I decided that day that I was buying a rigid heddle loom for my birthday, and treating myself to a class. Initially, I had BIG plans to go to the Yarn Barn of Kansas and make a mini trip out of it (I really like visiting Kansas City).
The Yarn Barn class is two days, 9:30am-4:30pm and costs $140. You use a worsted weight fiber to weave a scarf. The Weavers Guild of MN class is three days, 5-9 pm and costs $240. There were four project options to choose from, using more of a sport weight yarn. And of course, I save on travel expenses...but miss out on a solo trip to KC! Decisions!!
Other priorities arose, and I opted to take the course here at the Weavers Guild.
We used a 20" Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom. We set the loom up and warped on day 1. Warping was very meditative and I felt like I had it DOWN. Ha! Apparently, I was moving really slowly and just barely got through the day 1 tasks. I was trying to keep everything perfectly aligned the entire time, and while it's important to try to maintain tension, there are a lot of steps that gets things nice and even and straight before you start weaving.
Day 2, WEAVING! It was so cool to see the work start to come alive on the loom. All six of us in class had very different color combos, and there were a few different patterns to choose from, so it was nice to see everyone else's work too. We were able to take our looms home that night and I finished my placemats at home the morning before my last class.
AND, I removed the work from the loom, folded up my hems, and had started hand stitching them.
Day 3, I got in and told her I was hemming them and she was SHOCKED that I'd removed the work by myself. I *thought* we were supposed to - haha! And I read the instructions and watched several videos before doing so. I finished sewing my hems, and spent some time roaming the shop.
The manager asked if I did other crafts and I told her that I sew and machine knit. She excitedly shared that she was just given a knitting machine and was excited to start. I told her about our group and that I'm the current president (Yep! haha!) and she should join us. She then gave me the scoop - if I become a member of the guild, I can get 15% off my loom and accessories (and fiber!) starting next week. SOLD!
I finished up the hem stitching and once everyone else had their work off the loom, we looked at various items the instructor has made (helpful to see varying fibers, weights, ends per inch, etc), talked about methods to plan out a project, how to determine your warp, methods to choose colors, etc. She explained wet finishing (similar to blocking in knitting) and shared some other resources. I'll definitely be taking her Pickup class to expand my options on the loom!
They're the same size! woohoo!
Today, I warped up the loom by myself (it was so different and took me forever!!) to make two more placemats with the remainder of the cotton. I also bought cotton to make a table runner for my dining table. I will likely go through all four projects from the class before venturing out to other things :)
When I researched initially, I was sold on getting the Schacht Cricket loom. It's a table loom, available in a 10" or 15" size. But the Flip has some extra capabilities, is larger in depth, and comes in 15", 20", 25" and 30". From everything I've read, there's a balance in choosing the size. You need the right size for the types of projects you want to make, but as a beginner, larger looms can be unwieldy. You can make items as narrow as you like...and can make scarves and wraps up to the width of the heddle, hand/tea/wash/dish towels, and yardage. I'm really unsure on the 20" or 25" -- the cost isn't an issue. The 20" is only $20 more than the 15" and the 25" is only $40 more than the 20"...but I don't want to limit myself.
When I mentioned the Cricket to the instructor, she gave me a little smirk and shook her head no, and said, "You'd outgrow that VERY fast." So, I'll check with her on her thoughts on the 20" vs. the 25" with the projects that I have in mind.
I also spent part of my day off FINALLY hemming these IKEA curtains. My 75-year old house has 8-foot ceilings, and my living room has coved moulding so these 8-foot curtains were WAY too long. I measured them while hanging, took them down one at a time, measured, cut, and double turned the hem. It looks pretty good!!
No comments:
Post a Comment