Here are four options for our next two weave-alongs. I chose these as good next-steps on our collective weaving journey.
Beneath the gallery of photos is information about yarn and loom requirements for each project and the golden nuggets gleaned by weaving them.
Return to the Patreon post to vote.
1. Crammed and Spaced with Friends
In an effort to work smarter, not harder, I proposed a PlayBox Weave-Along mash-up to Gist. I’m working on a crammed and spaced wrap, something similarly sized to the Grayscale Wrap, that mashes up multiple techniques we have been working on and a few things we haven’t tackled yet. This would use a 12-dent rigid-heddle, although it could be adapted to other setts, fine lace-weight yarns, and a combination of colorwork and structure. You will learn the art of cramming and spacing your warp yarns; placing design elements using a pick-up stick and hand-manipulated techniques in discrete blocks within your fabric; and tips for weaving a wide, fine warp. The pattern would be available separately from the box and Patron discounts would apply. You could order a box with the yarns and pattern or just purchase the pattern separately and grab your own yarns.
2. Weft-Faced Colorwork
Based on Patron Producers’ feedback on new classes, I’m adding a project option that I regularly teach in person. These mini weft-faced rugs are one of the most popular projects in my classes at New Mexico Tech and are utterly addictive. We will learn multiple ways of using colorwork to create weft-faced patterns including dots, dashes, lines, and columns (shown here). This project works up quickly and it is fun to weave as sets—each one being a little different from the other. I’ll show you how to weave a 7” by 8” mini rug and then two smaller mug rugs from the same warp. The project calls for an 8-dent rigid-heddle and uses cotton carpet warp and blanket-weight rug wool. A wide variety of yarns will give you a similar look, but I’ll cover why rug yarn is special. (Remember all that yarn squeezing I did in the Simple Striped Rug Weave-Along.) The pattern would be available as a separate download and Patron discounts would apply.
3. Onlay vs. Inlay
Onlay is a variation of inlay, where supplementary yarns are added with the weft to create free form patterns. This technique draws from the Theo Moorman tradition. Worked with a single heddle and a pick-up stick, this project uses a similar technique to Morman’s, interspersing thin picks among thick ones to act as a tie-down thread. Unlike inlay, where the weft yarns and the supplementary threads are placed in the shed side-by-side (I’ll demonstrate, this, too), this technique allows the yarns to ride on top of the weft yarn and reduces bunching. It also creates an intriguing reversible fabric that is dense and suitable for runners and mats. The project is the Go Your Own Way Runner from Handwoven Home. It uses a 10-dent rigid-heddle, worsted-weight and 22/2 cottolin and could be adapted to a variety of setts and yarns. This is a personal favorite of mine that I rarely get a chance to teach.
4. Log Cabin Blocks
I’ve had a number of requests to tackle this project as a weave-along. It was a bonus project from the rag rug weave-along and free for patrons. It uses the Log Cabin color-and-weave technique to create color blocks. Made from a single recycled t-shirt and two colors of carpet warp in an 8-dent rigid-heddle, it is a simple yet impactful way to create blocks of color. It could easily be sized up to weave a rug. This would allow us to tackle one of the most popular color-and-weave techniques in a nontraditional form.
Head back over to the Patreon post to cast your vote for our next two weave-alongs!
