If you follow me, you know I like to push the limits of rigid heddle weaving, but at the same time, I want weaving to be easy and fun. And I love pick-up sticks!!! Often when I use multiple pick-up sticks they slide over each other so need to be inserted only once. However, I also have patterns where one pick-up stick needs to be reinserted each time it is needed. When I first started weaving with multiple sticks, I didn’t mind reinserting the stick each time.
As many of you know, my 2020 weaving challenge was colour. I needed to use more of it, particularly the bright colours. I didn’t just want more colours though, I wanted confidence to put colours together. I made a ridiculous number of tea towels. 2020 became the year of tea towels. Tea towels act as a perfect palette for mixing colours and if I wove an ugly tea towel, well, that would be one more tea towel for my kitchen! As it turned out, each one was my favourite, until I wove the next one!
I’m on a few weaving groups on Facebook as well as following a number of rigid heddle weavers on Instagram. As I read the posts I learn a lot, some I agree with, some not so much. One idea that seems to be coming up a lot lately is mohair. Specifically, that one should not use mohair for warp. I must disagree!
There is nothing earth shattering about learning life lessons from hobbies but I have been a little surprised by some of the lessons I have learned and am still learning. while weaving. This is the first in a sporadic series of lessons learned at the loom. I wish I’d learned some of these lessons earlier in life!
In weaving, as in life, is can be tempting to make things much more complex than they need to be. At least for me. I find keeping things simple can get a little boring. Why do the simple thing when you can do the much more complicated thing? This philosophy has been the primary contributor to numerous unfinished projects in my life. The thing about complicated though, is that as you progress, the complexity can grow exponentially. Especially if you are just working from ideas in your head! It’s taken a long time, but I’m beginning to learn that sometimes, the simplest thing is really the best.
Sometimes the only way to learn is try and see what happens. A favourite phrase from me to my children as they were growing up was, “what is the worst that can happen?” They found it a particularly unhelpful bit of advice. It certainly isn’t advice suitable to every situation, but for the little things it can help keep things in perspective. I know most of us worry a lot. And worry can stop us from trying something that we might really regret later. So, thinking about what the worst thing that can happen can spur us on. If we can cope with the worst-case scenario, we should go for it! (Besides, the worst-case scenario hardly ever happens!)
This is my last post on this topic. So far we have looked at choosing the right loom, care and feeding of our looms and our own attitudes. This week is about developing ourselves. Our rigid heddles have so much potential but if we don’t develop ourselves, we will never begin to unlock that potential.
We’re continuing my series on How to Nurture a Relationship that Lasts (with your Rigid Heddle). This week we are going to look at attitude and the first thing I want to say is that weaving on a rigid heddle is real weaving! I hear many people say that they have “just” a rigid heddle, like they are somehow “lesser” weavers. This is absolutely not true! A rigid heddle is a real loom that real weavers use to produce real weaving. Never put yourself or your loom down! Now, let’s look at some truths about rigid heddle looms.
Care and Feeding
Last week we discussed choosing the right loom. This week is about providing your loom with what it needs to thrive. It might be your loom’s responsibility to please you, but it is your responsibility to provide it, and you, with the proper tools and equipment. A new loom package will give you everything you need, except the yarn, to get started with basic weaving. You will get a loom, a reed (some let you choose the size, most give a 7.5 or 8 dent reed) 2 shuttles, clamps, warping peg and a threading hook.
It can be tempting when starting new hobby to minimize expenses. After all, you may not like it. But I guarantee you won’t like it if you don’t have the right equipment! Trying to weave on a 32” loom without a stand will cause you physical pain and you’ll start to associate weaving with pain. Not getting the size reed to use the yarn you really want to use will leave you feeling dissatisfied with your finished products. And using poor quality fibres can create so many problems that you dread going to your loom. Skimping can sabotage a potentially beautiful relationship. Besides, for most of us it is psychologically less painful to drop $600 in one fell swoop and have everything we want/need than to be continually spending $100-150 while still feeling there is more we need to be really content.
What else should you get?
32” with stand
1. A stand is a must if you are getting a loom bigger than 24”. If you are getting less than 24” I still recommend a stand because it makes warping so much easier. If you or someone you know is handy go ahead and build your own…but remember that the designers of the stand for your loom have had lots of experience and know what height and angle is best and how to balance it so it isn’t prone to tipping!
2. Extra reeds. Think about the yarns you want to use and the projects you want to weave and get the right reeds. The 7.5 or 8 dent reeds that many looms come with are great for dk and worsted weight yarns. 10 dent for sport and fingering, 4/8 cotton, or 2/8 cotton doubled; 12.5 for fingering; and 15 for lace. At the other end, a 5 dent is good for aran/bulky and a 2.5 for super bulky. You might also consider getting 2 of the same size so you can learn double weave to either weave wider blankets, get the sett you want (2 10 dent reeds allow you to weave at 20 ends per inch) or weave twill.
3. Extra shuttles of various sizes. Just because you have a 32” loom does not mean all your shuttles should be 32”. The shuttles should be just a little longer than your project is wide. It’s just more comfortable. Using a 32” shuttle takes a lot of shoulder energy and can be tiring so if you are working on a 12” scarf, using a 14” shuttle is much more comfortable.
Pick Up Stick and Shuttle
4. Pick Up sticks…these are like shuttles except with points on the end. They make it very easy to create complex looking patterns.
5. A couple good books and classes. I’m a fan of in person classes over online classes simply because a live instructor can personalize to you specifically. S/he can see what you are doing and give tips specific to you. Plus you will learn from the others in the class and perhaps meet new, local, friends! That being said, online classes do have benefits…you can do them at your convenience, repeat as many times as you want and have very experienced teachers.
6. Good quality fibres that you love! Life is too short to use ugly yarn. This is your hobby and you should enjoy every moment spent at your loom. Don’t sabotage a potentially beautiful relationship by using poor quality yarn because it’s cheap. Get the best you can afford, something that feels nice in your hands and gives you pleasure just to look at. Even for beginner projects, maybe especially for beginner projects! Your first projects may not be perfect but if you hate the yarn, can’t stand the feel if it or it's a mess on the loom you will begin to associate weaving with negative emotions. First impressions are important!
Fun and Handy Extras
There are always a few things that you don’t really need, but they definitely add to the ease and enjoyment of weaving.
Varident Reed
1. Varident reed: this is pretty cool. It’s a reed with pieces of reeds of all sizes that you can put together in the order you want to use any weight yarn in one project. Great for using up all those little bits of leftover yarn.
Fringe Twister
2. Fringe twister: another very cool gadget. Just clip, turn and tie and you have a beautiful twisted fringe. Untwisted fringes tend to look a little tattered over time.
3. Extra warping sticks: if you plan to weave lots of yardage, these will come in very handy.
4. A portable light that will clamp onto your loom. It’s always nice to have good light!
Just a quick note about buying used looms. This is a great way to get a fantastic deal. Before you buy, make sure all the pieces are there, that the loom holds tension and that you can get parts if you need them (extra reeds, double heddle kit if it isn’t built in, stand if you want one etc). It’s not a deal if you can’t use it.
I hope if you are considering a loom, or are a beginner weaver, you have found this helpful. If you are not a weaver, and you’ve read this far…wow! Thanks! Here’s my words of wisdom for the week: Life is always easier with the right tools (whether it’s a skill to learn or a physical object). It’s worth learning what they are and acquiring them. So many times we “make do” and struggle, but if we used the right tool (or skill) the job would have been done faster and better, with less grief, and we might have enjoyed it! I don’t believe we need to buy everything, on the contrary I believe we should buy less. Borrow when you can, share what you have. But when you do buy, buy the right tool. You will enjoy life more!
Asking what yarn you should use is a bit like asking what you should eat. There are no right and wrong answers, it all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Even as I have started to write this, I’ve realized there are just too many answers for one blog. Today then, we will talk about what you want to make and I’ll give some of my favourites. This post will give you some guidelines to consider but will not pretend to know everything, or even very much!
My family likes to tease me. One of their favourite topics is my cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good cook, they like my food, but they also know they will never ever get the same dish twice! My cooking consists of choosing a couple ingredients I want to use, finding multiple recipes then taking a little from this one and a little from that one and replacing this with that… It drives my kids a bit batty.
You know you weave too much when you see weaving inspiration everywhere! I was on vacation recently. It was lovely: hot, sunny and chock full of inspiration. Mayan ruins, waves, the silky smoothness of sting rays, the exquisite patterning on the shell of a turtle. I’ve come home with so many new ideas that I hardly know where to begin.
One of my biggest challenges when it comes to weaving is choosing colours. I know the basics of colour theory. Ok, I know about the colour wheel and how to mix the primaries to create the secondary colours. I even know a tiny bit about putting colours together. Weaving however, adds a whole new element. If my warp is red and my weft is blue, those colours will blend when my eyes see them and it will look purple. My two colours give birth to a new colour. And I’m not always sure how it will look , so I play it safe: I use the same colour way for both warp and weft or pick a variegated and pair it with a solid colour that is in the variegated or I stick to neutrals.
I spent many years rushing through life, anticipating the next stage when the current stage had barely begun. Many things got done and accomplished but I don’t ever remember standing back and admiring what I had just completed. Before I had time to catch my breath I was onto the next task. I felt like I was living in fast-forward…some days I even felt like I was eating in fast forward! And I get it, it was a busy time with 2 young children, a husband and a hobby farm. Life was full and tasks had to be completed.
I attended my first 2 spinning classes this past weekend. I’ve been spinning for about 2 years and, like everything else, I’m self-taught. The first class was a beginner class. I didn’t really need it, but hoped to learn some things I didn’t already know (which I did). It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a room full of people who are all learning something for the first time and it was a reminder to me.
Have you ever been so caught up in the actual doing of a project that you aren’t really paying attention to the details? Everything is flowing smoothly. Than you step back to look at what you’ve done, and BAM! There it is. A glaring mistake and you’re thinking “how in the world did I miss that???” Now you must decide what to do with it.
Some People might think that a rigid heddle loom is just a beginner loom. The loom to get if you can’t get a “real” loom. But a rigid heddle loom, even one that is small, has endless potential. Mine is a 32”. It’s about as big as I think I can comfortably weave on with stick shuttles. But I just recently wove a 48” blanket, in one piece. And the pattern is actually designed for a 24” loom.
I dream of a ‘ real’ craft room. I think all crafters do. I dream of a big airy space filled with giant windows and sunshine. And sky lights! My dream room has a big center work table, my 32” rigid heddle, room for a 60” 8 shaft loom, a wall of shelves to keep all my skeins and cones and fibres for spinning in view and easy reach. A corner for spinning and a corner for planning, drinking tea and dreaming.
