Tag Archives: Weaving

Try Your Hand at Inkle Gardening

06 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Projects, Tutorials

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How cute are these little carrots?!

With my non-green thumb, these are the only carrots I can grow – besides, I’m not all that crazy about digging in the dirt. I had a blast designing them. Quick and easy, they are a great stash buster, ok, really they didn’t even make a dent in my stash but, I did use yarn that I had on hand. Carrots come in a rainbow of colors, so use the yarn you have!

If you “grow” your own carrots do let me know how they turn out. I’d love to see pictures and if I get enough I will do a garden post!

You will need:

Materials

  • 1”wide inkle band at least 18” long

*(a little wider or narrower is okay) with two shades of orange 10/2 or 8/2 perle cotton, tatting yarn, or needlepoint yarn. 8/2 perle cotton and needlepoint yarn are a bit thick but will work.

*The carrot in the rabbit’s arms is woven using needlepoint yarn and the other two are woven with both 10/2 perle cotton and tatting yarn.

  • green worsted or sport weight yarn
  • cotton or poly stuffing batting
  • woven fusible interfacing
  • straight pins
  • needle and matching thread (forgot to put in picture –oops!)
  • scissors
  • glue (Alene’s tacky)
  • ruler
  • fine felt-tip marker

Equipment

  • sewing machine (very helpful but optional – can be sewn completely by hand)
  • iron
  • ironing board

Have fun!

I hope you enjoyed the first Inkled Pink tutorial! Don’t forget: show me what you come up with – I’d love to see!

warp, weave, be happy!

Yay! The Check Is in the Mail!

30 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Design, Teaching, Travel

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I have never been so happy to mail a check. Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I had a smile on my face when I dropped it in the box.

Not long after I learned how to inkle weave I ran across this picture.

Anne Dixon inkle woven bands. The Braid Society

The orange and white band stumped my limited knowledge of inkle design, as did the others actually, but that orange one… How was that done?! I did a little internet slouthing and found it was woven by the gifted weaver Anne Dixon. So, I emailed Ms. Dixon – and she replied with a great email outlining the process. I was ecstatic. But the funny thing is, I had no idea she was the Anne Dixon, author of “The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory: Over 600 Weaves for 4-Shaft Looms”. And now the author of the soon to be released “The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory: 400 Warp-Faced Weaves”. Woohoo, I’ve already preordered mine!

So where did I send the check? To the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild to become a member of the guild and to attend an Anne Dixon inkle 3-day workshop in July in beautiful Hendersonville, NC! I met a lovely bunch of ladies from the guild last weekend and I am so glad to join their group.

Is it July yet? This is going to be an amazing birthday present to me and if all works out we will be able to make it a family trip. Does it get any better than that? Yeah, I don’t think so either.

warp, weave, be happy!

Shuttles Fly Again

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Projects, Teaching, Travel

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Weaving shuttles that is, and spinning wheels, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and kumihimo bobbins, too. Last weekend was the Florida Tropical Weaver’s Guild Annual Conference; a three and a half day unbelievably fun weekend filled with over 45 mini-workshops, laughing, chatting, eating, learning, and creating, not necessarily in that order. This was my first time attending the FTWG conference and boy will I be there next year. Are the registration forms ready yet?

I taught my first inkle project class this weekend! “Beyond Belts and Bookmarks” was my inaugural class. What do you do with an inkle band after you weave it other than turn it into a belt or a bookmark? Well, eight lovely ladies allowed me to show them how to make a necklace, wristlet keyfob, and a coaster out of inkle bands. Inkle project samples

Some brought their own bands and others used bands I provided.

Inkle coaster Inkle Necklace

Everyone said they enjoyed the class, and I am so glad, because I had such a great time!  Busy prepping for the class, I only got five hours of sleep in two nights. I was sooo tired, but the excitement and friendly students kept me awake – and lots of coffee.

I also took a kumihimo class from the talented Jennifer Wiles . We learned how to make a kumihimo lariat with beaded tassels.

Inkled Pink Kumihimo Super fun!

The conference was held at the beautiful Lake Yale Baptist Center, in Leesburg, FL. It is such an aesthetically inspiring place. Spanish moss covered trees provide shady viewing spots to take in the lake.

Florida Tropical Weavers Guild Conference Florida Tropical Weavers Guild Conference

Florida Tropical Weavers Guild Conference

I met such wonderful people this weekend and got to spend more time with the ladies from my own guild; I was reminded again what a special community the weaving community is. I can’t wait until next year’s conference!

warp, weave, be happy!

Inkle Nothing into Something

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Design

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“Jennifer, what is that going to be?”

My mother-in-law asked me this yesterday while I was weaving an inkle band in preparation to teach my first class on inkle band projects at Florida Tropical Weavers Guild Mini-Extravaganza this weekend. How timely!

The potential of what it is going to be is exactly what I love about inkle weaving. I’ve always been amazed at the idea of taking “nothing” and turning it into something like sewing fabric into a dress or crocheting or knitting a ball of yarn into a sweater.

With inkle, weaving the band is just the first step of the creative process. Once it is woven, you get to turn nothing into something again. How about bangle bracelets, a handle for a handbag, a belt, or roses (the header for this blog!)? Truly you are only limited by your imagination. Fellow blogger and highly talented weaver A Spinner Weaver shares a great idea list of uses for inkle bands.

So, a bit about what I was weaving. The band really was woven to make samples of the projects I’m going to teach. I used a varigate cotton yarn that is out of my color comfort zone, but something I bought trying to stretch my color horizons. The new heddles I made for the loom are made out of a rainbow variegated nylon crochet yarn, also out of my color comfort zone.

Oh how fun it was to look down and see those little dots of color! Feeling the comfort zone stretching . . . inkle rainbow heddlesDon’t they look like rainbow sprinkles?Inkle heddles rainbow sprinkles on pinkEye-candy for sure!Inkle heddleswarp, weave, be happy!

Inspiration at My Fingertips

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Design, Inspiration

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While having a cup of tea the other day I glanced down at my nails and thought, “It is time to take this polish off.” Then I thought, “I wonder what this color would look like in an inkle band.” Inspiration at my finger tips.

It may be hard to see in the picture, but the color is an iredescent deep purple created by blending charcoal gray and pinkish iridescent pearl. I enjoyed that manicure. . .

I’d never worked with metallic yarn so I was really intrigued by this bit of inspiration. As soon as my son was up from his nap, I packed him in the car and off to Jo Ann Fabrics we went.

I bought purple, lavender, and pearl DMC metallic embroidery thread, without a coupon (sigh). Curious what the metallic yarn would look like next to a cotton yarn, I chose 3 perle cotton yarns from my stash that were very close in color to the metallic yarns.

Then I designed a simple pattern with stripes, horizontal bars, and dots to see what the effect was in different pattens. I used all 6 strands of the embroidery thread so it would match the weight of the perle cotton yarn. And ended up with . . .

Inkle Band Metallic

  1. Bars
  2. Dots
  3. Metallic dots next to a metallic line
  4. Line

Lesson learned: the closer in color the metallic yarn is to the the cotton yarn the harder it is to achieve a patterned effect. Instead, the metallic acts as a highlight, not a standalone element.

It’s going to be fun to incorporate this into future projects now that I know what I know. And knowing is half the battle. Isn’t it?

What inspires your craft?

warp, weave, be happy.

Have Mini Inkle Loom Will Travel

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Inkle Looms, Travel

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When I first planned this post it was going to be about the gorgeous inkle bands I wove on my wonderful mini inkle loom while traveling to the Blissdom conference at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN.mini inkle loom

Really, I had every intention of weaving while I was away. Yeah, well, that did NOT happen. The conference was jam packed with sessions and way too much fun! I did take it out of the bag though, look at it a few times, move it to reach something behind it, and then pack it again for the return trip home without weaving anything. Oh, the intentions.

I even bought this cute handbag to carry it in. It’s as though it was made just for this loom. mini inkle loom handbagNotice the tweed plaid pattern; it is woven and not just a print. Too perfect for carrying an inkle loom on the plane!

Hopefully, the next time I pack it up and take it with me I will actually weave on it. But even if I don’t it is comforting to know I can easily weave on the go in style if I want to . . .

An Inkle Dance of Joy

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Design, Projects

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Ta-Da! Introducing the project I made with all those inkle bands:

Inkle Bangles!

I am doing my version of the dance of joy right now. If this was a football game my team would definitely be charged with an excessive celebration penalty.

This inkle project has been an idea in my head since October. I could see what I wanted, but wasn’t sure how to create it. I made a few samples that were unsuccessful, but close, then I finally came up with the right process. Yay!

My studio (a.k.a the room where crazy happens) is such a mess right now. The past two weeks have been a crazy dash of conceptualize, weave, create, tweek, repeat. Nothing I used in the create/tweek stages has been put away. I can’t pause the creative process and clean up when I am in the zone. Actually, I don’t ever like to clean, but that’s not the point. Crazy was happening.

The bangles take about 3 hours to make, including weaving time. Not a bad time investment considering what I end up with.

I am SO SO jazzed about how they turned out! It always feels great when something I have envisioned in my mind turns out even better than I hoped. And it is just an added bonus if I can wear it too.

warp, weave, be happy.

Inkle Bonanza

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Design

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I’ve been inkle weaving my little heart out. In the past 7 days I have woven 9 inkle bands. I was trying to create a new design to replace the inkle band I wove last week that was too wide for the project I’m working on (to be revealed soon – I’m so excited about it!). I went crazy. It was so fun!

The results of my inkle weaving bonanza.

It’s amazing how changing the accent color can change the look of the pattern. The red/black and yellow/black bands are the same pattern. The yellow pops so much more.

The inkle bands are woven with garment quality nylon crochet yarn. Nylon is not normally a material I use, wear, or like, I am a cotton girl, but I love this stuff. It is soft and smooth with a great sheen – perfect for the soon to be revealed project. The only challenge is that the sheen makes it hard to tell the whitish colors apart from each other when next to black.

Top: beige/black; Middle: cream/black; Bottom: grey/black

In the end, the red/black – yellow/black designs come the closest to what I was trying to do, but overall I am pleased with all of them. I think they will look great in my project.

warp, weave, be happy.

Image

back to the inkle drawing board

03 Friday Feb 2012

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I’m working on a project and designed an inkle band in black and white that I really like. The only problem is that the band is too wide for my project. The pattern needed to be modified to fit a narrower width. So, I wove another inkle band in cream and black, which I really like too, just not as much as the first one.

I am going to give it one more try to see if I can come up with something a little closer to the original. Fingers crossed.

warp, weave, and be happy~ Jennifer

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Kindred Spirit

31 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Inspiration

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$10 and one hour at an estate sale, that’s what it cost me to discover a kindred spirit I never had the pleasure to meet.

I slowly walked through the garage in awe, taking in the sight of what looked like a lifetime collection of creative interests. I don’t know if my kindred spirit was a hand weaver or even knew what an inkle loom was. But, I do know that she was a craftswoman of many talents. She knitted, embroidered, quilted, latch hooked, and tatted, all fiber arts that I have done, do, or want to do. We would have had much to talk about.

This luscious box of vintage silk embroidery thread was among the many goodies I chose. The colors are so vibrant. I can’t wait to see what creativity they inspire.

I totally related to the collection I saw that day. Some of the things in my crafty stash I have had since I was a girl, including inherited knitting needles and my grandmothers sewing basket.  Crafters collect. Like most crafters, my own collection continues to grow as my interests and skill levels change.

By the time I arrived it was the end of the sale that had been going on for two days. I couldn’t help but wonder what else could have been in the garage that I didn’t get to see or think about all the projects that were created with the supplies and patterns in front of me. It was a treat to get a glimpse into the path the interests of this fellow crafter took.

Kindred Spirit, we never had the chance to meet, but know that the wonderful treasures of yours that I am honored to now call mine will be put to good use by a kindred spirit with a crafty heart.

warp, weave, be happy.