A finished tote

Perhaps you'll remember a while back (Ok, a really long while back) my last post was about weaving for the Pick Up Tote from Woven Treasures. Well, I'd finished the weaving all the way back on Labor Day weekend and I've finally gotten the gumption to finish the bag.

My skills as a seamstress are laughable at best but I know enough to do pretty well. Anyway, here's the result:



Yup, it's a tote. The straps were sewn on relatively straight and the fabric wasn't stretched out of shape too much. As you can see, I added a gusset at the bottom to give it some structure.



Finally, when it came to finishing, I wasn't happy with the idea of just folding over the edges twice and top stitching. So, I used a length of bias tape to encase the open edges of both the woven fabric and the liner.



Now, having done this first one, I have a much better understanding of what I need to do differently next time so that my finished seams are better, the bag is more square, the handles are better and that it'll generally look more professional. Admittedly, I was in a bit of a rush this morning so I wasn't as careful about any of the details as I could have been. Honestly, I'm ok with that since this really was meant to be an experiment.

Whilst cleaning up, I nearly put away the belt shuttle for my inkle loom. As I had it in my hand, I chuckled a bit and thought, "No, this is going to be getting used, possibly even tonight. It can stay on the table."

I love this tote. Love.It. Don't worry Sara, the next one will be better. :-)

A little weaving

I picked up a copy of Sara Lamb's Woven Treasures and I used it to do a woven band on my inkle loom a few months ago. However, I'd not done any of the projects yet and, when I started thinking about a new tote, this seemed like as good a time as any.



I've had some struggles with this project and I've learned a lot - which is why we do this, right?

First, a few details about the project.

Warp: Tahki Cotton Classic
Sett: 20epi using two 10epi heddles
Weft: Aunt Lydia's #10 Crochet Cotton
Draft: plain weave, warp faced
Loom: Schacht Flip, 20"
Inspiration: Pick Up Tote from Woven Treasures

1. Cotton Classic is a \*slippery\* yarn. It also is Big.

I struggled in getting tension constant when tying on the front apron. In hindsight, I should have tied in smaller groups (forget the 1" suggestion, 1/2" would have been better). I reknotted umpteen times, even after weaving a (short) header and inserting the sticks. I also should have pushed the knotted sections closer together. It's a little uneven at the start.

2. Tension is critical. CRITICAL!

Because I don't have a stand for my loom, I have to be creative in clamping it to work surfaces. With the softly beaten projects I've worked in the past, the clamping force required has been much less. On this project, I was constantly overpowering the lame little clamps that came with the loom and it was very difficult to muscle the heddles around to help clear sheds. I finally gave in and found the woodworking clamps out in the workshop and used them to properly secure the loom. I'm now moving heddles with confidence and am moving much more quickly. I'm also paying much more attention to the tension on the warp yarns to really make sure the ends will move past each other. Giving the beams that extra turn makes a huge difference.

3. 20epi is, indeed, as difficult as Sara points out.

For the first inch or so, I was working quite hard to get the ends to move past each other. they really are quite crammed into the slots given that there are three ends per and it's hard to get them to behave. My pick-up stick has been a godsend here and I'm using it to clear each and every shed before passing the weft. It's saved my bacon at least once in about every 4th or 5th shed.

4. 22 epi would be a better sett, indeed.

The fabric is still just a bit open, though once off the loom and washed, it may tighten up a bit more. I can see bits of daylight between the ends but I really can't see trying to warp this at 24epi on the Flip.



Overall, now that I've mostly sorted my process issues, I'm really enjoying this project. It's going very fast since the ppi number is low and I'm quite happy with the way the colors look. They're vibrant and cheery and I think this will make a great tote once completed.

Next step finish weaving the fabric and then warp the inkle for the band.

LOOOOOOOMMMM!

Hooray!

After a week's worth of waiting (I can't believe how spoiled I've been by USPS!) my wonderful new loom finally arrived. It actually showed up this past Friday, but I didn't do a thing with it until Sunday. First, I needed to finish up spinning last month's Spunky Club fiber and then we had a small task to accomplish at a semi-local winery.

So, Sunday morning finally came along and I just had to dive in and get started. I followed the excellent advice of my Spunky and Weaver friends on Ravelry and used Tofutsies as the warp (96", 10epi, 11" on the loom) with the intent of using it as the weft as well. Nice, balanced weave - that's the ticket.

I started warping at around 10a on Sunday. By the time I had to leave for Book Club at 3p, this is the result:



Amazing, isn't it? Like LIGHTNING this stuff is. I kept going and going on Sunday night, then again yesterday. I ran out of the Tofutsies about 2/3 of the way through but I couldn't bear cutting it off and wasting all that weft. So, I dug into my old crochet cotton stash and found a nice ball of ecru cotton. I grabbed that, along with my pickup stick and kept going. And going. And GOING! Then, around 9p last night, I finished. Gave it a quick soak and popped it in the dryer (!!!!!) with the rest of the laundry. A quick press and tying up the ends and voila:



Can you believe it? Isn't it FABULOUS! Wow. WOW. WOW!! I'm totally in love. The cotton is an excellent foil for the Tofutsies and the more-open weave gives it a somewhat similar drape. It softened up so wonderfully in the wash that it's like silk against my skin. Oh, here are a few more:





So there you go. The loom's folded up and stowed under the couch (Chris appreciates this added bonus) but it's likely coming out again tonight. I have this idea for another scarf, but this time I'll be doing some color changes in the weft ... assuming I can figure that out.

Yep, I'm hooked. Absolutely. LOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

(oh, and who else is up for the Tour de Fleece?)