This was a serious fail. This was an early project, too, and you know, learning stuff is tough. I found the pattern in a Japanese Saori book. It was very simple — really just a sewn rectangle — so neither weaving nor sewing seemed to present a challenge.
ISBN978-4-907038-03-8
(English version)
The book is great, clever and inspirational. My poor project was none of these things!
Once I knew they existed, I couldn’t help myself, and I bought one. A triangle loom! Who knew?
It came unassembled, but putting it together was simple — just connect the corners and off you go! Read more…
Although this was one of the first few experiments I made in handwoven clothing construction, and it definitely shows its beginner bones, it’s one of my favorite projects.
ISBN4-99009761-0
Try Kinokunyia — they ship in
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This is design 12 in the treasure-trove that is SOARI, a volume chock-full of styles created and woven by a women’s collective in Japan.
It looked like a totally impractical top, but why should that be an impediment?
The Burda top, from the December 2020 magazine (12-2020-127) is basically a sweatshirt-like garment with a looooong attached scarf. What’s not to like? If there’s one thing I can produce, it’s looooong fabric!
I’ve written about this pattern before, but this time I’ve made a version a little closer to the original. This one works much better than the previous one, thanks in part to the softer fabric, which drapes much more nicely than the first version.
I love that it’s a fast, easy and rewarding one for beginning weavers. It’s also amusingly versatile to wear, since it makes up into a vest-like wrap, a shawl, and a sort-of-a-poncho.
This is a rather fun garment which lends itself to all kinds of yarns — and can be woven on a 10 inch/25 cm loom. I wove it on my Cricket, which is wider, but (more or less) kept the dimensions of the Schacht pattern, which is called, amusingly, but not succinctly, It Was A Vest at Times It was a Wrap at Times. (Whew!)
I wove with an 8 dent reed, using a 100% wool Turkish yarn called Poems from Wisdom Poems Yarns, in colorway Arles 601 for the weft — and my well-loved Harrisville Highland in Iris for the warp. I’m not sure I love the way the variegation of the Poems worked in this case, but, no matter, the colors are wonderful.
Plain weave isn’t usually very exciting by itself, but learning to do it well is an essential for rigid heddle learners. A clever way to make beginner projects more interesting is to choose a variegated yarn in colors you love.
This cowl wasn’t the first thing I wove on my Cricket, but it might have been, as it’s so simple to make that anyone can do it. It’s just a rectangle of cloth, but I love how the variegated yarn makes it look so much spiffier than a solid color plain weave!