Let's Inkle

It has been interesting these last couple of weeks.  Let's just say that I have had more than usual on my plate, and I have not been able to do much of anything except to knit, because it is portable and quiet.  The funny thing is , not being able to do anything fiber related has sparked my creative energies, so that I have several things in my head that I want to try.

Several years ago, I purchased several tubs full of cones of very fine threads, some of them in some shockingly bright colors.  It has taken me this long to get an idea of what I might be able to do with them.  the TW also purchased a bunch of this yarn, and the general thought is that these yarns are not strong enough for warp.

Recently I saw a blog post by Sara Lamb about backstrap weaving, ("Woven Thoughts" in the sidebar) and I was struck by how fine the threads were, though hers were silk.  I did a little searching on the web and saw that many times the yarn used for this type of weaving is quite fine.


I decided that I would use a pattern that I had seen in both inkle woven bands and backstrap samples, and warp up a wide band on my Leclerc Inkle floor loom.  I happened on a website called "Carolingian Realm", on which there is an Inkle loom pattern generator, the color selection and the ease of use is great!

I proceeded to pattern up!  When I began to warp, I doubled the fine threads and left the border thread single because it was a bit thicker.

This is how I left it last night before I went off to bed, I was really pleased with it.  This morning I continued threading the final bit and began to weave.  I first used a three strand weft, but quickly decided that it was too thick.  I dropped to two strands in the weft, and then to one strand.  I really liked the fabric that I was getting with one strand.

2 strands of weft, and then above 1 strand of weft.

I thought I would try making the pattern darker by using 2 sets of two in my pick up pattern, and I really liked it!

It was about then that I noticed that the thicker edge yarn was not holding up as well as I would have liked it to.  I noticed another thing too, that you probably noticed in the picture above.  In my hurry to get this project on the loom, I had forgotten to add the orange stripe to the right hand border!

Except for the border yarn which was a little thicker and softer, I think these yarns are going to do fine on the inkle loom.......

I think I'll go iron some blue jean weft..........

(The goat kids are here!  You can see pictures of them on the farmsteadstudio blog in the sidebar.)

Happy Weaving, Tina

P.S.  Okay, I fixed it and I am playing with patterns!  :)

Evolution of an Inkle Project

I had a post planned about the progress I had made in the Studio overhaul.  The trouble is that, right now I am at that place where it is so much worse than it was when I started, and I want to get a little further along before I post update pictures.

I have been working a little bit more this week on the Leclerc Floor Inkle loom that I bought last year.  I am slowly increasing the length of my warps, and I am really careful that I use shiny slippy thread like yarn.  My Tuesday Weavers friend Christy, is the queen of inkle bookmarks, and I in no way want to infringe on her territory.  So I thought that I might see just how skinny I can go and keep my edges decent.

I am a bit limited on my color choices just now, so I grabbed a couple of colors and went to town.

I wove a little bit of ribbon (it is much smaller than it appears, maybe 1/2 inch.) and really, I wasn't happy with it.  I took out the heddles and had a little bit of fun with the color order, moving them around by two's but making sure to keep the same ratio of heddled and non heddled threads.

It was really easy to do!  It went from this…...

 to this!

I took my time replacing the heddles, I wanted to get it right the first no second time.  I moved the warp close to the edge of the loom so that I could easily get the string heddles back on.  As I finished each pair, I moved them back into weaving position.  Once that was done, I slowly moved the new thread order around the loom, moving from peg to peg.

If you biggify the photo on the right you can see the new pattern on the lower part of the photo and the old pattern at the top of the photo.

Next time I think I will add a third color, maybe a bit of white, either a stripe or maybe dots, but for this ribbon, I think I like it.  Once I finish redoing the studio, I will finish this weave and put on another warp, a little thinner and a little longer.

Onward and upward!

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting and Weaving, Tina

"Sick Bed"

It is amazing what a difference a week makes!  Last week I was sick with a cold or something like it, and looking at a mountain of half done projects and a half recognizable studio.  Once I had put it down on "paper" though, I all of a sudden, had the mojo to do something, even if it wasn't everything. (In truth, I was sick only from the neck up, no fever, and no other aches and pains, I never even felt like I could take a nap!)

I went upstairs and took a look around, I put all the spinning wheels that had been crammed into the studio, on the landing between the two rooms, so that I could hear myself think.  I have several shelving units in the main room, and two of them are the wooden type with two narrower shelves up top and two deeper shelves on the bottom.  For some reason I had put carpet warp up top and books down below.  Which makes no sense whatsoever!  So that my friends, is where I started.  I first pulled out all the carpet warp and put it on the floor.  Then I filled those shelves with weaving and spinning books,(I found books I didn't even know I had!) they fit perfectly!  Then I dusted off the lower shelves and filled them with the 8/4 carpet warp.  I even gathered more 8/4 from around the room and put it all together in one place!  Then I stepped back and took a very satisfied look, it was amazing!

 The next step was the bags of stuff that I had on the floor at my feet.  I picked up a bag and began to sort thru all the stuff in it.  I found knitting stuff, weaving stuff, spinning stuff and stuff that just needed to be in the garbage.  I emptied each bag and put all the things away as I did so, and I ended up with a pile of empty bags and containers in the corner that I can use as I organize my way around the studio.

I was happy with my afternoons work, and I made my way downstairs with the inkle loom and some really thin pearl cotton.  Ever since I got this loom, I have been second guessing my decision to get it.  I of course, tried to first put on a really long warp of 8/4 weaving, in a difficult "pick up" pattern, that I ended up having to cut off because it was too long and too hard to rotate around the loom.

This time around, I followed the instructions that came with the loom.  Imagine that! I used a variation of a pattern I found in "the Weaver's Inkle Pattern Directory".  It is a simple pattern, that is not "pick up" weaving or anything, just plain weave.  I started weaving and found that it wasn't easy to keep the band the same width, it seemed like the more I fussed with it the worse it got!  I decided that the best thing to do was to not even look at the edges and try to find the "zone".  Once I found the zone, all my edge problems disappeared!  I also found that I was able to weave at a much faster pace, in fact it wasn't long before I had finished the piece!

 If you want to find this pattern it is on page 22, at the top right of the page, it is called "Single flowers".  I adjusted the pattern just a bit by switching out 2 of the pattern repeats to make it symmetrical.  The finished band is a testimony to my experiment.  On the first half you can see that I started out good enough, but the band quickly got wider as I went along.  Then you can see where I decided to switch tactics, immediately the band was the width I wanted it to be and stayed pretty even the whole rest of the band.


In between studio work time (see more on farmsteadstudio.blogspot.com)   and inkle weaving time, I spent a lot of time this week working on some long white stockings.  These are the "above the knee" stockings that I am making for 3 of us crazy weavers that do demonstrations at the Museum of Appalachia, and other places as well.  I finished Lou Ann's pair in November, and started this second pair.

These go well above the knee, and if they fit my friend Linda, they are hers!  If not, they are mine, and I will get her measurements and start her pair right away.  (I need to get the 3rd pair started before I change my mind!)  The pattern is a free one I found on Ravelry.  It is called "Stockings in Rhyme"  It was written in the late 1800's, and it really is a treat to knit from a poem.   You can almost hear the mother patiently writting out for her daughter.  I will soak and block this pair this afternoon so that I can take them to weaving on Tuesday.

I woke up yesterday morning, and I knew that the worst  part of this cold was over, I have to tell you it was a relief!  I was thrilled to put on real clothes,  (I stayed in my P.J.s the whole week, I called it my cocoon once I was well enough to put real clothes on!) and go out and about once again, but I wasn't disappointed in my time on the "sick bed" at all, in fact, I was amazed at what I was able to accomplish when I was forced to stay quarantined  at home.

This afternoon, I am going to try another band on the Inkle loom, I want to go even thinner than before, but maybe a little longer, it will again be plain weave, so that I can find my "Zone"!

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting and Weaving, Tina