Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

hand dyed yarn

Clasped weft table runner

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More of a table centre piece, it doesn’t quite have the length of a runner. This is the piece I wove for my recent rigid heddle clasped weft video tutorial.


I dyed the cottons specifically for this project. I wanted a good contrast between the variegated rainbow and the blues.


I love the clasped weft technique, the finished product and the process of randomly incorporating lengths of colour.


I hemstitched whilst on the loom so that the piece would sit flat on the table.

If you like this piece as much as I do it is available to purchase in my Etsy shop. And if you want to give the technique a go yourself please take the time to watch my video, it’s not as scary as it looks!

That awesome feeling!

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Of finishing a project and finding that you love it! Remember this post? My, how things can change.

So, the blanket was woven on 4 shafts with my hand dyed Australian 4ply cotton. I used a twill variation for the pattern.


It’s actually quite thick and heavy, so definitely better suited to cooler times than we are experiencing at the moment! (37 degrees today).


My little sweetheart was good enough to model it for me, even in the heat. 

This blanket will be in my Etsy shop in the near future, so look out for that if you like what you see šŸ™‚

Great Expectations

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I planned to weave a baby blanket. I spent weeks planning this project, first visually in my head, then on paper with measurements and particulars, then in the dyeing. I researched weave structures and matched colours, choosing the contrasting colours I thought would best show off the somewhat complex pattern. I spent a lot of time planning this blanket.



Then came the warping, the threading, the sleying, the tying on. Hours and hours of work. Finally, I got to the exciting part – the weaving! I began weaving with great anticipation, concentrating on the sequence to ensure no errors. After a few inches, I got up and stood back from the work, as I always do, to view the emerging pattern with pleasure.


And I hated it. 


It’s busy, it’s thick and textured, it looks messy and the pattern is barely discernible because of all the colours. To say I was disappointed would be a grave understatement. I felt like cutting the warp off the loom and shoving it in the bin. Instead, I went to bed.



Contemplation set in. I remembered a talk I had heard some time ago by a holy priest. He talked about expectations and how we get upset when things don’t turn out “just so”. He talked about expecting ABC and getting XYZ. He illustrated how readily we lose our tempers, get offended or grow angry at the smallest things. I chuckled when I heard this part of his talk – it was so true that people are selfish and expect the very best all the time. People. Me. 


You know what? I’m going to soldier on with this project that I hate. I’ve already learned a heap of new skills and tricks with warping, threading and colouring. Now I get to practice weaving a pattern I haven’t woven before and is actually the most complex one to date for me. I get to practice weaving the full width of the loom, I haven’t done that before either. 


When I begin each weaving project, I pray for God’s blessing on my work. I pray also for the future recipient of the project. Prayers are never wasted, even when it seems we don’t always get what we asked for. 


It may be that you ask for ABC but instead God blesses you with XYZ. 

New woven garments

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One of my new favourite pieces, this wrap just wove up beautifully. I used Australian 3ply merino and dyed a gradient of blues and purples for the warp.

Then a lovely teal-ish green for the weft.


This is the first time I’ve woven with 3ply and won’t be the last! It worked up into this most beautiful, soft and light piece of cloth, I love it! 

And this one – a 1/3 warp float pattern using a pastel gradient and a commercial grey merino, both in 4 ply.
The reverse side.

The front. I’ve also been putting my new fringe twister to work and have a video in the editing process on using a fringe twister, so look out for that one if that interests you.

Both of these pieces are available now in my Etsy shop. By the way, I am very blessed to have 99 sales in the shop now – I think hitting 100 will be a cause for celebration, perhaps a special giveaway?


This morning I dropped off this scarf to be judged for the Melbourne Show in the spinning and weaving scarf category. It’s the first time I’ve entered my weaving into anything, so a bit nervous, but it’s a good way to challenge myself.

Hope you’re having a great week, if you’re enjoying sunny weather and blue skies where you are, please send some here, Melbourne hasn’t realised it’s Spring yet!

Linking up with Yarn Along!

Woven poncho finished

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So, the poncho is finished! The hand dyed combined with baby pink yarn worked perfectly.

The yarn is all 8ply, which gives a lovely, light, yet warm feel to the garment.

At this point my little model decided that Mum had really taken enough photographs already.

We escalated into silliness.

And you know you’re pretty much done when it gets to this point!

Anyway, I’m super happy with how the poncho came out, it was a big experiment for me as I made the design from scratch. Now the question is whether to make more for the Etsy shop, what do you think?

Weaving WIP

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The cooler weather and wet, gloomy days are doing wonders for my weaving enthusiasm! The loom just looks so bare when it’s undressed, so I’m getting organised with two new projects I’ve had in mind for ages.


First up is a little draped poncho thing for my youngest daughter. I’m not exactly sure how this will pan out yet, but I’ve dyed some brighter than intended wool yarn for the warp and am going to tone it down with some “baby pink” for the weft. 

I’m just a wee bit excited about these new projects and hope that if they turn out well I can do some for my lately neglected Etsy shop as well. Stay tuned!

Hand woven dish cloths

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Over the weekend I wove some dish cloths with some beautiful Australian 10ply cotton that I rainbow dyed. I’ve been wanting to try out waffle weave and thought that kitchen cloths would be perfect.
All of these were woven on the same warp on my rigid heddle loom. Did you know you can do that? Warp once, weave many, much easier! Just leave a gap of 5 – 6 inches between each cloth, towel or whatever item you’re weaving. I hemstitched each one on the loom and left a short fringe at each end.

They sold like hot cakes with an order for more and I’m not surprised. If you’ve never tried a handmade cotton kitchen cloth (either woven, knitted or crocheted) you really should, they are far superior to any commercial cloth. I use mine as a multi purpose kitchen cloth for wiping and washing. They last a long time and can be thrown in the wash and line dried. My next order is for re-usable baby wipes – another great idea.


These are some other cloths I wove last year in plain weave so the baby wipes will be similar – fairly thin and very soft for baby skin.
The next thing for me to look at is tea towels. I really wasn’t happy with my last lot – I think the cotton was too thick, I need specific weaving cotton. 

If you’re interested in trying waffle weave on your own rigid heddle, there is a great pattern sequence HERE, look specifically in the comments section for the sequence.
You need one pick up stick but it’s very easy to master.

Specifications for my cloths: 
10 ply cotton (warp & weft)
7.5 dpi
60cm rigid heddle loom
Hemstitched on loom.
Wet finished, laid flat to dry.

Linking up with Creative Friday on Natural Suburbia.

Rainbow wrap/shawl

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I started with these 8ply merino colours from my hand dyed stash.

I warped the loom and wove using a very deep purple.

And this is how it turned out!

There are many styles to wear a wide, long shawl in.

It’s lovely and warm too.

Weaving this has given me some fresh ideas on using the warp as a feature. 
I’ve ordered a second heddle kit for my loom, which means that I will be able to weave double the width of cloth without buying a larger loom! Exciting! I’ve always wanted to weave baby blankets and the new kit will allow me to do that. 
There is always something new to learn or a way to expand your skills.
Happy creating!