weaving

Kelly’s hand woven, perfectly hemmed technique.

*This post contains affiliate links

I won’t tell you how long these towels have been sitting on my creative table waiting to be hemmed. What is it with final techniques and me? I go to all that trouble to weave something beautiful and then let it sit there for who knows how long before I get around to hemming!

Anyway, lets focus on the positives. The towels ARE hemmed now, and I’m going to share my simple but effective hemming techniques with you!

Firstly, always weave a little extra where you intend to hem, and don’t forget to factor in hemming allowances to your overall calculations. I like to make a little contrast weave at the beginning and end of a piece that I’m going to hem. Here I’ve woven plain weave borders at either end. There are 2 advantage to this –

1. The contrast looks nice.

2. The border is less bulky and therefore makes a more crisp and pleasing hem.

You can see that my raw edge is secured on a serger to prevent any unravelling during the wet finishing process. It is helpful to give the whole woven piece a good press before beginning, it’s always easier to work with pressed fabric.

This is what I call my “dog ear” technique. Fold in a corner on each side of the hem and press down with an iron. There are 2 reasons for this also –

1. The corners can get ugly and a bit ragged in the washing process – I want to hide them!

2. Towels have a tendency to be wider at each end. This reduces a little of that “flared out” look.

Once my dog ears are pressed down neatly, I take the raw edge and fold it over, usually around 1/4″ but more if it’s particularly raggy. Press with the iron.

Now I fold again, this time 1/2″ or more and press. Now all raw edges and corners should be completely encased and hidden. Once pressed, you can also place pins along to hold everything in place if you wish.

Take it to the sewing machine (different towel in this photo but the same process). I use Gutermann sewing thread. I learned early in my sewing journey that life is too short to sew with cheap threads that will break over and over! Sew with a straight, medium stitch close to the folded edge (roughly 1/4 – 1/8″).

You can use a different stitch if you want to, I just like the professional looking finish a medium straight stitch gives. Don’t forget to reverse stitch at the start and finish.

For an almost invisible finish, you can hand hem with a needle and thread, you can find that tutorial here.

Seeing as we’re on the subject of towels, if you’re on the hunt for your next towel project, you may want to try one of my classes or patterns.

Online class:

Happy Fibonnaci Towels

Diamond Stripe Towel Weave Along (currently only open to members of the Online Weaving School)

PDF Patterns:

Lux Hand Towels

Happy Fibonnaci Towels

Diamond Stripe Towels

Drop me a comment to let me know if this post has been helpful to you, I love feedback!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Make do and make a start

by Kelly 12 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I use and love.
I thought I’d share with you a little reality check today. It is easy for us to imagine that people we see on social media, on websites, on Youtube or anywhere on the internet have it all together and their lives are pretty perfect. We imagine them to have all the things we need or that they are somehow “better” than we are – all because they have learned how to present themselves in a certain way that looks great to the rest of the world.

How does this tie in to weaving? In so many ways! How often have you wished that your loom was bigger or better? Have you gazed longingly at other weaver’s beautiful pictures online and wished that you could do that too? Have you grumbled at your lack of space/time/finances to “make it all happen”.

Well, I’m here to tell you that, just like life, weaving is a journey – often long and sometimes difficult.
When people find out that I homeschool my children and have been doing so for their entire lives, they are amazed and say things like “Well, you are an expert then!” Nothing could be further from the truth. Every day is a new start with people and needs ever changing. It’s a constant process of re-evaluation and starting over. Of asking God to please help me through this day. Of learning and applying new things.

And I think this is normal. We don’t step on a plane expecting to arrive at our destination immediately. We have to be patient to get the reward!

To illustrate my point, I will show you my film studio from today. Much of the time, I can’t film in my studio space as it’s a shared, walk through room.

So, I set up in our bedroom so that I could close the door. It’s a bit dingy and it desperately needs a paint job, but it’s a room with a door, so I’ll take it. Lets have a look at my setup.

I film with my son’s Nikon D7100 and his Video MicPro microphone. The tripod is mine! The loom is mine too 😀 The chair was a freebie that my husband got for me when his old office building was closing down. The OttLite belongs to my husband. When I finish the video, I edit on my son’s computer using his software.

You can see that most of what I use to film videos for my Online Weaving School is borrowed and fairly basic. But, it all allows me to do what I do. I may never have a great setup, no matter how much I want it, and that is ok, I am grateful to be able to do what I do without the bells and whistles.

I can polish my photos and videos so that they look pretty good on your computer. I get to work from home, doing what I love and spending the days with my children. Does this mean I have the perfect life? No way, it just means that I’m prepared to make do and make a start.

Today I was working on filming for my up and coming Boot Camp for Weavers course. I’m beyond excited about this, a little apprehensive, having never done something like this, but very excited. It gives me so much joy to see a new weaver get up and weaving with enthusiasm and confidence, that is what I want for all my students! There will be more information about the course as I near completion.

How did this blog post get so long? My fingers seemed to have a mind of their own and if I don’t finish up my family will be eating burned chicken tonight! If you got this far, thank you for taking the time to read.

Until next time….

Happy Weaving!

Towels just for moi!

by Kelly 3 Comments

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!

Happy Easter!

by Kelly 1 Comment

Wishing you all a most blessed and happy Easter! If you are travelling, keep safe on the roads.

Christus resurrexit! Vere resurrexit!

Enjoy the Easter break and I hope you get some time for weaving. I’ll be working on this one, which is a new design for my next Etsy pattern.

See you all soon!

Fear of the loom!

by Kelly 3 Comments

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!

DIY natural hand softener

by Kelly 3 Comments

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!

Shop update

by Kelly 2 Comments

I don’t get much time to update my little Etsy shop these days, and I must admit, it’s not my favourite task and gets put off a fair bit. But today I have some new items and they are all beautiful, so please take a moment to browse!

My favourite first – my newest silk scarf, oh boy, do I love this one! A blend of 60/2 silk in purple, fuchsia and orange woven in an undulating twill. Pure luxury!

Next up, hand dyed tencel (you have my permission to drool) combined with mercerised cotton in advancing twill.

Love the colours, love the sheen.

Another scarf, this time in cotton and a beautiful diamond twill variation.

This beauty was a labour of love – woven from my hand dyed, hand spun local Australian merino. The colours remind me of Monet’s Garden.

Is that enough to whet your appetite for now? There are more than what is pictured here, you will have to visit my Etsy shop to see the rest!

Fear of Failure

by Kelly 2 Comments

“I’m scared I’m going to fail”.
A brief pause, a very slight sigh. My husband is used to this. He is strong, trusting and practical. Me? I’m prone to nervousness, flightiness and a sense that things won’t turn out.
It’s one of those late at night conversations, the children are in bed and we have some precious moments to ourselves before we have to sleep.

“Are you scared that you are running out of ideas for classes?” he asks. Oh no, that is not the trouble at all.
It’s failure that I’m afraid of. So often there is a voice in the back of my head saying “what is the point of all this work, you know you’re going to fail anyway”. Sometimes this fear has been strong enough that I don’t try something new or pursue a different idea, fear can be crippling. Many times I have made the decision to give up on trying to make a business, only to change my mind the next day.

I have put so much work into new classes. I have taken the risk of launching on a new platform, it’s a wonderful step to have taken, but it’s expensive and risky.

My sensible and pragmatic husband listens quietly to my concerns as he has done time and again. He points out that you never know unless you try. He reminds me that it’s all in God’s hands and if the business does not succeed, it is because He wills it not to – for His own reasons and because He loves and knows me best.

My husband reminds me what I already know, but find very difficult to live. It is not all about me. Everything is a gift, including my life, and that I must be willing to give back to He who gives so generously.

Launching on a new platform

by Kelly 5 Comments

After a lot of research and deliberation, I decided to launch my video classes on a new platform. My Youtube paid subscription channel has been going for a year now, and there have been a whole lot of headaches! Many technical glitches and inconsistencies, viewers being unsubscribed, not able to access after paying, not able to access from certain countries, and the list goes on! Almost daily, I get messages from subscribers having problems with the channel, I had to find a better way. So, you can now find my classes on Teachable. This is great news for a few reasons:

*You have the option of subscribing for a full year or monthly.

*You have the option of just purchasing individual classes rather than a full subscription. Each individual class also comes with a printable PDF pattern with full instructions and photos to compliment the video class. You can’t go wrong with all that information!

*You can subscribe or purchase a class from anywhere in the world.

*You can view your classes on a computer or device, it is available across all platforms.

The Youtube platform will continue to run for those who prefer to use it. Youtube has been the perfect viewing platform for many people, so that will not change. I will continue to upload videos to the Youtube platform as well. I just needed to give other options for those who need it.

How about you hop over and check out the new platform? Yes, it’s different to Youtube but I hope you find it easy to navigate and use.

I still have plenty of work to do there and will continue to update and improve over the coming weeks, so keep watching. It’s easy to keep an eye on my Teachable “school” by joining and logging in – you don’t need to purchase a class or subscription to join and be updated when new content is available.
I hope to see you there!