I’m trying something completely different on the loom right now. The GCW exchange this year that arrived at our house was featuring table runners; and one of the runners that came really excited me. It was an M’s and O’s runner with multiple wefts, similar in appearance to a rag rug. I reworked the draft and changed the width so it became appropriate for placemats. 
The warp is 2/8 natural cotton and there is a lot of it! I am almost at my looms maximum weaving width at 20 inches. The weft is lots of different fibers. Mum and I went through her stash looking at everything that was in the natural, cream, white and brown family. We ended up with some 4/8 cotton, ramie, a soft twist cotton/linen blend, chenille, a shiny brown acrylic and some bumpy and lumpy cotton stuff. 
With some math I figured out approximately how much weft will be needed for a single placemat. 
I pull the weft on the warping board in small groups before it gets combined while wound onto the rag shuttle. 
Before I started to weave I did a dummy run with a thick synthetic yarn to check the threading as I didn’t want to unweave with the funky weft. 
As I am weaving glimpses of the different wefts peep through the warp; it’s creating a bark like appearance, really lovely. Weaving these placemats is like weaving a little rug, completely different from scarves and I like it! An added bonus is that I’m getting really fast and competent at hem stitching. 
The warp is 2/8 natural cotton and there is a lot of it! I am almost at my looms maximum weaving width at 20 inches. The weft is lots of different fibers. Mum and I went through her stash looking at everything that was in the natural, cream, white and brown family. We ended up with some 4/8 cotton, ramie, a soft twist cotton/linen blend, chenille, a shiny brown acrylic and some bumpy and lumpy cotton stuff. With some math I figured out approximately how much weft will be needed for a single placemat. I pull the weft on the warping board in small groups before it gets combined while wound onto the rag shuttle. Before I started to weave I did a dummy run with a thick synthetic yarn to check the threading as I didn’t want to unweave with the funky weft. As I am weaving glimpses of the different wefts peep through the warp; it’s creating a bark like appearance, really lovely. Weaving these placemats is like weaving a little rug, completely different from scarves and I like it! An added bonus is that I’m getting really fast and competent at hem stitching.
That is cool! When I visited WEBS last summer, one of the looms was being woven with a mixed weft like that. The effect was amazing!!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I want to try sometime!!
Sue
This looks just great, the concept of the mixed weft is very interresting.
ReplyDeleteThose do look really neat! And such a great way to reduce older stash too. We all have those bits of cones that never seem to get used or colours that aren't as popular any more!
ReplyDeleteThe nubbly texture and colour mix is great!
Susan
I am glad you like weaving this because it is a perfect way to use up and still get amazing results! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I like the rug shuttle, haven't seen one like that before but it does luck useful.
ReplyDeleteLove these place mats. Shades of brown are still one of my favorite colors. These place mats would look great with my Marcrest dishes.
ReplyDeleteI really like the multi colors in your weaving. It looks like it would be great colors for a hearth rug!
ReplyDelete