Tag: weaving

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Fiber Arts Friday – Loom and Skein

Hi Fiber Arts Friday and Crafty Friday folks.

Ugh, the “day job” has had me very busy this week leaving me little time to enjoy my farm and all the animals let alone fiber arts.

So, here are some teaser photos of the project I have on the “secret loom.”  Ok, now that you have a photo of the loom do you have any idea what it is? 

Rug Loom

Rug Loom

The “rug yarn” I’m using on this loom I made from a fingering weight alpaca yarn using an “Embellish Knit.” I knew those As Seen On TV things would come in handy every now and again.

Lastly, I did manage to finish a skein of yarn.  The colored part is a merino/bamboo dyed in what I call “wine” colors.  Purples, reds, golds and the black is 100% alpaca.   I managed to work up 250 yards of this yarn and now I just need a project for it.

Alpaca Merino Yarn

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How To Warp A Mini Loom


Card weaving is really fun, easy and portable.  Depending on the design you are doing the work can move very quickly.  The hardest part about card weaving is warping your loom.  Here is a short video I’ve made on how to warp the Palmer Loom I use for many of my projects.

In this video I’m using all one color because the end product is for the show halter I’m working on.  In future series I will be using multiple colors to show you how you can make designs and patters in your weave. 

Special Charity Fiber Arts Friday.  Please Visit Alpaca Farm Girl

Palmer Looms

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Tablet Weaving

I’ve always enjoyed braiding and have made many items out of alpaca by spinning the yarn into cord and then using different types of braids to make rope, leads, collars, reins, etc.  What I love about braiding is the speed.  In about an hour I can have a finished product.  The drawback is the ability to have patterns. I’m confined to solid colors, a random color insertion or stripes.

Always thinking about other ways to use my alpaca I came across tablet weaving.  The tablet weave has been around for 100’s of years and is the basic form of weaving.  You can use any type of fiber like, silk, cotton, wool and yes alpaca.  What I like about tablet weaving is the ability to insert patterns and more colors into your work that braiding can’t do.  I’m currently learning how to make a simple checker pattern as you can see from the photos. 

Tablet weaving is a slower process.  With the pattern I’m currently working on the most time consuming part constantly having to untie and take out the twist that forms in the tail.  I think I’ll be working on a better board with some swivels that will take out the twist as I weave.  Other patterns involve a forward and back movement of the cards so a twist never builds up making the weave faster.

To learn more about tablet weaving here are the 2 sites where I learned the most.

http://www.stringpage.com/tw/basictw.html
http://www.lindahendrickson.com/

UPDATE! Visit our Warping Your Mini Loom Post

Don’t forget to visit Alpaca Farm Girl’s Fiber Arts Friday!