What I plan to make after I have practiced making dishtowels for however long it takes to get sick of them:
I want to make myself a simple jacket. Am I crazy? Well, maybe yes and maybe no. I hope no one will say, "You can't do that yet". Because then; what if I NEVER feel ready? I know the 1st color, I love electric blue. What other colors? Hmmm, a lighter blue, and something else; black? I don't know what fiber (or is it fibre?) to use I am thinking something washable.
Ah, bamboo! But is it suitable? Tencel? So many choices really!
A lot of synthetic materials make me itch anymore, is this common? To develop food intolerances and allergies relatively late in life??? In any case, that's the case.
What I learned from my sampler:
To remember that the piece will shrink and it isn't necessary to thread my 8" reed with 3 per dent to make a nice evenly woven piece. When I wash my sampler I expect it to crinkle up because I threaded so tight...that's probably why it looks so even!
That I don't have to be fearful of color: why didn't I order larger cones of the yellow and purple? Oh, well.
That my hand swells up doing that itty bitty fringe stuff. At least the towels won't have fringe!
I got my teacher by contacting 2 local weaving guilds, asking for a teacher to teach me the basics of dressing my loom. I'm not sure what he feels his role is but I do find myself racing ahead, reading books, buying books (I didn't promise not to buy books, only yarn), selecting drafts I want to try, etc... I hope that he understands that I'm a self-starter most of the time. Unfortunately I was stuck in neutral without him!
One thing I have found is that many of the drafts I feel I must try require more harnesses than 4.
Note to self: "I will not fall into wanting **more**more**more*** than I have.
3 comments:
That's great that you want to weave a jacket!!! I love having a big goal that will take me a while to reach.
I haven't done much sewing with handwoven fabric - or much sewing - so that part would be a bit daunting for me. I'd probably be tempted to take a jacket class somewhere - a guild or a conference.
But a handwoven jacket is a great thing because you can wear it a lot and it shows off your weaving!
Sounds like the weaving bug has definitely bitten you!!!
Enjoy!
Sue
Don't you hate when you publish a comment and then realize you have another thought to add?
Have you seen the conversation at Tien's blog about weaving and sewing a coat? There are some good suggestions in the comments too!
Good luck!
Sue
I certainly took up weaving with the goal of making fabric for sewing - but I'm not ready for a project of that magnitude yet! I'll watch your progress with interest! Good luck! :)
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