedging (like cardboard separators, cut to size) but I chose to use everyday A4 printing paper. I folded the paper to the approximate width of the loose warp section so that the paper had been folded about 4 times. This provided me with a bit of thickness, but not too much.

It may be easiest for you to pop around the back of your loom with the paper to get close to the warp.

Take the paper underneath the entire warp (both heddles are in neutral at this point) and start to wiggle and jam it into place.

Push the paper in towards the back of the loom. You will feel resistance from the threads and this is good, because you are tightening everything up. There is no set amount for how far back the wedge should be pushed, just until you can feel that the threads have increased in tension in that section.

As you weave and advance your warp, your wedges will move out of place and you will need to reposition them at each advance. This is actually a good thing, because it ensures that your looser threads are constantly being re-tensioned!

If you would like to see the way I place the wedges, please check out this video:

I hope this short tutorial was useful to you! Have you used targeted wedging before? Has it made all the difference to your project? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you!

Do you love the look of the project I’m working on in this tutorial? This is from my Plaid Double Width Blanket Ebooklet, which is available now.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

What is a rigid heddle?

by Kelly 16 Comments

I’ve talked a lot about rigid heddle looms in general here, but today I’m going to focus on the actual rigid heddle.

I’m going to explain what it is, what the measurements mean, how you can match up different sized yarns with different heddles, and basic care of your rigid heddle to ensure longevity.

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

Sometimes you will see a rigid heddle referred to simply as a “heddle”, and
sometimes you’ll see them called a “reed”. I usually refer to it just as a heddle to simplify.

They’re actually a combination of both, because the frame contains a way for you to thread your yarn and also doubles up as your beater, for beating in the weft. This is really a very unique piece of equipment.

For more traditional or multi shaft weaving, the heddles are made of string, texsolv, or metal, and they are movable. Every single thread has its own heddle.

But a rigid heddle is basically just what it sounds like. The heddles, or the spaces through which the threads go are set in the frame and don’t move.

Generally, a rigid heddle is constructed from wood for the frame and plastic for the heddles and slots, though the entire heddle can be made of wood. You will find some “toy” style rigid heddle looms made entirely of plastic, and some folks are utilising 3D printers to print their own rigid heddles these days, which is pretty cool!

This article was prompted by a student question, which was “what does the dent mean“.
Well, when we’re referring to rigid heddles, we talk about the dent as basically a space through which
your thread can go.

If you look up to the top of your own rigid heddle there will probably be some numbers. This depends on the manufacturer, as some loom companies leave their heddles blank. (It’s much easier if the numbers are there, in my opinion!)

This one says 7.5 at the top, and that tells me that it’s a seven and a half dent heddle. But what does
that actually mean to you as the weaver?

Well, it means that if you use this particular heddle, you can achieve 7.5 ends per inch. This is one of the differences between a rigid heddle loom and a different kind of loom. The sett or the ends per inch are already set in place by the size of your heddle.

So, you choose a heddle that suits the type of yarn or the size of the yarn that you want to use at any time. I’ll
talk about that a little bit more in a minute, but first I want to show you how the measurements on your heddle work.

I mentioned that this is a seven and a half dent heddle. So, looking at my tape measure over about an inch, I’m
going to count every single space through which a thread can go on this heddle.

I’m counting the holes because we use both the holes and the slots on the rigid heddle for a balanced plain weave.

I begin by counting from the first hole at the start of the tape measure, and continue to count every hole and slot until I reach the one inch mark.

Because this is a 7.5 dent heddle, I won’t count the last slot at the one inch mark as a full slot, but as a half. This is reflected in the fact that the counted holes and slots don’t fit evenly within the inch measurement. For a heddle that has a rounded number, for example, a 10 dent heddle, you will find that you can measure exactly 10 spaces in the inch.

So, how does this information actually translate to the loom?

Well, it’s extremely important that we match the right yarns to the right heddles. Let’s say that
hypothetically, I wanted to do a balanced weave on my seven and a half dent heddle. The first thing you need
to do is your sett test.

If you’re not familiar with sett, or you’re not sure how to figure out the sett for your
particular yarn, I have two videos that will help:

What is sett?

How to determine sett.

Once you know about sett you have such freedom, something will click in your brain and you will suddenly
understand so much better how yarn size relates to the size of your heddle.

Here is an example of how they tie together:

I wrap the yarn I want to use around my inch ruler and find that it has roughly 15 wraps per inch. Divide the wraps in half for a balanced plain weave. This gives me 7.5.

Now I know that if I want to do a plain weave on my rigid heddle loom, the 7.5 dent heddle is almost perfectly
matched to this particular yarn.

When you have a heddle size that doesn’t exactly match the sett that you’ve determined for your yarn, then
you can start making decisions. The decisions will usually be based on the project itself and how you want it to turn
out.

If the sett you determine for your yarn is not exactly the same as any of your heddle sizes, but is very close, you may choose to either go up or down in heddle size.

As an example, imagine that the wraps per inch for my chose yarn comes to 18 wraps. Divided in half, this will be 9 ends per inch (or a sett of 9.)

There are no loom companies that make a nine dent rigid heddle. But that’s okay, because we can compromise, based on what the planned project is. Do I want a lighter, airier and softer fabric? Or do I want a firmer and denser fabric?

For placemats or a table runner I would be looking for a firmer fabric, for a scarf or wearable I would be hoping for something softer and lighter. For the firmer option, I would choose to weave the yarn with a sett of 9 in a 10 dent reed. For the softer option, I would choose the 7.5 dent heddle.

These decisions become easier over time and experience with all different yarns and different types of
projects.

There are a couple of other things that I want to point out about your rigid heddle. When you have a look at the information at the top of the heddle frame, you’ll notice that, at least on an Ashford, there are some other numbers printed. In the case of the 7.5 dent heddle, the other printed figures are 30/10. This is metric information rather than Imperial. The 30/10 just means that over 10 centimetres, you will fit 30 threads in that 10 centimetres.

Also, if you look in between where it says “Ashford” and “7.5” you’ll see a dot. That dot means that directly underneath this is the very middle of your rigid heddle. This is really handy information!

I like to keep a piece of waste yarn tied at this middle marker for easy visual reference. It also makes measuring out your intended project before you begin warping. Simply place a measuring tape and line up the half way measurement with the half way mark on the heddle.

For this 10″ wide piece, I line up the 5″ mark with the centre of the heddle. I can then mark the start of the tape measure and the 10″ mark with more waste yarn tied onto the heddle for quick and easy warping.

The last thing I want to go over with you today is some tips on the care of your rigid heddles for their longevity.

New heddles are not cheap to buy, especially if you want to have a lot of sizes.
If you’re getting into weaving with two and three heddles you will be looking at quite an investment. Some basic care will help prolong the life of your heddles.

The first thing is to not store heddles in a place that is damp. Doing that will probably warp your wood over time and may render the heddle unusable.

Another thing is to not keep heddles in a place that is too hot. We are dealing with plastic here, so if it gets too hot, or it gets near a source of heat too much, the plastic component can melt and warp as well.

The third point is to go easy on your heddle. Don’t be overly rough on it when you’re threading. I know that might sound a little bit silly, but a heddle like a 15 dent heddle is very thin and not as strong as a larger sized heddle. Rough threading could bend or break the plastic.

The basic moral of the story is that if you treat your rigid heddles right, they will treat you right!

If you would like a handy guide for your rigid heddle loom, I recommend The Weaver’s Toolkit. It includes information such as the right yarns for the right sized heddles, yarn conversion sheets, calculation sheets and many more useful guides.

The Weaver’s Toolkit ebook is available for purchase here.

Would you like to view this post in video format?

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Which size inkle loom?

by Kelly 2 Comments

Inkle loom weaving has really taken off recently, and it’s not hard to understand why.

An inkle loom is portable, affordable and fun. Some weavers start their weaving journey on an inkle loom, others discover it and use it to compliment their other weaving skills and projects.

As with a rigid heddle loom, on an inkle you can start with the basics and weave just on two shafts, or plain weave. In fact, because the bands you weave are warped faced and all the colour is in the warp, you could weave plain weave bands for a very long time without tiring of the simplicity.

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

If you’re new to the world of inkle weaving, you might be wondering about size. Not all inkle looms are the same size. You may wonder which one is best suited to your needs.

As I own and use an Ashford inkle loom, it makes sense for me to compare the two sizes Ashford have available.

The Ashford Inkle Loom is the largest of the two.

This loom is capable of a 110″ warp length and width of 3″. Bear in mind that your warp width is usually reduced by around half for the woven band.

The Ashford Inklette is the smaller size.

You can warp the Inklette with 70″ in length and 2″ in width.

So, the main differences between the two?

Size
Price

The Inklette is much more petite than the regular size. Here is a photo comparison of the two:

The inklette is extremely portable (you can throw it in a bag and take it with you). It is affordable ($60USD cheaper than the regular size).

But the trade off is the amount of warping space. The smaller size of the Inklette means a smaller band.

The questions you might ask yourself are:

What sized bands do I want to weave? Do I want the flexibility of being able to weave a wider, longer band or am I happy to weave narrower, shorter bands?
How much do I want to spend to start out in inkle weaving?
Do I want a loom that I can easily take with me to weave on the go?

If you are interested in learning more about inkle weaving before you decide whether it is something you want to pursue, I have some helpful resources:

7 tips for inkle weaving plus a free pattern

How to weave on an inkle loom

I have just completed a new, comprehensive Inkle Course. The course covers everything you need to know to weave a plain weave band, tubular weaving and baltic weaving.

To find out more about the Inkle Weaving Course, click here!

If you’re looking for stockists of inkle looms in Australia, I recommend The Thread Collective or Knit, Spin, Weave.

I hope this post helps you to decide on the inkle loom that is right for you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Double width weaving tips for rigid heddle weaving

by Kelly 18 Comments

Double width is one of those weaving techniques that can seem like some kind of sorcery to a new weaver.

It can be both very exciting and extremely daunting, all at the same time!

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

I remember how overjoyed I was early in my weaving journey to discover that my 24″ rigid heddle loom was actually capable of weaving fabric twice as wide. Wow, what a revelation!

With two heddles of the same size and two pick up sticks, you too can weave cloth double width.

If you’re interested in knowing more about what weaving with two heddles can achieve, I’ve written a previous article with details and examples of all the various things you can do with two heddles. You can read that article here.

My Weaving With Two Heddles class is one of my Online Weaving School best sellers, and it’s not hard to see why. Weaving double width can open up a whole new world of possibilities on any size rigid heddle loom.

Although weaving double width can be a challenge, I believe it is very achievable with the right tools and knowledge. And practice, of course!

Over the past few years, I’ve heard all of the common problems that students run into when attempting this technique. I’ve run into most of them myself at some point too.

So, today I want to give you my best tips for successful double weaving to help you have the best experience and hopefully avoid some common frustrations.

I’ll start with one common misconception from newbie double weavers:

Technically, your cloth will not be twice as wide.

Let me explain!

My rigid heddle loom is a 24″. The assumption then, is that if I’m weaving double width, I will end up with a 48″ wide piece of fabric. Not so. The 48″ figure does not allow for draw in and shrinkage. Just as I do when I weave a single layer of fabric on my 24″ loom, I have to calculate and allow for these differences. Depending on my yarn, I could have up to a 20% loss. This would make my double width cloth closer to 38″ in width.

This is something to consider in the planning stages of your double width piece. You may find it worth the time to weave a smaller sampler first, putting it through the wet finish and drying process and recording all the measurements before and after in order to determine the shrinkage and loss for your particular yarn.

And now for my tips!

Great warp tension makes all the difference.

I will say this for any weaving project, but it becomes all the more important for double width. Get you tension as good as you possibly can while winding on your warp.

This doesn’t mean get the warp as tight as you can, but more as firm and consistent as you can. This might mean that you need a helper to assist you in holding the warp while you wind on. It might mean using weights on the warp while you wind on. It will certainly mean packing the back beam very well as you wind (I would recommend a roll of craft paper that fits the width of your loom for this).

If your warp tension is not consistent enough, when you try to adjust the tightness to begin weaving, you will find some threads are tight enough and others are loose. Threads will not all be in their correct sheds, and you may be confused about thread positioning.

This can be super frustrating but is avoidable by taking extra time and effort over your warping process. Trust me, it’s worth it!

Choose your yarn carefully.

Choosing the right yarn for your double width project is going to save you a lot of headaches later on!

Firstly, you need a yarn that is a suitable size for the heddles you are using.

Next, you DO NOT want a sticky yarn for this weave structure. A yarn that sticks to itself too much, is frizzy or fluffy, will interfere with the cleanness of your sheds and turn you into one very frustrated weaver!

To find out more about different types of yarns, some I do or don’t recommend, and more general weaving yarn information, you may want to check out these articles:

Choosing and Using Yarns in Weaving…

3 Yarns New Weavers should never use!…

You also want to be careful about a yarn that has too much stretch. I like to use wool for double width weaving because it’s elastic, but bounces back, so it’s very forgiving.

If your yarn is elastic, but stretches without returning or bouncing back, then you have a problem. It will be next to impossible to maintain proper tension on the loom. This will make droopy sheds and you won’t be able to properly see which threads are in the right sheds or not.

Your fold may not always be the same.

The fold is kind of a big deal in double width weaving. This is because, once you remove your piece from the loom and open it up, that fold is on display for all to see! You can certainly weave a next to invisible fold, but there are some things you need to know first.

Yarn. Again, the yarn you use will impact on how your fold turns out. For example, I have found that a cotton will bunch together more tightly at the fold than wool does. This is because cotton is more rigid and less lofty/bouncy. So my strategy at the fold changes according to the yarn I’m using. I need to be less firm at the fold when using a more rigid cotton, to give it a little more space to settle into place. Again, a sample can be your best bet to success.

Consistent weft tension at the fold is really important. Try to find a good rhythm and stick with it. Not too tight, not too loose. Practice, practice, practice! You won’t get to really see your fold until you remove the piece, so it is challenging to know how it’s going to turn out. But practice will give you a good feel for what is too much or too little weft tension.

Clear your sheds if you’re concerned about floats.

Coming back to the possibility of sticky yarn or threads being in places they shouldn’t, it could be a good idea to use an extra stick shuttle or pick up stick to clear sheds before weaving them. You could do this for every shed if you need to, or just for those you have determined to be troublesome. When you open a new shed, insert your extra stick and wave it around. Or place it in flat and pull it towards you then slide up towards the heddle. This should sort out any naughty threads.

If things still don’t seem right, you can place the stick behind the heddle when the new shed is open and slide the stick up towards the back beam, then take it out. As long as your threading is correct, this works very well for putting threads in their correct places.

To check for floats, you will want to view your work from underneath at intervals. You can’t see how things are looking underneath as you weave, so either use a mirror or your phone to check. If you’re feeling energetic, you can hop off your chair and pop under the loom for a look. I’ve done all of these, and they all work fine, the main thing is to do checks periodically to see if you’re getting floats or to know if anything looks a bit off.

Now I want to address a question I get a lot.

Can I weave patterns or other weave structures in double width?

The very short answer is yes.

But…(there had to be a but, right?) the rigid heddle loom is best suited to double width in plain weave. There is a good reason for this.

A rigid heddle loom is a two shaft loom. When we weave double width, we are using 4 shafts (which is why we need two heddle plus two pick up sticks). Quite doable on a rigid heddle.

But, if you want to weave another pattern, that will often require 4 shafts to begin with. A rule of double width weaving is that you must have twice the number of shafts initially required. So, that 4 shaft pattern just became 8 shafts.

If you’re on of those thrill seeking rigid heddle weavers, and want to adapt 8 shafts for your loom, I wish you all the best. It can be done, but that is one thing I choose not to do myself. Although a voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me that I will and must do it one day, just for the challenge. Most of the time I try to keep that little voice at bay, it asks too much of me sometimes 😆

Suffice to say, setting up for a 4 shaft double weave on a rigid heddle loom is no picnic in the park. But, I do have another suggestion that I think you will like.

Colour and weave! If you’re unfamiliar with the term, check out this article. To explain it simply, colour and weave uses colour techniques to create interesting fabric and can easily be done on plain weave threading. You can combine warp and weft colour combinations to weave really beautiful items that look more complicated than your everyday plain weave.

This can easily be applied to your double width project. In my Doubleweave Baby Blanket class, I employ the use of weft stripes, but you can take that further by introducing more colour to warp as well.

The only thing you really need to know is that you will have to be particular about the colour placement at your fold, remembering that a warp stripe placed at the fold will be twice as wide as a single layer fabric.

That brings me to my very last tip.

If you find the fold challenging, incorporate a distraction!

So, you’ve been practicing folds for a while, but you’re still not happy with your results? Or you find that the fold is always too visible?

Try doing what I just mentioned, and add stripes to your warp, or colour arrangements. Ensure that these are arranged correctly at the fold. My reasoning behind this is that a piece of fabric that has colour or pattern will be “busier to the eye, and distract the view away from any less than perfect aspects of the piece.

Now I have some additional resources for you if you’re eager to start your own double width journey.

Book:

Jane Patrick’s “The Weaver’s Idea Book” has a whole chapter dedicated to many aspects of double weave. I highly recommend this book for any rigid heddle weaver, it is so comprehensive and inspiring!

Classes:

Weaving with Two Heddles

Doubleweave Baby Blanket

Members only classes:

Slouchy double heddle bag

Wrist Warmers

The Plaid Double Width Blanket Ebook is a fantastic 44 page resource that includes a beautiful blanket project plus a ton of comprehensive and useful information:

Plaid Double Width Blanket Ebook

So tell me, have you tried double width weaving yet? Perhaps these tips have inspired you to give it a go? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Crazyshot Book Review and Giveaway

by Kelly 408 Comments

Myra Wood is a well known fibre artist with an impressive array of artistic skills and talents. In fact, I’m quite amazed by all her achievements in teaching, writing books and creating. She is a huge inspiration!

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

Myra has just released a wonderful new weaving book that I am so excited to tell you about – “Crazyshot! Creative Overshot Weaving on the Rigid Heddle Loom”. “Crazyshot” is creative overshot weaving for the rigid heddle with bold patterns and colours.

The book provides beautiful colour photo, step by step instructions and explanations. The patterns look extremely complex and yet are achieved with just one heddle and one pick up stick! There are 14 stunning projects included.

You may be thinking “this looks way too advanced for me!”, but that is the beauty of it. All you need is the basics, plus a good dose of patience and an adventurous attitude.

Let’s have a chat with Myra and find out more about her and how the new book came about.

Tell us a little about your background in fibre arts.

“I was a pretty crafty kid. My mom taught me how to sew and crochet and we made tons of Barbie doll and kid’s clothes. I continued crafting through adulthood, adding new crafts every couple of years- more sewing, quilting, embroidery, tapestry and bead weaving, tatting, you name it, always with an emphasis on creative expression. In 2003 I started teaching knitting classes at a local yarn store and within a couple years I began teaching knitting and crochet on the US national circuit for XRX/Stitches, Vogue Knitting, guilds and special events. Along the way, I taught 5 classes for Craftsy and wrote 3 books and published lots of patterns. Up until Covid, I was traveling around the US almost every month. ( I don’t miss the airports but I do miss seeing everybody in person).“

When and how did you first become interested in weaving?

“In 2012, I saw my first rigid heddle loom at a trade show and had to have one. I dove right into the deep end buying a 20” with a stand while I was there and all the rigid heddle books I could find. Needless to say, my yarn stash was already a bit ridiculous so when I found out I could use the same yarns I was ready to go. My loom arrived a couple weeks later and it’s been a love affair ever since. I now own 4 rigid heddle looms, all of which are usually warped with some experiment or another.“

Crazyshot is not the first book you’ve published, but it is your first weaving book. What was the inspiration behind the book?

“In all honesty, your Branoe class blew me away. I kept thinking about Fair Isle and Mosaic knitting and other charted needlework while I was learning. I looked for more info on Branoe and found very little but I did discover a rich history of supplemental weft weaving from all different cultures throughout time. So I started experimenting and this book is the result of combining lots of different ideas from various charted needlework. Many times my books have come out of wanting to see the book I wish was already out there.“

Something that students often ask me about is how to choose colours for a project. I noticed that in “Crazyshot” your project colours are strikingly beautiful and harmonious. Do you have any tips for those who are nervous combining and choosing colours?

“Absolutely! I love color and I’m not afraid to use it but lots of times I find myself in color ruts. Give me some blue, green, aqua and purple yarn and I’m off to the races. When I want to step outside my comfort zone, I like to take a skein of a long color repeat yarn like Noro Kureyon and match up all the solid colors I have in my stash to the colors in the yarn. The dyers are very experienced with color and often put together colors I’d never think of combining. I’ve also used variegated yarns to start with and even printed fabrics I love. Color is the most essential element for me so before I start any project, once my colors are chosen, I stick to that palette. I always say you have to love the colors together before you start or you won’t like the end result. I always start with color.“

With all of the creative pursuits you are involved with, how do you organise your time effectively in order to achieve such variety?

“I tend to get fairly obsessive about one craft at a time. I’m passionate about learning as much as possible and experimenting with all the different ways I can express myself with it.

Eventually something else strikes my fancy and I abandon the previous one for the latest obsession. Many times I’ve rediscovered my love for a particular craft years after I thought I was done with it. I feel like I have a great toolbox to work with and I love combining ideas from different crafts.

I’m so lucky to have a dedicated studio and spend my days in it from morning till night. (I told you I was obsessive). As I’m aging, I find I can’t spend the hours I used to working with my hands before they start aching so I try and take breaks and do other things like clean the house and exercise. I did say try. I spend more time reflecting and relaxing now but my wheels are always turning with new ideas so I’m actually planning another book already!“

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And now for some more exciting news. Myra has one signed print copy of “Crazyshot” to gift to one of you lucky readers!

To enter, leave a comment below telling me what appeals to you most about this technique.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO CATHY MURPHY! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

You can purchase “Crazyshot” in either digital or print version from Amazon or from Myra’s website.

If you would like a video course on the Branoe technique, check out my Exploring Branoe course at the Online Weaving School.

I also have some free videos on Youtube to help get you started:

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave little trees on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 7 Comments

This is a project I’ve never shared here before but it’s so darn cute, I just know you will love it!

You may have seen some of my overshot style, “branoe” video tutorials on my Youtube channel before. The Snowmen and Reindeer are the most popular.

Well, today’s tutorial follows the exact same technique. You can use this technique on just about any loom, but this tutorial focuses on the rigid heddle loom. If you want to read more about this overshot technique, I’ve written the details for how it works in this post.

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

Here is what you will need to weave your own little trees in pots:

A rigid heddle loom (I used my 24″ but a Sampleit size is fine if you just want a small sample)

7.5 dent reed

A pick up stick wider than the width of your woven piece

Yarns-

There are no set yarns for this project, but I will share what worked well for me:

For the warp I used a light worsted/dk weight (Australian 8 ply) wool in white.

For the weft I used the same wool in a variety of colours. You will need one colour for your pots, brown for the trunk, green for the leaves, and then orange, red or yellow for the fruit (depending on whether you want orange, apple or lemon trees!)

I’m not including specific calculations or measurements for the piece, as this is adjustable and depends on what you’re weaving, but to give you a guide, my sampler was around 8″ width on the loom. It can be a good idea to wind on a 35 – 40″ warp and experiment with my other branoe/overshot tutorials.

You simply warp up and tie on as you would for plain weave. Then you’re ready to pick up.

You can find the pick up sequence PDF here:

Little-Trees-pick-up-sequence Download

Unlike other pick up, we leave the heddle in NEUTRAL and pick up the warp threads IN FRONT of the heddle.

You can begin by weaving some plain weave to support your pick up design and give contrast. There are nice little borders you can work as well, if you want to. The border that I have here in pink is just 4 up, 4 down but there are many variations you could do.

When you’re ready to begin weaving your pattern sequence, make sure you follow the pick up outlined in the PDF provided, starting with Row 1. Heddle in neutral, pick up in front of the heddle. Once all the threads are picked up across the warp, slide your pick up stick towards the heddle and place it on edge.

Your picked up threads will be propped up, changing the interlacement from plain weave. You can then bring in your pattern weft (whichever colour you’re using for the pots as designs are worked from the bottom up). I’m using a blue wool for my pots.

When your weft reaches the other side, take it around the edge warp thread and back into the shed, doubling your weft.

Take your pick up stick out of position and beat the doubled weft into place.

Follow this up with a plain weave pick in your background weft. Choose the plain weave shed (either up or down) that you were up to before you wove your first pattern pick. For me, that was the up position.

Each plain weave pick will be a single, not double weft.

Continue following the pick up and weaving sequence for the pots.

We follow up now with 6 picks of background weft in plain weave. This is because we need a surface to embroider the trunks onto. Weaving narrow trunks (and centering them to match the pots!) is quite difficult, so embroidering whilst the piece is on the loom is a much easier option.

Rather than embroidering right now, we instead move on to the pick up for the tree foliage.

That way, we have sturdy fabric to embroider onto and we can line up the trunks really nicely with the other design elements. So, we move onto step 6 of your pick up instructions.

Continue following the sequence to form the tree foliage. The pattern weft for the foliage is also doubled. Don’t forget to weave a plain weave pick in between every pattern pick. Now we can thread a tapestry needle with some brown wool or embroidery floss to embroider the trunks.

Knot your embroidery yarn to prevent it pulling through the fabric. Come up from the back of the fabric in the middle top of one of the pots, as shown.

Work a straight stitch to the bottom of the foliage. Take the needle down through the fabric and knot it off at the back, burying the tail in the back of the foliage. This prevents your from having super long threads at the back of the work. Knot the end of the yarn again to work the next trunks.

Once all your trunks are done, you can think about embroidering the fruit. I did this by threading up the colour I wanted and working French knots in the foliage – about 3 French knots for each tree.

If you would like to see the video version of this tutorial, including a graph chart for the design, it is available as a part of the Exploring Branoe class, available at the Online Weaving School.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Soft and Sweet Bread Rolls

by Kelly 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.

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

Cook Time 30

Rising time 1 20

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!

My biggest ever mistake in weaving

by Kelly 29 Comments

Quite a few years ago now, we bought our first family DSLR camera. I loved photography when I was in high school and spent as much time doing it as I was allowed. I think one thing I loved about it was it was the only subject in which I felt free and unrestricted.

I could take one of the school’s SLR (pre- digital days!) cameras home when I wanted. I was given access to the school dark room in my spare time, and thankfully, my parents paid the bills for the photo paper and chemicals without grumbling.

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

So, getting our first entry level DSLR was like reliving a bit of that favourable part of my teenage life. It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted to take a course to learn the camera inside out. I enrolled in an online course, which was quite an investment for our single income family at the time, and started learning.

I became completely engrossed. I lived and breathed photography for the best part of a year. I loved the assignment challenges and started making my own challenges. Thankfully, I had 4 beautiful children who were my willing subjects. I started to dream up themes for photos. I made costumes, visited beautiful locations and used interesting props.

So, what does all this have to do with weaving?

Well, I was already a weaver when I started the photography course. But I was in a “not so positive place” with it. I was trying to learn new and interesting techniques, but it was really hard. I was putting pressure on myself to make perfect, Instagram worthy pieces that I just wasn’t ready to undertake.

Homeschooling, mothering, attempting to supplement our income didn’t leave much time for creative pursuits. Photography fit well, because the children were very often my subjects and were always with me when I was doing it, so it fit well.

As time went on, I wondered whether weaving was really the right thing for me. My rigid heddle loom sat empty month after month. My husband had bought it for me as a gift. I felt guilty that I wasn’t using it.

Most of all, I felt that I wasn’t capable of learning all I wanted to on this loom, and so my motivation lagged completely.

The frustrations that I’d been having with weaving built up in my mind and sat upon my shoulders as a heavy burden. Guilt, annoyance, frustration, lack of motivation – all these negative emotions around weaving were just penned up. I didn’t share this with anyone, and so it went on, and so the loom continued to sit empty.

And this was my biggest mistake.

So, what happened? Well, eventually the novelty of lugging that somewhat heavy camera around, countless hours of making costumes and finding new locations began to wear off. I started to remember what had attracted me to weaving in the first place, and why I felt compelled to make my own cloth. I started to notice beautiful yarns again. Ideas began to bubble up in my mind.

But the most important thing that happened is that I just put a warp on the loom.

I took a step. I don’t remember what it was that I made. Maybe it was just a simple, fun, non committal, explorative weave. Maybe it was something to wear or something for my kids to use in their play house. I really don’t remember, and it doesn’t really matter. The point is that I just did it.

I do still get weaver’s block to this very day, especially when I’m challenging myself to learn something new, but the difference is in how I handle it. I ensure that whenever those negative weaving feeling start creeping back in, I do something about it!

I have many resources that can help you get past the frustrated weaver point and on to weaving beautiful things. Here are a few suggestions:

Keep a weaving journal. Document your projects and how far you’ve come. Add in your future weaving plans, include pictures, colours, snippets of yarn. Use your past projects to build on.

Make a creative space. This is not possible for everyone, but even just a corner of a room, somewhere you can set up your loom and some yarns can help. If you don’t have to lug out all your materials every time you want to weave, you will be more likely to do it.

Make time for regular weaving – even if it’s 15 minutes at a time. You will make progress if you keep at it.

Make a Pinterest board or a mood board for inspiration. This can be as loose or as planned as you like.

Immerse yourself in the weaving community. Join groups (online or face to face), watch Youtube videos, listen to podcasts. These will help keep you motivated and prevent feeling isolated.

Join the Online Weaving School. When you purchase a membership, not only do you get access to the class library full of courses for all different weaving levels, you also receive an invitation to join a wonderful weaving community.

You may also be interested in these relevant videos:

Have you ever felt paralysed in your weaving journey? What helped you out of it? Or, if you are in a rut, what are you going to doing about it? Let me know in the comments below so we can keep the discussion going.

I hope this post inspires you to warp up your loom and get weaving!

Oh, and I do still indulge in photography from time to time, but I must admit that my newer Canon DSLR is used a lot more for filming classes than anything else! The big plus from all my photography practice is that I’m now capable of taking some pretty decent photos of my weaving.

If you’re interested in improving your photography for weaving purposes, check out my Photography for Weavers class. All you need is a phone and some of your hand weaving to get started!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Surface embroidery on weft floats

by Kelly 12 Comments

Embroidery was one of my first crafty loves and I still have a very soft spot for this beautiful art.

When my children were young I was very immersed in the world of embroidery. I loved it for several reasons:

It costs next to nothing to get started, and at that time of life we had no extra money!
It is incredibly portable and you don’t need a specific space to set up.
I could easily pick it up and put it down, very important when you have little kids around.
There are many styles of embroidery to explore.
With a bit of practice, you can improve very quickly (like some other fibre arts I may have mentioned previously, wink wink 😉)

Besides the fact that that weaving kind of took over my life, I’ve also not spent much time doing embroidery in recent years due to the deterioration of my eyesight. I definitely took that for granted when I was younger and even though I now have reading glasses to wear, the clarity is not the same.

Like many of the arts and crafts I’ve enjoyed over my life, I’ve found that embroidery can be married beautifully with weaving, and in many different ways.

One example is my bread towel project from a couple of years ago. I wove the towels and then embroidered some “bread themed” text on them.

But if you feel that you can’t embroider a straight line to save yourself, that doesn’t mean you have to strike embroidery off your list completely.

One time I was experimenting with some weft floats on my rigid heddle loom and thought to myself “these look nice, but if feels like something is missing” 🤔 I felt that I needed to introduce some more colour, and I just happened to have some lovely hand dyed rainbow yarn handy. A little while later, I had some gorgeous diamond shapes happening!

This technique is a surface embroidery, meaning that unlike the usual needle in and out from front through to back of the fabric, the embroidery yarn sits on top of the fabric and is incorporated by “tie downs” or anchors.

Today, I would love to show you how you can achieve this patterning with just a tapestry needle and some contrasting yarn.

Firstly, you will need to work some weft floats. These form the basis for your embroidery thread and gives it a path to travel. The weft float sequencing that I’m using for this tutorial is detailed in this video:

Start by threading your tapestry needle with a good, long length of your embroidery thread. You don’t need to specifically use embroidery floss (though that certainly looks lovely!) I used some light worsted/dk weight wool that was hand dyed and my warp was the same weight of wool, commercially dyed. I think ribbon would look lovely too.

Knot the end of your yarn so it doesn’t pull through. Starting on the first horizontal row of weft floats,(the second row of floats from a vertical perspective) bring your needle through from the back, at the bottom right hand corner of the pair of floats.

Now, take the needle underneath the float pair but not into the fabric itself. Pull the yarn through.

Now take the needle to the pair of floats on the right, they are in a diagonal position from where we just were. Take the needle underneath this pair and pull through.

Now take the needle to the pair on the left diagonal, go underneath the floats and pull through. Starting to see a simple pattern here? We’re basically zig zagging the embroidery yarn back and forth between the weft floats. Pretty simple, huh? 😉

When you get to the top of the row and have no more weft floats to go to diagonally, take the needle down through the fabric to the back. Do this just underneath the top of the last floats you went through, so that it’s not visible. This is to help anchor and secure the row of stitching you’ve just completed.

At the top of the next vertical row of weft floats, bring your needle up through the fabric from the back. The needle should be positioned to the top right of the pair of floats, as shown in the photo above.

Instead of travelling upwards through the weft floats, the time we’re travelling down the vertical row. Take the needle underneath the top floats and pull through.

You may start to guess what comes next. Take the needle underneath the weft floats to the right, on the diagonal. Pull the yarn through. Continue in this fashion, zigzagging downwards until you reach the bottom. Remember to take the needle down through the fabric each time your finish a row, in order to anchor the thread and prepare for the next row.

Once you’ve practiced a couple of rows, you can speed up the process by taking the needle under 2 pairs at the same time. This makes it go much faster and is a natural progression from embroidering under one pair.

There are further variations on this theme that are possible. Experiment and see what you can come up with!

Would you like a free video tutorial so that you can see this surface embroidery in action? I already have that covered, check out my video on Youtube:

Don’t forget to like and subscribe, thank you!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know if you love this technique and intend to give it a try by leaving a comment below, I love to hear from you.

Other resources you may be interested in:

Troubleshooting loose slot threads

All about finger controlled techniques

Weave neat edges on the rigid heddle loom

How to weave clasped weft

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Welcome to The Online Weaving School

by Kelly 53 Comments

Are you new to the Online Weaving School? This is a guide to help you get started and find the right class for you.

Already a member? Log in here!

Hi, I’m Kelly!

I am very blessed to be able to pass my passion for weaving on to thousands of students all over the world.

I teach in a way that is relaxed and unrushed. I share everything that I can think of to help you grasp a concept, and most classes are step by step, project based learning.

I don’t feel like a teacher, more a weaving friend who is eager to show you some really cool things!

So, grab a cuppa, pull up your weaving chair, and let’s get learning!

New to rigid heddle weaving? Start here!