Contents
Introduction 7
The Basics 8
Warping and Weaving 24
Getting Up to Warp Speed 50
projects
Fully Loaded Scarf 52
Cozy Coasters 56
Bobbled Slippers 60
Color-Play Plaid 64
Two-Skein Scarf 68
Piping Hot Pillows 72
Layered Cravat 76
Tweed So Fine 80
Grab It and Go Bag 84
Pleasing Proportions Bag 88
Bamboo Obi 92
Loopy Mats 96
Simply Striped Rug 100
Pick-Up Belt 104
Space-Saving Mats 108
Leno Runner 112
Brooks Bouquet Shawl 116
Illustrated Techniques 120
Project Planning Cards 121
Terms to Know 122
Warping Checklist 123
Project Planning Sheet 124
Sett Chart 125
Sources for Supplies 126
Index 127
Introduction
Weaving is an enchantress. I’m not sure exactly how I came under her spell. I was fortunate to learn to weave at a young age. All things fiber charmed my imagination. As a child, I would wrap my little hands around the fence surrounding the llama at the petting zoo in order to prevent my grandmother from hauling me away. I read in a book that you could weave with that llama’s coat, and I wanted her to teach me how! Working with yarn simply makes me happy, and we tend to stick with things that make us happy.
Weaving, for me, is also a small act of rebellion. We are so far removed from how the items we depend on everyday—food, clothing, and shelter—are made. Now, I’m not even close to making everything I wear or all the textiles in my home, but at least I know what it takes to make the fabric that I depend on.
This little loom—the rigid heddle—is the perfect avenue for you to discover what weaving has to offer. Small and portable, it’s the ideal blend of ease and functionality. Weaving is one of the fastest ways to produce cloth, and it meshes beautifully with all of your other craft skills. If you sew, you’ll be in heaven creating your own fabric. If you knit or crochet, you can combine these techniques for truly unique garments. If you spin, you can create yarns for woven cloth that no one else can buy. If you have never tackled any other craft in your life, you learned all you need to know in third-grade math. Really. It’s that easy!
It’s time to get weaving, and this little loom is your ticket to the party.
The basics
With every new avocation comes a new vocabulary. Weaving is no exception, but fortunately, there are only a few simple terms to master. When first used, the terms are printed in boldface type; see page 122 for all terms. Woven cloth is formed when parallel yarns that are held taut are interlaced by a second yarn. As a unit, the taut yarn is called the warp; individual yarns (also called threads) are called warp ends. The yarn that travels over and under (or weaves) between the warp ends is called the weft; individual weft threads are called picks. Woven cloth is made by interlacing the warp ends with weft picks. Long ago, weavers came up with a variety of looms to hold the warp ends taut to facilitate interlacing them with the weft picks.
The rigid heddle is perhaps the most straightforward loom available on the market. The warp ends are threaded alternately through holes in plastic bars (heddles) and through the slots between the bars. As a unit, these holes and slots are called the rigid heddle. It is also referred to as the beater because it is used to “beat” the weft into place. The rigid heddle is lifted or lowered to raise or lower the warp ends to form a shed through which the weft is passed. Think of the shed as the space that “shelters” the weft. Shed blocks provide a means to hold the rigid heddle in the lifted or lowered position so both of your hands are free to manipulate the weft. The weft is most efficiently passed through the shed by means of a stick shuttle, a thin flat piece of wood around which the weft yarn is wrapped. By alternating sheds and beating picks of yarns, the weft yarn passes alternately over and under the warp ends to weave cloth.