Adventures in Weaving!

So as much as that photo above makes weaving look tricky and tedious, I was pleasantly surprised with how simple it was. It was almost therapeutic, I am only probably about a foot into the project, but it is very addictive! 

One of the local fiber arts stores in Victoria offers really an amazing deal on lessons. So in the lesson package, you are taught on a portable loom that you get to bring home and rent for $2 a day! The loom that is shown is small, and known as a "Ridgid Heddle Loom". This one is much too small to make a baby wrap out of, and I don't trust beginner skills to carry Miles in, so I am making a scarf for my husband.

Close-up of some finished scarf

 The lesson was great. First, we spent time choosing the yarns I wanted to use. The selection was amazing! If you are deciding to endeavour into the weaving world, go to an artisan shop and pick some of these fibers, it is worth it! We chose a cheaper black Merino wool for the warp, because it had nice stretch and was a dark solid colour (both great for beginners). The warp is all the fibers running the length of your piece. Then this beautiful hand dyed wool caught my eye for the weft (the fibers running the width of your piece). This is turning out to be a great choice, because the gradual changing in the hand dyed fiber look so intricate in a really very simple piece.

Hand dyed yarn on the shuttle

Most of the lesson was setting up the loom, because this really is when the concentration and time commitment comes in. So we started with the warp, like all weaving projects do. We started by tying off to the front roller (sorry I don't have more detailed pictures, next time I will focus on set up). Then threading the warp through the reed with a reed hook. The warp is then taken to the length of the piece and then loops around and is brought back through the reed. This took up some time, but it looked so linear and beautiful in the end.

Progress

The warp ends were then tied off and brought to the back roller and rolled up with paper separating each rotation. Then we threaded through the holes and then tied back off to the front roller. When that was done we were ready for weaving. We (well he) wound up the shuttle for sending the weft back and forth through the warp and from then we have just been weaving.
  

Close-up of the warp

I cannot say enough how much I am enjoying this, it is the perfect thing to do in my evenings when Miles is asleep. Your brain can just shut off as you go back and forth, which really is what most Mum's are looking for when your baby is asleep.

Again, this isn't the type of weaving that will yield you a baby wrap, but it is really nice getting to know the process of what goes into handwoven wraps.

Here is a list of some handwoven wraps:

These ones are handwoven by one weaver:
Pamir (Vatanai)
Uppymama
Linuschka (but not all are handwoven)
Warped and Wonderful
These are multiple weavers:
Girasol
Babyette (not all are handwoven)
These I am not too sure about:
BaBy SaBye

Ellevill Zara (The early production ones, they are now machine woven)
Hoppediz (again not all)

Heartiness (not all)