Decisions...a snapshot inside my head
Over on Instagram, I have been following this awesome weaver. She has a website and an Etsy store, too!
I have been drooling over her handwoven and hand sewn ponchos for a while now, especially this one and this one.
While I can weave and I can sew, I do not think I have the knowledge or ability to create a pattern as lovely as the one this lady has done. While I would LOVE to have one, I could not justify the price on something for me.
One afternoon last week, while I was again lusting over her Instagram photos of even more ponchos, I decided to go to the website, hoping for more detailed photos of the ponchos, so I could try to figure out how they were assembled.
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the tab called B.Y.O.F!
That actually stands for Bring Your Own Fabric!!
For $60 she will make and line a poncho for me with fabric I weave and supply!!
How amazing is that?!
This, of course, means I have been copiously planning my next weaving project.
The vertical stripes represent the warp and will run the length of the fabric, which should be about five yards long and 30" wide. The thread is a rayon type called Tencel.
Looking at the photo and moving from left to right, the colors (other than the obvious black) are Taupe, Whipple Blue, Lemon Grass, Red Purple, Lemon Grass, and Whipple Blue. Black will separate the colors, but it will be a gradual shift from one color to the next, so there will not be the sharp lines between the colors.
For the weft (the three horizontal threads in the photo), I think I am going to use some lace weight wool in a coffee color. I know black wool would be the obvious choice and look really sharp and smart with the other colors, but this is a poncho, a very casual article of clothing...and, I wear more brown than black, although I do wear a lot of black. Besides, I have almost 4,000 yards of this coffee brown, and I don't want to dye it or order a bunch of black, so there is that.
After a bit of dithering, as well as a confab with the bestie, losing the purple is not an option, as it is an excellent pop of intense color. I like the taupe, but it would not hurt my feelings to lose it. As the friend said, "Immediate thought was purple must remain. The taupe reads a tad muddy in relation." I think she is right.
The question of whether the taupe remains will depend on the math. I will be threading each warp thread through individual heddles, but I will be running them double through the 12-dent reed, which translates to 24 threads per inch for a total of 792. (I understand that 792 divided by 24 is 33", instead of 30", but I expect some draw in to occur due to the act of weaving itself, not to mention the possibility of shrinkage.)
If I need the extra color to make the math work out better, than I will use it. Otherwise, it is gone...
Off to finish the second blankie so I can get this baby on the loom!!
Yes, I still have two Christmas knitting projects to complete...shhh!
I have been drooling over her handwoven and hand sewn ponchos for a while now, especially this one and this one.
While I can weave and I can sew, I do not think I have the knowledge or ability to create a pattern as lovely as the one this lady has done. While I would LOVE to have one, I could not justify the price on something for me.
One afternoon last week, while I was again lusting over her Instagram photos of even more ponchos, I decided to go to the website, hoping for more detailed photos of the ponchos, so I could try to figure out how they were assembled.
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the tab called B.Y.O.F!
That actually stands for Bring Your Own Fabric!!
For $60 she will make and line a poncho for me with fabric I weave and supply!!
How amazing is that?!
This, of course, means I have been copiously planning my next weaving project.
The vertical stripes represent the warp and will run the length of the fabric, which should be about five yards long and 30" wide. The thread is a rayon type called Tencel.
Looking at the photo and moving from left to right, the colors (other than the obvious black) are Taupe, Whipple Blue, Lemon Grass, Red Purple, Lemon Grass, and Whipple Blue. Black will separate the colors, but it will be a gradual shift from one color to the next, so there will not be the sharp lines between the colors.
For the weft (the three horizontal threads in the photo), I think I am going to use some lace weight wool in a coffee color. I know black wool would be the obvious choice and look really sharp and smart with the other colors, but this is a poncho, a very casual article of clothing...and, I wear more brown than black, although I do wear a lot of black. Besides, I have almost 4,000 yards of this coffee brown, and I don't want to dye it or order a bunch of black, so there is that.
After a bit of dithering, as well as a confab with the bestie, losing the purple is not an option, as it is an excellent pop of intense color. I like the taupe, but it would not hurt my feelings to lose it. As the friend said, "Immediate thought was purple must remain. The taupe reads a tad muddy in relation." I think she is right.
The question of whether the taupe remains will depend on the math. I will be threading each warp thread through individual heddles, but I will be running them double through the 12-dent reed, which translates to 24 threads per inch for a total of 792. (I understand that 792 divided by 24 is 33", instead of 30", but I expect some draw in to occur due to the act of weaving itself, not to mention the possibility of shrinkage.)
If I need the extra color to make the math work out better, than I will use it. Otherwise, it is gone...
Off to finish the second blankie so I can get this baby on the loom!!
Yes, I still have two Christmas knitting projects to complete...shhh!
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