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by: Gretchen

Little Looms 2018

Little Looms 2018

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] delivers a fresh round of fabulous rigid heddle projects for beginners to experts and everyone in between! This annual publication from the team at Handwoven brings you tips, tools, and new ways to weave beautiful cloth on a little loom. (Two of the project in this issue are from Halcyon Yarn staff!)

 

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]
  [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

Check out the highlights below…

Little Looms 2018 features distinctive bags and accessories, great tips for fixing mistakes, and one of the best tutorials we’ve seen for hemstitching – an invaluable skill for creating perfectly finished pieces. Here are four of our favorite projects:

Take Two Tote Bag, by Emily Werner

From garbage to gorgeous – this sturdy, stylish and sustainable woven bag is the perfect Earth Day project. We’re all trying to do better at using fewer single use plastics, so what should we do with those leftover plastic shopping bags stashed under the sink? Plarn! Give this “garbage” a clever new purpose. Make your own plastic yarn by slitting bags into strips and using in weft. The Take Two Tote takes these old grocery bags to a whole new level and keeps them out of the landfill.

(Some of you will recognize Emily from here at Halcyon Yarn where she designs projects, answers many of your weaving questions, and coordinates classes – we’re pretty sure there’s nothing she can’t do!)

The project includes plarn making instructions and you’ll use about 16 plastic bags, in two colors. Use approximately 160 yards each in two colors of 8/4 Cotton. Project requires a rigid heddle loom capable of a 15″ weaving width and a 12 dent heddle, plus 2 stick shuttles.

To coordinate with the beige and green plarn, Emily used Aqua Green Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn and Forest Green Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn. The handles are a simple braid, made from an additional 50-60 yards of  8/4 Cotton Warp.

 

Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn  Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn
Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn  Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn

Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn is on sale right now!

 

Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn Cotton Carpet Warp 8/4 Yarn

 

The Well-Dressed Pup Collar, by Elisabeth Hill

Weaving has gone to the dogs, which is to say, is there anything we wouldn’t do for our precious and precocious pups? Dogs deserve some handmade style too and these martingale-style collars are sturdy and functional, as well as doggone dapper!

It’s easy to make several collars on a single warp so these make a thoughtful gift for your pups and well as the rest of their pack. Woven on an inkle loom, instructions are provided for collars in either 5/2 Pearl Cotton Yarn or 8/2 Cottolin Organic Yarn.

 

5/2 Pearl Cotton Yarn 5/2 Pearl Cotton Yarn
8/2 Cottolin Organic Yarn 8/2 Cottolin Organic Yarn

 

Coffeehouse Satchel, by Cei Lambert

Modern and versatile in a log cabin pattern, this wool bag features a subtle tonal colorway and offers the opportunity to customize with your own cloth panel, closure, and strap. The size is perfect for a laptop or a few favorite books.

You’ll need a 10 dent heddle and a rigid heddle loom capable of 12″ width, plus 2 shuttles. The side panels can be sewn on using more of the woven fabric, or a contrasting cloth, and the sturdy leather strap could also be made from an inkle band.

Woven in Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn, the project uses 240 yards each of Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn and Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn.

 

Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn
Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn  Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn
Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn  Harrisville Highland - Cones Yarn

 

Tiny Bubbles Shawl, by Halcyon Blake & Gretchen Jaeger

This project is really special to me because my mom (Halcyon) and I created it together! We were excited to make an elegant and unusual fabric with a bit of art-deco glamour. My mom always amazes me with how much she knows about weaving – and also how open she is trying (and teaching) new things. The shawl is an experiment in more advanced hand-manipulated techniques, and also an experiment in co-designing a piece together. We started with the image of bubbles rising in a glass of champagne and then explored how to translate that into cloth. Cheers, mom! xo

The fabric is plain weave with asymmetrical panels of open-work “bubbles” mirroring each other at either end and a hand-knotted fringe. The soft sheen of Zephyr wool/silk combined with gold chainette metallic give it just a little sparkle. The bubbles are a combination of Danish medallions and Brooks bouquet. You’ll need a rigid heddle loom capable of a 21″ weaving width, a 10 dent heddle, two 24″ stick shuttles, and a smaller poke, netting or stick shuttle. Quilting pins and a blocking board are helpful for tying the knotted fringe.

Woven in JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 Yarn and Chainette Metallic Yarn, the finished shawl measures approximately 60″ by 16,” plus about 8″ of fringe panel.

 

JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 Yarn JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 Yarn
Chainette Metallic Yarn Chainette Metallic Yarn

 

There’s plenty more great projects in this issue of [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] – pick yours up now!

 

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]
  [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

 

 

Related items of interest: • Our yarnsSuper Fine weight yarnsCotton yarnsLace weight yarnsLight weight yarnsWool yarnsSynthetic yarns

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