{"id":2770,"date":"2016-08-06T04:02:07","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T04:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hurnifamily.com\/?p=2770"},"modified":"2016-08-06T04:04:38","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T04:04:38","slug":"rags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hurnifamily.com\/rags\/","title":{"rendered":"Rags"},"content":{"rendered":"
I finally got my loom “dressed” and started weaving.<\/p>\n
Dressing a loom takes several hours and is a bit tedious. All the warp yarns have to be threaded through the reed and through the heddles, untangled, and then tied to both the back and front beams.<\/p>\n
In this case, I threaded 142 ecru-colored cotton threads onto the loom. It took me a few tries before I got it close to correct. I had a few twisted threads and at least two places where I double threaded the reed. In the end, I decided to accept the imperfections and get started anyways.<\/p>\n
My weft (the cross “threads”) were made from cut up jeans. I never found my box of jeans that I saved years ago so I settled for a trip to Goodwill, where I bought someone else’s old jeans. I would have liked to weave from old jeans once worn by my family, but settled for soft, worn jeans that had belonged to someone else.<\/p>\n
I used my rotary cutter to slice the jeans into strips anywhere from 1\/8 to 1\/2 inches wide, as long as possible. These I stitched into longer strips on my sewing machine, and then wound them on to long thin shuttles, sticks with slots cut into the ends.<\/p>\n
I am not sure if I really like making rag “rugs” (or more likely, placemats or a table runner.) I do like the speed of weaving with rags and I like the long thin shuttles. I’m just not sure if I like the finished product.<\/p>\n
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But I’m kind of hooked on weaving. Tomorrow I am going to visit a weaving conference in nearby Milwaukee, mostly to 1) see a wide variety of weaving styles and 2) decide on my next project, and 3) shop for supplies. Weaving stores mostly seem to be online so this will give me a chance to see (and feel) a variety of yarns all in one place.<\/p>\n
There’s something soothing about weaving. I think it is kind of like making bread at home. Banging the beater bar is a bit like kneading dough, a little chance to bang or punch out stress. It’s relatively slow, rhythmic, and rooted in history.<\/p>\n
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I finally got my loom “dressed” and started weaving. Dressing a loom takes several hours and is a bit tedious. All the warp yarns have to be threaded through the reed and through the heddles, untangled, and then tied to … Continue reading