Last Minute

I've been weaving the last few weeks. It's the last push before my last show. I am ready for a break! I almost forgot to take a picture of the black, grey and cranberry warp. My apron's on there, too. I always wear an apron because it keeps my clothes from touching any warp or fabric. It looks more professional when I wear it. It's my ritual. Once apron is on, I'm ready to work!!

I like these warps where I feature a couple of colors. The pieces look nice on people, too. I'll try to take a picture of them in the booth this weekend.

The other warp was the black with white and turquoise. It's cheerful, airy looking. The 2 warps are so similar but the choice of cranberry instead of red made those pieces so much more subdued. 

I've got the fabrics washed, pieces cut,serged and assembled. Now I'm on the downhill side, finishing all the handwork. There's also inventorying to do and packing into my tubs so they're ready to pack Wednesday evening. 

I'm already thinking ahead to next year and the colors I hope to weave for more pieces.

There was a question in the comments section last week about my warps. To figure out how much you need to weave, find a top that's comfortable for you and measure it from side to side. You'll need to add a couple of inches for shrinkage and drawin as you weave. That's your width. The length is entirely up to you. Do you want the top to be just below your waist, hip length or somewhere inbetween. Measure the length you want but add some for shrinkage. If you're using cotton like I do, it's going to shrink when you wash it. Take your length measurement and double it for front and back. That's your total length requires for a top. If you're making 2 tops, you'll need that length twice. You also  need to add in loom waste to get your final warp length. You can make 2 identical tops or change the weft color to have different looks. Once it's woven you'll need to wash the fabric. I take the fabric off the loom and serge the raw edges. While weaving, I always weave a couple of rows of toilet paper or other yarn  between  the 2 lengths. Cut between the waste yarn rows and serge there so you have 2 pieces. Either hand or machine wash your fabrics, hang to dry before you figure out how you're going to make the hole for your head to go through.

I hope that helps. I'm going to turn on some mindless TV and crochet edgings for a couple of hours!

Until next week, keep weaving.

Carol