Month: June 2022

Mid-Weave Corrections

There I am, weaving along, when something on the back feels wrong…

Here’s a closeup of where I noticed the row had gone wrong…

And when I flip it over to look at the back, I find a loose column! That is absolutely not in the pattern.

Here is the point at which I went wrong, in the row before this one. The pattern on the even row is 2/2/1/1 repeating. Here, I went 2/2/1/1/1 before continuing 2/2/1/1 through the end of the row.

Pull out the offending row to the crossing that I made the wrong way…

Pick up the next under, and now we are back in pattern of 2/2/1/1…

Continue re-weaving into the pattern, picking up the next 1…

…ending with a 1 (so it looks like 2/2/1/1/1 at the end. of the 3rd row down) because that is the odd row out. It would be part of the first 2 of the 2/2/1/1 pattern if there were more columns to weave.

Check the back to confirm that the loose column is properly tied down.

And we’re done!

Oh, wait. This looks weird? See the small boxes at the top? We don’t have those on our chart. Note also the pattern direction change? Yes, I turned my loom upside down in the course of weaving the row before this one, but then worked that last row as if it were row 1.

So, to make things easier, I turn my chart upside down, and fix the “last” row, which is now at the top of my chart.

All better! No more boxes, scales all the way to the edge.

See Also:

  • Fish Scales, to see the completed fabric off the loom.
  • Purse, to see this folded and sewn into a small container.

Fish Scales

Fish Scales is a *very* interesting fabric. Before we begin, please note, this is a *light-duty* potholder. Use for trivets, bowl cozies, other flexible fabric cushion-y choices. DO not risk burning yourself (or your gift recipient!!) on hot heavy cast-iron.

The surface is notably dimpled with slight puffiness. The fabric is flat and feels slightly stiff, more like a tabby (over/under across the row) than a twill. It has the flexibility of twill, in all cardinal directions.

I could not restrain myself to <color>-and-white for this one. I needed to see the fish scales in pewter and silver. Aren’t they lovely!? If you work in red or pink, you would also get lovely hearts.

The pattern is extremely regular. Every odd row repeats 2/1/2/1 etc. across the row. Every even row repeats 2/2/1/1/ across the row. Use the chart to keep track of the shifts from one pattern row to the next.

The finished potholder comes out about 8″ square.
With a reverse video back view.
And holes in the weave!! Because of the way the twills align, they pull tiny holes inside the dimples in the fabric. This is great for flexibility. Not so great for pokey hot things. Sailor take warning!
Binding off, we see the magic begin to happen! Every new fabric off the loom is an adventure in possibility constraining itself down to the physics of reality.

See Also:

 

Sharktooth Twill

The full stability and flexibility of a 2/2 twill combined with an interesting pattern formed entirely by the threading plus twill makes for a delightful potholder that you can weave up quickly.

Black & white Harrisville pro loom & loops. Threading AAABBB in both directions, woven in 2/2 twill.

Pattern chart attached, but you don’t really need it to work, once you work your first row. All others can be worked by reference.