A Denser Warping Overview -- Part Two

______________________________________________________________

Part Two

Winter Sampler

*If a picture is all you need click on the image above for a Slide Show

 

This weaving became all about creating Texture, while utilizing the same yarn. It's about Plain and Weft-faced Weave.  And it was about playing with Silk Ribbon, and how best to weave it into place. Plus, I continued to work with beads; but--- altered my technique, ever so slightly, to secure them in place. 

 

SPECIAL NOTE: For a larger view of individual photos:
Right Click on a photo and chose either
Open link in new tab --or-- Open link in new window


With this warping, I learned when it was OK to weave with double strands of yarns, or threads, and when it was better to weave twice around, with a single strand. [See the Pearl Cotton round pictured below.] Twice as much work, but considerably less of a hassle then repeatedly having to deal with untwisting the strands. But I love weaving with Pearl Cotton. 

I've one slight mistake, pictured below, in the subsequent round. In that the yellow single ply yarn did not create the raised effect I was going for; but--- I left it alone.  No Harm. No Foul. Just one of many lessons learned.

Oh!  I should also state I actually have a new project in mind [I will experiment with it soon] that will feature this same cotton yarn, the same warping method, and how to address the thickness at the center [that I spoke to in Part One] with subsequent rounds of a technique that will hopefully result in a functional end product.  So, you can expect to see more about this, and most likely on my studio Facebook page.

 __________________________________________________________________

Continuing On

As I went about gathering possible yarns and whatnots, I had a little bit of silk ribbon [that I never got around to using for embroidery] stashed away, and thought this would be an excellent time to incorporate a totally different medium.  While I've worked with ruched ribbons [which make for perfect novelty rounds] in other weavings, but I would quickly learn how this ribbon would present its own creative needs.

 

Weaving it as is proved quite uninteresting and fussy. So, I decided to distress it.

Washing it didn't really achieve what I wanted, so I ended up rolling it into little bundles. And leaving them set for a few days.

When I unrolled them, this is exactly what I wanted.  And it wove into place beautifully.  Albeit, though, one warp thread at a time.

There was no rocking the needle through multiple warp threads, and drawing through--- No.  That merely ended up ruining the desired effect.

Tedious? Maybe.  But it gave me the look I wanted. Instead of settling for the look I would get.

I thought this might be a good place to reiterate the easy method for measuring out your Weft, once you get farther out in your weaving. [See A Little of This-N-That]

 

One time around equals one woven round; weaving with a single strand of yarn/thread.

Twice around equals one woven round; weaving with double strand of yarn/thread.

 

For me, and how my weaving is progressing, simply temporarily securing the loose ends at the back is the easiest of solutions.  Yes, it means I address them all at the end.

 

But this method made the most sense for me. As did starting and stopping all in the same area.  And nothing, with certain exceptions, I intend to change as I move on to other weavings.

 

Now we're getting to my favorite round of this sampler.  I love, Love, LOVE my Stained Glass round!

SPECIAL NOTE: I had every intention of working in a few extra [new] shots of how I secured this round of beadwork.  But, as I set up and subsequently edited the photos, it all seemed to beg for a post all its own. And, quite simply--- I was more than happy to oblige.

Click here [or on the image on the left] for the placement and securing of the Stained Glass Round: Playing with Beads

 

I think you'll enjoy this little tutorial.

__________________________________________

Moving On

Working with multiple short rows of beads makes for lots of little wisps of thread to weave in late; but--- it was well worth the effort. 

 

And what I found, as I enclosed the beadwork with Grace Gerber's beautifully hand dyed loopy mohair, is that--- because I likely chose to work with such similar colors [the Cathedral beads also come with Silver end caps], I needed to make the beads stand out again. 

 

 

That's why I went back around with the metallic thread. It's more subtle in person; but--- it also helped to accentuate the openings; in between each short strang.  Without it the lovely loopyiness seemed to swallow them up.

 

 

And I LOVES me lovely loopyiness. I can hardly see a future weaving without loopy mohair playing a roll in texture.

__________________________________________

Heading to the Finish Line

Once my Sampler was off the loom, I gathered together my crochet hooks and needles.  I would need different methods and tools for weaving in and securing all those different threads.

 

 

And, as I indicated in Part One, before I could crochet the outer rim, I needed to secure certain threads and the braid ends.

 

I used the fabric glue only to hold the first over-lapping fold of the decorative braid; which I secured with a small hair clip. [Thank God, for hair clips!]

Once it dried, I then whip-stitched the loosened/cut ends, so they wouldn't fray.

After securing the Tie On/Tie Off threads, I was free to move on to weaving in the thread tails of the Stained Glass round, and went ahead and addressed them at this same time. 

 

An old vintage crochet hook worked perfectly.

But!

 

Rule No. 1:

 

When weaving in the ends--- [OK. It's not like I have a Rule No. 2, so--- just keep this in mind!]

 

Always check the front

before you snip off the waste threads on the back. 

 

Below is a perfect example--you can see it just in front of the tip of the crochet hook--where I missed getting them enclosed; inside the Weft-faced Weave of the Loopy Mohair.  The fix for this was easy.  But it might not be so easy a fix, it at all, in other situations. So, play it safe and check first.

 

Where the warping I showed in my first and subsequent tutorials [which works back to Suzy Brown's (WoolWench Handspun Yarns and Fibers) techniques for her Majacraft looms] is perfect for heavier and art spun yarns, this warping offers something more akin to Tapestry. 

And hands down, I love this warping method for the finished edge it creates.
It is ready, waiting, and begs to be crocheted.

And no doubt, an experienced knitter could likely cast on and pick up the necessary stitches to finish a round-knitted border; depending on the project one would be working to create.

_________________________
Studio Tip

For anyone with dexterity issues, etc., I found that turning over one of my fiber cones, on its side, helps to bring the work a little higher and closer. 

You could also use a sewing ham, or even a portable ironing board. 

_________________________

But, there's no needing to find the Warp Loops that may have become hidden in the Weft, or experiment with how many chain stitches will be sufficient to join them.... it's a pretty cut and dry edging. 

And now, back to those all those wisps and tails what needed attention. I had LOTS of wisps and tails to work in.  Some I simply knotted; when there was no means of hiding them in the Weft.  Others I wove in; when I could do so.

 

This was another perfect opportunity to utilize the thread cone. I could also use stick pins to hold it in place.  

I found that un-plying the bulkier cotton yarn made it easier to either  weave in or knot into place.

 

I slowly worked my way from the center to the outer edge.  It was a lot of work.  And I ended up in Recovery Mode because of certain rounds.  But I LOVE this piece. This weaving that almost never was. 

 

And, I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate the Teachable Moment from an earlier blog post. Or at very least, echo my aforementioned:  Rule No. 1 

Always, always, ALWAYS--- Always, always, always A-L-W-A-Y-S double check the front before you cut the threads from the back.

Just--- always.  (~:

__________________________________________________

What's Up Next?

 

That would be the Warping Tutorial.  Yes! It's the last blog post sitting in the Draft folder.
The photos are all edited and loaded.  I simply need to key in the instructional text.

It's actually very easy.  The tricky part comes into play when tying off. But I've created some graphics to help with this issue.

But, I also may take some time to set up a few new photos with the Provo loom [which has a different configuration of pegs], so that I can cover the different tie off points.

What's the Wish List all About?

________________________________________________

In the meantime---

Leave any questions you may have in the Comments. 

Or Facebook Friends can Private Message me.

 

Bye for now, and Blessings~

 

And Happy Weaving!

A Denser Warping Overview

 __________________________________________________________________

Part One

 

Winter Sampler

 

 

*If a picture is all you need click on the image above for a Slide Show

 

The funny thing is, I never even intended to do this weaving.  I mean, all I meant to do was a quick warp up.  I simply wanted to double up on the warp threads for a finer weave. Something more akin to Tapestry.








SPECIAL NOTE: For a larger view of individual photos:
Right Click on a photo and chose either
Open link in new tab --or-- Open link in new window
 

But once I tied off the Center Knot, and went about weaving the first rounds that help to even out the Warp Threads, I was hooked. It also helped in seeing how I would need to transition between needing to weave around doubled-up warp threads [which is a must at first], and then where and how to split off into the desired single warp thread weave.

I found this to be a good opportunity to try a Teneriffe Lace technique and chose to practice a Bullion Stitch.  An excellent stitch to incorporate for interest and a change in texture.  While it IS a bit slow and tedious, it's a perfect stitch to incorporate into your circular weavings. 

It was after the Bullion Round that I decided to make the switch over to a single warp thread weave.  And therein lies the overall issue that I found with this warping.

 

As I've indicated in the earlier tutorials, i.e. Warping a Knifty Knitter Loom for weaving in the Round, you WANT an UNEVEN warp thread count to maintain a continuous weave.  Once I split off into the single thread weave, I was left with an EVEN numbering of threads.  This meant from here on out, I had to finagle every new round. I no longer had a smooth over and under start and stop point.  While it doesn't effect single warp stitches like the Bullion Stitch, it does make a difference to the Plain Weave.

Since this could be VERY frustrating to anyone newer to weaving in general, I did NOT want to rush into providing warp instructions.  I have another warping option that I want to try first, and then I will offer the best instructions.  Look for this in Part Two.

When I saw how Bullion Stitch looked on the reverse side, I progressed with an experimental round of reversing the stitch.  Again, for interest and texture. Though I staggered or elongated the stitch. As I did a few rounds earlier, working to create little knots.

 

Below is a nice cross section of the stitch in reverse.  Plus I was trying to capture the texture the variations of the usage can create in your weaving.

The following close ups help to show the dilemma of warping with this heavier gauge cotton. And had I initially intended to weave this far at all, I would have put a tad more effort in getting the proper twist in tie off.

 

It just makes for too thick a center knot.  But then, as I stated up front, I had pulled out this yarn with the intention of doing only a quick test to see how it might work up.  And since there is just as much of a rise on the back side, it is impossible to use laying flat.  SO, the only other real option left to me has it slated as a wall hanging.  And that's OK.  

 

Knowing all of this early on, I continued onward.

 

I took a break at this point to stop and ponder the next round, and eventually decided to work my true Bullion Round.  I LOVE the end result; but--- it took FOREVER to achieve. It is time-consuming. I wanted to stop when I was just about done with the fourth round; but-- I KNEW if I stopped there I would so regret not going a fifth time around.     

 

 

Working with the silk ribbon presented it own little problems and I ended up distressing it, and then it did exactly what I wanted it to do.  More of that in Part Two.

 

 

And all that work, for not even half an inch.  But I wouldn't change it for the world.

 

 

 

I wanted to play with adding in beads again, but not quite in the same way as shown in previous tutorials; i.e. Adding A Round of Beads. 

And knowing which beads I wanted to use, I had to weave my way out to where they would best fit in.  The following photos show the point where I stopped to audition their placement. 

And yes.  All this changing out of thread and yarn makes for a lot of wisps and tails on the back side. I just kept adding them into the hair clips.

I pulled out and played with a number of combinations of crystal and fire polished and cut glass beads before I ended up with what I called my Stained Glass Bead Round.

And while the premise remains basically the same, I secured them in a slightly different manner. And I address this in: Playing with Beads.

Then it was a simple matter of weaving around the beadwork.

 

Filling in as much as needed; which ends up being more than you think. There's a LOT more loopy mohair woven in there then how it might look.

I decided to steam set the weaving before removing it from the loom; in hopes of keeping the center knot from twisting and to stay as flattened as possible.   

While I still had all the bead boxes out, I played with a pending ornamental feature.

And I could only stare as the final piece for so long.  It really was time to remove it from the security of the pegs.

 

Time to remove all the clips from the back.

 __________________________________________________________________

Moment of Truth Time!

 

Fresh off the pegs.

Off the loom front and back.

 

Before I could crochet the outer rim, though, I needed to secure the decorative braid along with the Tie On/Tie Off threads.

 

While this particular warping had it's issue, I actually love how this version provides the best option for finishing off the outer rim. It's just perfect!

 

As you can see toward the bottom of the photo below, the decorative braiding was starting to shift.  Getting the outer rim crocheted helped to remedy that situation.

I was a while cleaning up all of those tails on the back side.  But I'll talk more about that in Part Two.

 

Here's a quick shot of the reverse side of the Bullion Rounds. They actually make for nice ridge work on the front side.

 

 

While working with an EVEN number of warp threads is not an issue as you work with something like the Bullion Stitch, having to finagle stopping off, as well as the beginning a new round makes for a bit of thickness in a Plain Weave Rounds and what I termed The Finagled Zone. 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________

What to look for in Part Two?

 

I'll be warping up and presenting one or two different warping options.  And I'll focus a little more on some weaving tips and finishing techniques.

 

What's the Wish List all About?

__________________________________________

In the meantime,

 

Leave any questions you may have in the Comments. 

Or Facebook Friends can Private Message me.

 

Bye for now, and Blessings~

 

And Happy Weaving!