This past week has been a slight departure from the norm for me – apart from glorious weather and spectacular sunsets which continue to be enjoyed from my deck with a glass of the good stuff in hand at the end of a day spent at desk and loom.
Why a departure from the norm? Well, I am, as you know, an enthusiastic and prolific weaver. What you might not know is that I am not nearly as enthusiastic about the finishing of my product……
My advice to my students at the end of a workshop is invariably, that they go home with a definite project in mind, so that they can immediately put up a new warp and maintain the momentum that they gathered during the course of the workshop.
This is advice that I myself follow to a fault. Before a project comes off the loom, the next one is usually waiting in the wings. It sounds sensible enough I know, but when push comes to shove, what really happens is that I take the current project off the loom, have a look at it, hopefully say “that’s nice”, or something similar, maybe give it a wash and iron, before carefully folding it up, and putting it on the finishing pile, which lives on my dining room table!
True confessions – oh dear!
It’s not that I wilfully ignore the finishing that needs to be done, I’m just more at home wielding a shuttle than a needle and thread. It is, after all, far more exciting – apologies to any quilters who may be present.
The finishing of our handwovens, is actually a really big subject, and there is no “one size fits all” solution. Sometimes the items should be completely finished before washing, and sometimes, they are washed before finishing commences. Some people (me included), like to hem by hand – for no reason other than that I think that it is a nice touch, others will use a sewing machine. Does it make a major difference – honestly I don’t think so, as long as it is neatly done either way.
If I add anything to my handwovens – like straps on a tote bag, or hanging loops on a tea-towel, I like to make my own Inkle bands for the purpose.
None of this is absolutely necessary, it’s just the way that I like to do it – the problem is that all of this takes time to accomplish, and I just want to carry on with the next project on my loom.
However, even my extra large dining table eventually begins to groan under the weight of the unfinished textiles, and then it is time for a finishing fest – which is what happened this past week.
The sewing machine came out and was dusted off so that I could finish making up the tote bags from the colour and weave studies earlier this year.
The only loom which saw my attention was the Inkle loom which went into overdrive, making the straps for the bags, and a band for the hanging loops for the project for new on-line course which will be coming out in October. The rest of the time it was needle and thread, washing and ironing, and hemstitching in the evenings in front of the TV.
Even the Krokbrag and Boundweave cushion covers from our Weft faced study last year (!) are finally all in one piece – and these had to be completely done by hand, because the density of the fabric was too much for the sewing machine.
…oh and did I mention that I twisted the rather generous fringe on my linked warp shawl that I made earlier this year…. The list goes on and on!
Final result for my finishing fest: 2 Krokbrag cushion covers, and two Boundweave Cushion covers – you can find details for these by searching for ‘Weft Faced Weaving’ under tags on my Patreon page if you are a subscriber there.
9 Tea-towels in Turned Taquete – such a fabulous technique! So fabulous that there is another 12m on my loom – this time mostly linen – more about this project going forward…..
12 other assorted tea-towels, including the ones from the Colour and Weave rigid heddle study earlier this year – also to be found on Patreon.
Four tote bags – also from the Colour and Weave study, and a variety of Inkle bands.
Phew!
Actually – if I’m honest, I really enjoyed it! (My sewing machine not so much – this is now in for repair and service…), and as I bask in the satisfaction of a job well done, the pile is already beginning to build with the first of the Shadow Weave potholders begging for my attention – but they’ll have to wait, because I’m back at my looms with a vengeance, and besides the pile isn’t big enough to make the table groan yet.
There is no moral to this story, and certainly no lecture on finishing a project before you move onto the next one. As you can see I am totally unqualified to deliver either of these. What I can say without any doubt though, is that it surely feels good to see a stack of freshly pressed tea-towels in the cupboard, and I am looking forward to passing a couple of the tote bags on to enthusiastic knitting friends.
Being able to ‘make stuff’with our own two hands is both a priviledge and a joy!
