Adding Beads To Handwoven Cloth

Posted on January 29, 2021 by artpodstudios

As a weaver and an artist I love being able to add custom touches to my art that add a bit of pop to the finished piece. After I finished weaving this overshot table runner I really wanted to take it up a notch by adding a special artistic element to the piece. After much research I came up with these handmade fair trade brass beads from Africa.

This plate was the inspiration that started this whole project! I loved the simplicity of the design and color. As you work your way through the slide show above you can see how the piece progressed and how it looked when it was finished.

This table runner was woven on one of my Schacht Floor looms. It was woven using 4 shafts and using the overshot technique of weaving. I used Cotton and linen threads to make it a sturdy and hardwearing runner for many years to come. Once I completed the weaving portion of this project, I knew that I wanted to add a little something more to the design. That’s when I came up with the idea of adding some beads to the runner. I didn’t want to add just any beads though, I wanted something that had been handmade and would compliment the finished runner. When I came across these handmade brass beads on Etsy, I knew they would be perfect!

When the beads arrived in the mail I was so excited to get started putting them on the runner. I thought it would be a very simple thing to do, but boy was I wrong! Many of the handmade metal beads needed to be reamed out so that I had a clean hole going all the way straight through the bead, that was task number one. I tried using a beading needle to pull the end warp threads through the beads but that didn’t work very well and I needed to find another tool for adding the beads. I finally realized that dental floss was strong, but thin enough that it would fit through the narrow opening in the beads. Once I knew I had my beads and tools figured out I sat down and drew out how I wanted the bead design to look going across the ends of the fabric. At last, it was time to start adding the beads!

Although it was a very long and tedious task I loved the end results! I soon realized it took me just as long to put the beads on both ends of the table runner threads as it had taken me to weave this piece. I feel the end result was worth it though and I love this stunning piece of art.

I decided to make several other runners using the same beading technique and below are several pictures of those additional handwoven pieces.

Thanks for dropping in to see what art I have been weaving up lately, hope you have a great weekend! Until next time……

…..I wish you peace

FRIENDSHIP…..

Posted on October 5, 2019 by artpodstudios

Friends Are The People Who Know The Words To The Song In Your Heart……

I am so fortunate to have had many friends in my life that definitely know the words to the song in my heart. And something that makes me very sad is when one of them is going through something difficult in their lives. You know that you can’t “fix” it for them but all the same you somehow want to help build them up and encourage them that they will get through this hardship.

Today I wanted to share a weaving project that was meant to do just that. A friend of mine was going through something tough and was feeling pretty discouraged and I began to try to think of something that might cheer her up.

I decided I wanted to try to weave something colorful and cheerful for my friend. I was just finishing up a project on one of my floor looms that had some leftover dark brown cottolin warp threads, so I decided to try an experiment. This purse was the result of that experiment.

I knew my friend loved very colorful things so I knew that the purse would need to have lots of color. I went through a bunch of leftover yarns that I had from other projects and made a pile of them by my loom and then began weaving random patterns. This is how it looked on the loom during the weaving process.

There was no rhyme or reason to how I laid the colors or patterns out, this was just random treadling and colorful playing in my threads.

I really did not even try to repeat or keep track of any of the patterns I was weaving.

Once I felt like I had a big enough piece woven to make a small purse I stopped weaving. Of course I also stopped because I ran out of warp 🙂

At this point I really wasn’t quite sure if this was going to look like the cute little purse that I had envisioned. I did the finishing wash and waited for it to dry to see if this was going to be a big enough piece to make the purse.

During this same time period I had been experimenting with dyeing some silk scarves. I went through some of my finished pieces and picked this one to use for the lining of the purse.

As I began the construction of the purse I decided it definitely needed some

embellishments, so I added the mirrored and hand buttonhole stitched circles and the scroll that I had made by crocheting together multiple threads. I added a button and closure threads that had been braided and sewn into the flap.

I twisted a bunch of the leftover weaving threads together, putting a knot at each end to make a tassel, and hand sewed it onto the purse for the strap.

Before sewing the lining into the purse I stamped it with this friendship saying and the music notes on each side. I heat set the printing to make sure it was permanent.

My experiment was now complete and I was anxious to wrap it up pretty and give to my friend.

I was so glad to have something to give to her that I had handmade to brighten her day. She is still very much in my daily thoughts and prayers. Even though we now live many miles apart we still keep in contact and are still a part of each others lives.

I hope this article inspires you to make something beautiful, and treasure your friendships!

Until next time……..

….I Wish You Peace.

At The Loom – Purse Project

Posted on March 24, 2014 by artpodstudios

Last post I gave a hint about the next project I was starting to work on and the following is an update on how that project is going. I started out with this gorgeous hand dyed warp thread I got from Robinjedmundson on Etsy.

I decided it would be cool to make a purse using this colorful rayon warp by combining it with a cotton weft. For the weft I used a mercerized cotton flake yarn. I felt that this combination of fibers would give the cloth enough body to make a purse.

I warped up the loom with a combined twill pattern using a 15 dent reed. The loom was warped with 130 threads (this included the 2 float threads).

Because I had already done this pattern once with the same number of warp threads for another project …

I just tied the new warp onto the old warp and pulled the threads through the reed and through the heddles instead of having to thread all of them from scratch.

This process saves lots of time if you are making the same pattern several times but want to do different colors.

I wove using a mercerized cotton flake yarn in a dark teal color for the weft.

I really love the play of colors in this dyed warp combined with the dark teal weft.

Here is a close up picture of the interplay of colors in the pattern.

The Weaving progressed very nicely, and the fibers were a joy to work with.

The colors did not show up very well in this picture but this is the piece as it was being taken off the loom.

And this is the piece laid out before finishing.

Once I did the finishing wash, dry and cutting off of the spliced in weaving tails, the finished cloth measured about 7 inches wide, and 64 inches long. I cut the fringe on one end 4 inches long and at the other end I cut it 9 inches long.

The end of the cloth that has the shorter fringe will be the top flap of the purse, and the longer fringe will be at the bottom of the purse.

I decided to add some copper and beading embellishments to the shorter fringe that will be on the top front flap of the purse.

First I strung some beads and added them.

Then I flattened some pennies and textured one,

domed another and added more copper accents by twisting some copper wires and flattening them.

I am also considering adding these items……

Using this purple perle cotton, I thought I would add these beads by sewing the thread in and out of the fabric so that it shows through on top while tacking down the beads at the same time. I also though I would use some of these purple beads (right side of the picture) to add a few more strands of purple accents in 2 or 3 other places along the fringe.

I feel the purse is progressing nicely and I have several ideas already on how I want to piece it together. I don’t have very much of the warp thread left, but there is enough to add some into the inkle band that I am going to weave for the purse strap.

….So for now, it’s back to the loom….

Thanks for dropping in, hope this project inspires you to make something beautiful today!!

Until next time…..

….I wish you Peace

SHIMMERING SCARF FINISHED!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by artpodstudios

Do you remember that beautiful shimmering warp I posted about last week? Well, it just turned into an even more beautiful shimmering scarf !! This is the finished scarf.

I thought you might like to see some pictures of the scarf being woven so here are a few.

After I added the warp to the loom then the weaving process began….

…and the twill pattern began to show through the woven threads.

This picture shows the texture of the twill weaving.

I love how this zig zagging textured twill pattern looks intermixed with the bands of plain weave.

Time to cut the woven scarf off the loom and start the finishing process.

I wove the scarf about 98 inches long but as expected it did shrink a little in the finishing wash. But before I washed it I tied the fringe at each end of the scarf.

This is how the scarf looked after it was washed, air dried, then fluffed in the dryer.

It has a very fluid and silky drape.

I love how my shimmering scarf turned out!

Here is a sneak peek at my next project going on the loom. I will be using these beautiful hand dyed skeins of rayon yarn to make another twill patterned scarf.

I purchased this beautiful yarn on Etsy from the vendor – robinjedmundson.etsy.com

Guess it’s time to get back to the loom and warp up another project !

Until next time….

…..I wish you Peace

At The Inkle Loom

Posted on February 26, 2014 by artpodstudios

STRINGING UP A GUITAR STRAP

Late last fall I started warping up this Inkle Floor Loom to make an earthy colored guitar strap for a friend.

I hate to admit, it is still very much in the beginning stages of weaving.

Last fall I made about 10 table runners in an overshot pattern for Christmas gifts and pretty much “forgot” about this guitar strap. Hopefully I will get a chance to get back to this project and finish up. Especially when you see from the pictures below the results of my last two guitar straps I did get finished for gifting…..

……hope this inspires you to make something beautiful today!

Until next time…..

……I wish you Peace

Shimmering Warp

Posted on February 19, 2014 by artpodstudios

Normally for me, winding a warp for a weaving project is at best,

mostly

“ho-hummm”.

But today the room I was working in was flooded with sunshine,

a plus in itself considering this is the middle of February!

Winding the warp for this scarf has been pure JOY !!

As I turned the warping mill round and round

the sun beams caught the metallic threads and seemed to

literally dance like little fairy dust across the warp.

I immediately pictured a little odd figure of a man, Rumplestiltskin,

spinning–spinning–spinning

all night long to make the gleaming golden threads.

The warp is now being added to the loom and I can’t wait to see the finished scarf filled with

Magic Fairy Dust !!

May your days be filled with JOY !!

Until Next Time……

I wish you Peace….

BRINGING A NEW ‘BABY’ HOME SATURDAY!!

Posted on February 12, 2014 by artpodstudios

Just ordered my new loom and will be picking it up on Saturday!! I purchased the 36″ Mighty Wolf by Schacht, an 8 harness, 10 treadle Floor Loom. As I researched this loom I was quite impressed by the features. The treadles are not a direct tie up style.

There are slots in the wood of each treadle so that you just slide the tie up cords into the desired treadle slot to “tie it up” to that particular shaft (harness). So easy! Another feature I though would be great is that each of the heddle shafts can be completely lifted out of the loom to add in or take out extra heddles. It can be laid on the table to work on, so no more finagling with the bars while the shafts are on the loom and consequently dropping heddles on the floor or worse, realizing you have missed threading one of the heddle bottoms after you have finished putting them on. Of course, that always ends up being the 50th heddle out of the hundred that you have put on, way back in the middle of the shaft! Hate to admit it but, yes, that has happened to me a couple of times with the Wolf Pup loom.

I already own the Wolf Pup, 4 harness, 4 treadle, 18″ loom by Schacht (pictured above). It has been a great little workhorse, but I am looking forward to the ability to do more complicated patterns with the 8 harness model and the much wider 36″ loom. Like the Wolf Pup the new loom has the ability to be folded up for storage with or without a warp on the loom. For anyone that has limited space for their equipment this is a great feature.

New pics to follow soon…..

until then I wish you Peace……….