Soooooooooo

I wasn’t supposed to host the WAL this week because, as LK put it, “Our much-esteemed host will be using her well-deserved time to catch up on her excellent blog”.  I don’t say it is an excellent blog myself, but “my friends tell me . . . .” (Ha ha! Name that movie and/or character . . . *ANSWER is at the ultimate bottom of this post).

Here I am, catching up on my blog and killing four birds with one stone–LA’s request, LK’s two requests, and her-and-my idea to create a template, or checklist, for future WAL hosts/hostesses. When I say “request” I mean they made a comment and I barged in with, “I was planning to do a blog post on that . . .” And I should also mention TW, who asked me how to do this in the first place—there’s no substitute for a live student, though we do pretty well on the Support Group.

TEMPLATE (which will be summarized at the penultimate bottom of this post. Template instructions are centered in this post.)

You might want to begin with a photo of the finished square or some other relevant photo.

Include the name of the pattern. You can say something about why you chose the pattern and/or its title. You can also add other introductory comments before digging into the nitty gritty.

Pattern #24: “Lines and Os”

This square has both a number and a name because it comes from the pile of numbered squares (it’s #24 in the stack) I have in my Catalog of Squares. (That gives me an idea for another blog post or page: A Catalog of Squares.) Originally #24 didn’t have a name and, after I batted several about, it ended up with the above colorless rendition.

Left is the sample pattern. Right is the original "#24."

Left is the sample pattern. Right is the original #24.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

L = Layer; e.g. L1 refers to Layer 1 in the warping process.

Cr = Corner; e.g. Cr2 refers to corner #2—on the loom or of the square

R = Row (followed by a number, e.g. R13)

P = Plain weave (under, over OR over, under)

U = Under

O = Over

YARNS USED:

L1 & 3: Lion Heartland “Biscayne” (hot pink)—color one

L2 & 4: Caron Simply Soft “Soft Pink”—color two

TECHNIQUE:

Two-Color Weaving: 1/3, 2/4 warp

This style of two-color weaving involves the tricky technique of warping L1 & 3 with one color of yarn (without cutting) and L2 & 4 with the a second color of yarn (no cutting). It means you have fewer tails to work in. (Since taking these photos I’ve also discovered a way to work in those Cr3 ends while you weave, but I’ll save that technique for another post.)

WARPING INSTRUCTIONS:

Warp L1, with color one, as usual; leave tail attached to skein hanging at Cr2 (you will continue using it to warp L3).

Using a slip knot, tie color two onto the loom near Cr3. (I like to tie it on the top edge pins so it goes around the corner, mimicking the path uncut yarn would take. Later you can untie this, after warping L3, and join it to color one with the magic knot—see below.)

Warp L2 backward, i.e. downward from Cr 3—”around two pins, between 1 and 2″ (you can repeat phrase this as you wind downward to Cr2). Leave the yarn attached to the skein sticking out of the space above the Cr2 three-pin group.

L1&2 on the loom, still attached to yarn skeins.

L1&2 on the loom, still attached to yarn skeins. The photo shows Cr1 at bottom left.

Pick up color one at Cr 2 and warp L3. ***Note the first pin-wrap will wrap only one pin, i.e. the first pin of Cr2’s three-pin group. The rest of L3 will warp as usual. Tie off at Cr 3. (I don’t have a specific photo of this, but you can see the knot in the photo—below the pattern directions—of the finished square still on the loom. I bring the yarn back down around the corner and tie it near the pin labeled “16” in the photo; this way it mimics the usual path of the yarn. This is my personal preference, probably based on how I taught myself to do this technique; you can do it however you like. I use slip knots and keep the knots available in case I need to untie them when I get to that spot during weaving.) If you know the magic knot method of joining ends, you could use that here instead of two slip knots.

L3 on the loom—notice unusual wrapping at Cr2

L3 on the loom—notice unusual wrapping at Cr2

Wrap the color two yarn five times around the pins; cut; thread needle; begin weaving.

***Notice, in the photo below, where the needle is inserted: it goes in between pins 2 and 3 of Cr2’s three-pin group—same as usual—but the yarn is coming down from above instead around the corner from below. There is NO OUTER LOOP to go through (or “over” as some call that action); you’re about to create one. The square will end up looking as usual with its oddly shaped Cr2 knob.

L4—weaving begun.

L4—weaving begun.

Here’s a close-up of Row 1: Plain weave (P) completed.

R1 completed.

R1 (plain weave) completed.

PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS:

R1: P
R2: (P-3, O-3) x 5; U-1
R3: P-4; (U-3, P-3) x 4; U-3
Repeat R2 on even numbered rows (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14),
Repeat R3 on odd numbered rows (3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15).
R16: P

The finished square still on the loom. Note how color one is tied near Cr3.

The finished square still on the loom. Note how color one is tied near Cr3.

It’s appropriate to end with a photo of the finished square. (If I’ve used the front view at the beginning of the post I’ll often post the reverse side of the square here.)

Finished square off the loom.

Finished square off the loom.

You may also include reference to other, similar patterns from the pattern booklets on the eloomanation website.

I also frequently add more information/photos here as the week goes on, such as further challenges: different color combinations, adding beads, other ways to warp the loom:

You can also modify the 1/3, 2/4 two-color warping by tying color two onto the loom at Cr2. Warp L3 as described above. Weave L4 from the top of the loom down—your final yarn tail will end up at Cr1.

"Lines and Os" partially woven featuring an alternate 1/3, 2/4 warping.

“Lines and Os” partially woven featuring the alternate 1/3, 2/4 two-color warping. The photo shows Cr1 at top right. Dark green (L2&4) is tied on at Cr2 (upper left); light green (L1&3) is tied off at Cr3 (lower right).

TEMPLATE SUMMARY:

  • Begin with a photo, the square’s title and origin, and other pertinent comments or information to introduce your project.
  • List of abbreviations—include at your discretion
  • List of yarn brands and colors—include at your discretion
  • If you’re using a special technique or warping pattern, describe it—including photos, if necessary
  • Pattern instructions—you’re welcome to use my style or your own
  • Photo of finished square
  • Other pertinent information

************************************************************

*ANSWER to trivia question: Mrs. Elton as played by Juliet Stevenson in the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Sense and Sensibility originally written by Jane Austen. (Just wanted to see how many proper nouns I could cram into one sentence.) She’s always saying that her friends tell her she’s a great wit or great pianist or has wonderful taste in music—her humble way of bragging.

2 Thoughts on “Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving–How to host a WAL Without Hosting a WAL

  1. LK Stimeling on 25 April 2016 at 3:52 PM said:

    Excellent! Do we go back and edit mine or leave as is?

    • You can edit if you want, but I think you covered all the basics and your post is great. Your abbreviations were standard WAL stuff, so I don’t think anyone will be confused. We’ll see if questions start pouring in.

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