Switching Gears

(Originally posted on WP 9/16/20.)

Homemaking/housekeeping has always involved multi-tasking, but lately my work also has me going in different directions.  Some days I am at the rug loom (although these kitchen/tea towels, for our use, have been sitting on this loom for weeks, waiting on me to have time for them!)

Other days I am either knitting up design samples, at the computer, working on the patterns and charts, or tackling the long-ish process of uploading designs to various sites. In the evenings I can be found knitting plain/mindless socks, which tends to be a self-adjusting activity, where if I’m really tired, it lets the mind decompress, whilst still being productive.  On other evenings, it allows the mind the freedom to wander and think up new designs or problem-solve, like designing a house that has auto-wash.

And on other days yet, I am weaving samples on the Little Loom, trying to ascertain what, if anything it will do well.

This is where I have been until recently.  

I wish there were two of me, or I at least had Mrs. Weasley’s housekeeping magic spells, then I could have gotten those kitchen towels and these knitting patterns finished already, although I wouldn’t be wasting my magic spells on auto-knitting, rather the dishes, laundry, and cleaning – especially now that this well-lived in house is desperate for a fall cleaning!

So, the Little Loom had me derailed.  I really needed to see what it could do, so I could have a useable warp on both looms, thereby allowing something productive to be accomplished, no matter which room I needed to be in.  

Well, that was the plan, anyway.

I am beginning to surmise that it can only do some things well, and only a few of what I want to make are on this list.  I have only owned sturdy floor looms (except my very first loom, which was upgraded soon after buying it), and like my knitting gauges, I prefer as densely woven a fabric, as can be made without undue stress to the maker, whilst maintaining a pleasing fabric.  

This is one of the best ways to ensure longevity.  I have long said that knitting ball band gauges are a guideline, not to be adhered to, as they can tend to be too loose.  Same goes for their touted yarn weight.  But that’s for another discussion.

For example, a pick and pick weft-faced sample on the floor loom can be beaten to 6.5 picks to the inch easily, using t-shirt yarn and doubled 8/4 warp, sett at 4 working epi, making a firm, well-woven fabric.

The same sett with even slightly thinner t-shirt yarn can only get 5 ppi on the RH loom, and that is with really pressing the weft into place using my forearms on the heddle so to give it a good even beat.  

The ‘even’ part isn’t easy on a RH loom.  If one holds the heddle at the outer edges to beat (as I often see RH weavers do), the middle of the fell can tend to not be beaten to the same level as the edges, so I have been conscientious about holding the heddle with each hand about 1/3 of the way across the fell.

But with these samples needing to be rug-tight, it required even arm pressure along the entire heddle.  Pita is an understatement!  I could show you the bruises I had on my inner forearms to prove this, but I’ll save you.  One would need to use a hand beater, perhaps even the heaviest weighted hand beater to pack each weft shot in to achieve what the floor loom does easily.

And plain weave with the same weft and warp used singly sett at 7.5 epi yields similar ho-hum results.  No photos to show, as I un-wove each one – I only save samples I am pleased with.

The only fabric I have been really happy with thus far is wool.  Peace Fleece doubled in a 5-dent reed, woven with doubled weft, then soaked and very lightly fulled in the dryer makes a totally great afghan/blanket fabric, which I’d like to make for hubby, as my knit wool afghans are a bit too short, for when he’s stretched out in his recliner (though not using the Georgia Rose pink!)

That is, if one wanted to weave narrow panels then seam them, which I am not yet sure I want to do, not when I could weave it full width on the floor loom, in one piece.  The downside to using the floor loom of course, is all the time it takes to warp which involves removing the breast beam and reed, and having enough yarn packages to warp its 2” sections.

Sigh.

I recently wove these pick and pick weft-faced mug mats/coasters on the RH loom, as a gift for one of my brothers.

The RH loom did these well and easily.  Doubled 8/4 warp, in a 5-dent reed, doubled KnitPicks Dishie as weft.

I am surprised to not see Dishie used more often in weaving, as it’s a really lovely, soft cotton yarn, which doesn’t shrink after washing and drying.  I much prefer it for rug hems than 8/4, which tangles if you look it it sideways, which I must be doing a lot.

I have one more cotton sample to put on the RH loom (Dishie at 11 epi), then onto the bulky to super bulky handspun wool samples, but they can wait.  Have already switched gears and am back to working on the last 2 of 3 wintery knitting patterns and their charts before September passes me by!

The first of the 3 is my Midnight Snowfall Tea Cozy.

In case you’re wondering about the odd sett of 11 epi I mentioned – I only have 5 and 7.5 dent reeds for this ASIL (Ashford Sampleit loom) and am not buying another heddle at this point.  

I find DK to worsted yarn at 7.5 in plain weave to make far too sleazy a fabric.  I have sampled the Dishie doubled in a 7.5 dent reed (= 15 total epi), and it works, though it makes a heavy towel.  This might be a good bath towel fabric, but am not sure about a kitchen towel, and a 16” weaving width isn’t going to make a bath towel!

So, I’ll be sampling the Dishie in the 7.5 dent reed, but threading every other slot  doubled, as such. There are 15 slots to 4”:
000000000000000

Threaded *2 ends in first slot, 4 ends in next slot; rep from *:
242424242424242
= 44 ends/4” after sleying into the holes = 11 epi.

Maybe I’ll like the look of alternating double/single warp ends, maybe I won’t, but the sett should keep draw-in and shrinkage to a minimum, will see!

But first, I need to put Dawn into house-washing mode!

Onward,
Dawn