I need a backstrap - you know, the wide band that goes around one's hips. So I set to backstrap-weaving myself a straightforward plainweave band. Thick cabled cotton for the warp, something that's been in my stash forever. Four strands of cotton rug warp yarn held together for the weft.
We won't talk about the two-yard-long warp I wound first, shall we? The winding wasn't the problem, let's just say, but I will say it brightens up a trash can nicely.
On to Warp 8B, one yard long. OK, I could weave on this, but oh, I did a crappy job. It's all of 3.5 inches wide, but clearing the sheds was difficult. Not for the usual reason (fuzzy cotton sticking to itself), but because I don't know how to handle a wider warp. The heddled shed behaved reasonably well on its stick, but the other shed, the one with just a loop of yarn holding it together - that one didn't work well at all. Maybe it should be on a stick, too? I need to read more in Laverne's blog and Weavezine article. In fact, what I really need to do is print out all the useful bits from her blog and put them in a notebook I can have to hand while I'm weaving. Digital stuff is all well and good, but it's awkward to access when you're attached to a warp.
Anyhow, here it is in all its glory.
It's a little too short for my wide hips, although I followed Laverne's directions for length (she's much more slender). If I finish the ends by braiding or twisting, it won't go around me far enough. I didn't control the turning of the weft at the selvedges very well, so it looks crappy. (Actually, there were two wefts, each with four strands. I threw a pick from each direction for each shed, so there are 8 strands of weft laid in each shed.)
In fact, this turned out so badly I think I'll throw it out, too, and weave myself a proper backstrap on a floor loom, using rep weave. One of these days, I'll be able to handle a wider warp as a backstrap-weaving project, but not just yet, apparently.
Rather discouraging, really. Most of a Saturday wasted fighting with this project, and there are so few wide-open Saturdays in my life.
3 comments :
Oh no! So bummed that you had a lousy weaving experience. I hope you don't really throw it out. You could always send it to me! I think it's lovely and can totally see it as a small bag with the selvages covered in a binding.
Would you like it, really? I will absolutely send it to you!
It's situations like this where I learn the most....just sayin...
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