As a lover of fiber arts, I want to try it all! Knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, dying, just to name a few! This includes developing even more obscure talents, like making lucet cords. …
these scans are from the book "weaving off-loom," first published in 1973. yes, my taste level is questionable, but i loved it! i think tha...
As a lover of fiber arts, I want to try it all! Knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, dying, just to name a few! This includes developing even more obscure talents, like making lucet cords. …
I am still trying my hand at different medieval crafts. So I came across Nålebinding or needle binding. Needle binding is the precursor of knitting & crocheting. With knitting & crocheting you are using loops to form a fabric. With needle binding on the other hand you are using more or less complicated knots. For
Knitting and crocheting are about the only needlecrafts that I did not pick up on. However, doing needlework beside the fire on a cold night (see the flakes in the window?) with my kitties driving me nuts is a great evening indeed!
This last week has been all about I-cords. In total I’ve knitted more than 660 inches (1650 cm) of I-cords. They are perfect for weaving...
SKEINS: 8 skeins of Purl Soho’s Tussock SIZE: 60 x 60 inches COLOR: Silver Needle
the knitting podcast with a celtic flair
Pin Loom Angel (idea by Kim Jurek)
Sydney-based artist Michelle Robinson weaves textured fibers in vibrant hues into playful, bright wall-hangings and accessories.
In this series on bust shaping, I’ll help you achieve the perfect fit in your knitted garments. First: vertical bust darts!
The last few months (since September) I've done quite a bit of nalbinding and finishing old projects. Finnish Stitch 3+3 pouch from Imperial Tracie Too sport weight yarn. (My Ravelry project page for the pouch has general instructions for making your own.) Finnish Stitch 3+3 mittens from handspun yarn - mixed batts from Moonrover and SD Natural Colored Wool Rådmansö Stitch hat from Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky yarn Hand Warmers from Finnish Stitch 3+3 Stitch done with Imperial Yarns Tracie Too sport weight. Currently I'm working on a circular vest, inspired by the crochet pattern for the Pinwheel Sweater. Simply doing Oslo stitch to have more drape than the thicker stitches that use more loops. General crochet conversion instructions and tips for this vest are in my Ravelry project page. Has it really been that long since I posted last? Eghads! Well, to make up for that, I've updated the site quite a bit - new look, added a calendar of classes that I'm teaching, and a list of classes I have ready to go (I've had several inquiries lately and I thought this might help). (Update 12/28 - added in links to the project pages for the pouch and vest, since I'd has questions on them. The project pages have general directions for these projects, if you'd like to try to make them too.) What projects are you working on lately?
Do you have thumbs? If the answer is "yes", you can get started with nalbinding: an ancient Scandinavian knotless knitting technique!
Did you know that women age 60 and older have a 1 in 6 chance of getting Alzheimer's disease in their lifetime? Women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's compared with breast cancer, according to a report from the Alzheimer's Association.
A history of the lucet with latest discoveries. What is a lucet, the archaeological finds, with timeline and map, museums, bibliography.
Nalbinding stitches which I most often see people using in their items seem to be either Oslo Stitch or Mammen Stitch, but there are many others, too, and sometimes it can be confusing to try to remember all the names, or the logic of how one stitch changes to another. So, how can you tell which nalbinding stitch is which? Also connection stitches (F1, F2, B1...) are explained further below. York Stitch gets sometimes confused with Oslo Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, and 1 loop behind thumb. In Oslo Stitch you insert the needle into the loop behind your thumb from front to back, while in York Stitch you insert the needle from back to front. Oslo Stitch, on the other hand, gets sometimes confused also with Mammen Stitch. They both have 1 loop around thumb, but in Oslo Stitch you pick up 1 loop behind the thumb, while in Mammen Stitch you pick up 2 loops behind the thumb. If you have a look at the numbers below each photo, you will see the first number indicates the number of thumb loops, and the second one tells how many loops are picked up behind the thumb. So in Oslo Stitch the number is 1+1, and in Mammen Stitch 1+2. The numbers also match with the Us and Os (Hansen's Notation). So, Oslo Stitch is 1+1 or UO/..., and Mammen Stitch is 1+2 or UOO/... Edit: In case you have heard about Korgen Stitch, so basically Korgen Stitch and Mammen Stitch are the same (1+2 or UOO/UUOO) but in Korgen Stitch the connection stitch is F1 and in Mammen Stitch F2. See further below for F1s and F2s. Now, if you look at the next photos after Oslo Stitch and Mammen Stitch, I hope you get the logic how the stitches can be changed/varied. Brodén Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 3 loops behind the thumb (1+3, UOOO/...). Långaryd Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 4 loops behind the thumb (1+4, UOOOO/...). Bålsta Stitch - 1 thumb loop, 5 loops behind the thumb (1+5, UOOOOO/...) The Finnish Stitch variant I have chosen here involves 2 loops around thumb and 2 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+2, or UUOO/...). If you think it, it is almost like Mammen Stitch except that there are 2 thumb loops. There are also stitch variants which involve 2 thumb loops and 3 to 5 loops behind the thumb (ie. 2+3 or 2+4 or 2+5). Dalby Stitch is a bit different. There is 1 loop around thumb, 1 loop behind thumb is picked up from front to back (as usual), but the second loop behind the thumb is picked up from back to front (needle tip pointing to 9 o'clock *). So that would make 1+1+1 or UOU/... *) The direction matters, because if the needle tip points to the opposite direction, the stitch is one of the Turning Stitches, and the surface looks quite different, too. Turning Stitches are not included in these photos. Edit: These stitches shown here, obviously, are not the only one. The shortenings for connection stitches often seem to be a source of confusion. F = front, B = back, M = middle Edit: These are not the only ways to connect new stitches to the previous row. For example Åsle Stitch connection is not show here, and it is also possible to pick up the connection stitch from the reverse side of the fabric, like in e.g. Vad Stitch. F1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from front to back F2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" B1 = 1 loop at the upper/top edge, from back to front B2 = 2 loops at the upper/top edge, from front to back - "1 new loop, 1 old loop" M - pay attention to the direction of the needle (either ), because that changes the way the stitch surface will look like M1+F1 = 1 loop at the mid row, 1 loop at the upper/top edge F1B1 = 1 loop (new) from front to back, 1 loop (old) from back to front Left bottom corner, the blue sample, shows the F2 connection ("under x") when your stitch has the so called plaited edge (see below). On the left - "normal/usual" way of finishing the stitch On the right - "plaited edge"
The model of a warp-weighted loom is a significant part of the textile production display as it presents a physical, tangible example of how weaving is done. I've noticed that for non-weavers (so, most of the population!) even the most basic description of the process leaves them with glazed eyes and nodding heads that tells you that, while they appreciate you trying to explain weaving, they really don't get it. A working model of a loom, however, lets them see instantly the interplay of warp and weft threads and thus the process of weaving becomes clear. Wow, that was one pompous paragraph! Now, to the nitty-gritty: I decided to make the warp-weighted loom first (a model of a horizontal 4-heddle floor loom is scheduled for next season, 2010), because it was simpler to put together and I had all the necessary timber on hand. The side pieces of the loom are made of maple (because it's less likely to warp out of shape over time) and the front and back bracing are of pine, because I had some scraps the right size lying around; the pegs that hold it all together are an unidentified softwood dowel that I picked up in a craft shop to make spindle shafts out of, and the roller is tassie oak (an offcut from the tent poles). The warp is 2-ply handspun brown wool - not sure what sort of sheep it came from, but it has a 5-6 inch staple and is pretty coarse; the weft is a similar wool but in white. I chose a traditional 'goose-eye' weave because it is period, and pretty... Setting the loom up is basic but time-consuming: First the warp needs to be cut to size (in this case a metre long) and then looped onto the roller. Then each warp thread is fed through a small figure-8 of thread on the heddles - the pattern in the fabric depends on how these are threaded (in this case 1-2-3-4-1-4-3-2) and then the ends of the warp are tied to clay weights (these are made of an air-drying clay, suitable for display purposes but probably too fragile for a loom used for real weaving) in groups according to which heddle stick they are fastened to. This ensures that when a heddle stick is lifted, all the warp will remain under tension. The chaining of the warp occurs so that there's enough warp available to weave a decent length of cloth - as it's woven and rolled onto the roller at the top of the loom, the weighted ends rise and eventually would reach the heddles and any more weaving would be impossible. This way the warp can be 'lengthened' by undoing and re-doing the chains so that the weight can remain near the ground and the fabric can be woven as long as possible. Then it's a matter of wrapping some weft around a shuttle and weaving - the order the heddle sticks are lifted affect the pattern too - in this case it's 4/1-1/2-2/3-3/4-4/1-3/4-2/3-1/2. Each line of weaving needs to be beaten into place (so it lies straight) with a weaving sword, which is a flat, straight piece of wood with a tapered edge (traditionally they were also made of metal - a lot of them look like large, blunt cook's knives with a wooden handle), then the heddles are changed and the next line of weaving occurs. It's a slow process and hard on the arms, but cloth was woven in this manner from the last ice age up until around the late 12th century when the horizontal floor loom made it's appearance (horizontal looms are mentioned in an 11th cenury Arabic text, but its unclear as to whether they were the mechanised, treddle sort). The main advantage of the warp-weighted loom, than as now, is it's portability. The top roller is lifted off the side pieces, along with the heddle sticks and clay weights, and the entire thing laid out flat on cloth and then rolled up. The roll and the side pieces can then be transported and then set up again, ready to weave, without any difficulty. A horizontal loom is very much a fixture and must be moved in toto if it has weaving on it, or the heddles and reed must be re-threaded up on setting it up again.
Nalbinding TipTuesday – confused about which loop is which? Pull lightly on the working thread, the one that tightens is the last one created. (If you’re working on your thumb – for mos…
I always enjoy weaving strings of bookmarks before the holiday shows. A fine cotton crochet thread is used, such as Coats and Clarks Knit Cro Sheen or Aunt Lydias Crochet Cotton. Some of these are available with a little mylar or lurex for sparkle.The sparkly ones make a perfect addition to bookmarks woven for holiday gift giving. On my Schacht looms I can weave 12 at a time. This photo shows the Ashford Inklette, which can hold up to 7 bookmarks. To make them, I weave for 6", cut the weft, put a 2" piece of cardboard in the warp for a spacer and begin weaving again. When I cut the whole thing off the loom, I use a needle to weave the weft backwards into the last two rows... ...and cut the unwoven portion of the warp midway between the bookmarks, leaving a 1" fringe on each end.
Flowers 2007 Sculptor and installation artist, Françoise Dupré, born in France and now based in London, is a recent convert (late 90's) to spool knitting and its potential in relation to sculpture and installation work. ..............Brief Profile.......... ...Born in France, based in London, Françoise Dupré studied in London Sculpture at Camberwell College of Art and History and Theory of Modern Art at Chelsea school of Art and Design. She is a senior lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Central England (UCE), Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Department of Art. She has lectured at Loughborough University, School of Art & Design, on the Multi-Media Textiles course and at the Royal College of Art, School of Fashion and Textiles. Françoise Dupré exhibits widely in the UK and abroad. Her most recent exhibitions include: Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA (international group touring exhibition 2007-08); Knit 2 Together Concepts in Knitting Crafts Council England (international group touring exhibition 2005-06); parterres Charles Darwin University Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia (solo exhibition and residency 2004); de fil en aiguille...snath nasc Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (residency and exhibition 2003-04). Her collaborative French (spool) knitting projects incude: joie de faire (the making of stuff) John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England (second recipient of the Alexandra Reinhardt Memorial Award and artist resident in the Feto-Maternal Medicine Department 2006) de fil en aiguille... snath nasc (2003-04) Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland and Fujaan for Knit 2 Together Concepts in Knitting........ Françoise sent me a photo of her collection of spool knitters, and includes those that she has made herself. She writes ...... "My favorite spool is the one I learnt with in the late 90s - it is a spool I bought in a store in London. It is made by Indian company PONY who have sponsored some of my spool knitting projects. I use my own hand made spools as well as a hand machine one and I made a very large one for performance piece in Dublin Irish Museum of Modern Art. I am also in the New York Museum of Art and Design: Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibition catalogue. I have been to Australia twice - once in 2001 exhibiting artist at the Sydney Sculpture by the sea, then in 2004 as artist resident at the Charles Darwin University exhibiting some French knitting floor installation. Would like to go back to do a French knitting project!!" The above is taken from Simply Knitting magazine Issue May 2007 - article on Françoise Dupré. (Installation art uses sculptural materials and other media to modify the way a particular space is experienced. Installation art is not necessarily confined to gallery spaces and can be any material intervention in everyday public or private spaces.) Refer - www.axisweb.org www.alexandrareinhardt.com www.paintingsinhospitals.org.uk Simply Knitting (UK) May 2007 Blog - Haute Nature Special thanks to Françoise Dupré - it was a delight to hear from you. French Knitting 2003
A fiber art blog.
The milkweed plant produces a fiber that can be used by spinners. Fibers from hemp, flax, dogbane, milkweed and nettle have been used for thousands of years to produce textiles, cordage, netting, etc. I've been wanting to try my hand at getting fibers from milkweed, processing them, and spinning them. I finally had the time to give it a try, so I went to glean a few stalks from an area that I know had milkweed growing last summer. I gathered around twenty or so stalks that had been sitting in situ after dying off last fall. If you gather milkweed and nettle in the early spring, after the dead stalks have been sitting out all winter, it saves you the trouble of retting. The stalks have a pithy core, with the fiber and the 'bark surrounding it. At this stage, after sitting out in the elements, the stalks break easily and it's easy to dislodge the pithy core from the bark/fiber layer. There are several YouTube videos that show this process for nettles. Below, you can see the core to the left, and the bark/fiber layer peeling off to the right. The fibers are shiny and white: After peeling the outer layer off of all of my stalks, I had a small pile of fibery bark: So here's the problem, how to release the wonderful, white, shiny fiber from the thin layer of bark? I don't know. I'm sure there is a way. It might involve breaking it in a manner similar to breaking flax. I do have a flax break, but I wasn't sure the milkweed would stand up to the flax break. I may try that next time. What I ended up doing was carding the bark/fiber. Most of the bark is broken up and falls away, but the fiber is also broken, and not all of the bark is released. It was heart breaking to break all of that wonderful, long shiny fiber up. I will research/experiment with other methods next time. So here is what the carded milkweed fiber looks like in a rolag: I ended up with about 0.7 ounces of carded fiber from those twenty some-odd stalks: I split that up so that I could spin two bobbins and ply them together. The spinning was challenging, it's not an easy fiber to spin in this condition, but I got it done. Here is the two-ply on the wheel: I ended up with about 17 yards of sport-weight, two-ply yarn: I washed the yarn vigorously with hot water and soap. I know that linen yarn benefits from washing in hot water, and even boiling with washing soda (which I've done with my own linen yarn). I'm sure that this would clean up and lighten up even more with such treatment, but after just a couple of vigorous washings, and letting it dry, I wound it into a center-pull ball for knitting: Like linen, it's a bit on the stiff side, but softens up with washings, and I'm sure with wear, too. So I ended up knitting a little swatch, about 2.5" x 4" in size: I'll probably fold it over, add a crocheted edge while binding two sides together, and keep the top open to make a small pouch to hold my stitch markers. This was an interesting process. I hope to find out how to extract the fibers without breaking them all up with carding. As it is, I think this yarn is not very strong - certainly not nearly as strong as linen. Hopefully, if I can figure out how retain a nice length on the fibers, I can make a prettier, stronger, and finer yarn from milkweed in the future. Okay, here is the finished pouch: It's small, but a nice size to hold stitch markers: From plant to pouch took about a day and a half. Looking forward to repeating with hopefully even better results in the future.
Busting stashes, taking names.
