 I've owned my Ashford Table Loom for a year and a half, but never wove on it. It needed a little assembly and is different than my floor loom. The table loom has string heddles and hand controls instead of floor treadles. I decided it was time to tackle the loom.  I unfolded it, read through the assembly directions, and saw what still needed to be done. (Most of the loom was assembled when I purchased it used.) Turned out setting up the hand controls was easy and everything else fell into place. I chose some lovely yarns from my stash to make a scarf. I particularly love the color and texture of these rayon cones hanging in my Loom Room.  I found threading the string heddles to be a little more challenging than threading metal ones. They don't slide easily along the bar and it's a little tricky pulling the yarn through the holes. But I'm confident, the more I work with them, the easier it will be to thread them. First Project off the Table Loom  Next Project to tackle:
This loom comes with a stand, four floor treadles, and a second back beam. It's a wonderful 24 inch, eight shaft loom, just need to figure out how to assemble the treadles and second beam.
1 Comment
 When taking a class I like to work on similar projects on my looms at home. It helps reinforce what I am studying in class. Here is a chenille scarf on my Schacht Might Wolf. I found I had too few colors in chenille to make a colorful scarf, so I dyed a grey chenille. I love ProChem dyes, a little soda ash, salt and warm water! Finished Scarf 
Chenille Jacket Completed Last week the fabric was on the loom.  Finished Jacket  The fabric was cut in half, joined at the selvages at the back and the sides. It's a simple pattern, but not easy with handwoven chenille. Chenille can be a challenging fabric. It tends to unravel so easily. The mending zigzag on the sewing machine worked best to keep the chenille fabric from returning to yarn!   Detail of the sleeve
 When tackling a new skill, sometimes the best way is to take a course! Last winter I bought a Schacht's Mighty Wolf loom and it was a little overwhelming! I took a weaving class at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, MI. This spring I was awarded a grant from the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild to continue my studies. Now I'm back at the BBAC to learn how to work with chenille yarns and make a sampler of weave structure  My instructor, Sue Walton, is knowledgeable, clear in her instruction, unflappable and able to solve or redirect any weaving problem. Perfect!  In the classroom setting you learn from the other students and watch how their projects are created and woven. Several of the women in my class are longtime, talented weavers. It's so inspiring!  My First Project: Chenille fabric for a short jacket. The fabric has a great feel and drape and I'm pleased with the color. I expect to have the fabric off the loom this week. The next challenge is to cut and sew the fabric into the jacket I have in mind. Thank goodness I have a serger sewing machine to finish edges! Next post? Perhaps I'll be showing a finished jacket. No pressure though. It's all a learning process.
|
Categories
All
AuthorI am Terrie Voigt, and I'm a textile and glass artist. I create art in both mediums and at times combine textiles with glass to create multi-media pieces or wearable art with glass closures. |
RSS Feed