Weaving Project 001 - ZigZag Placemats

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NAME: Zig Zag Placemats
DATES: 4/6/2021 - 6/8/2021
YARNS USED: Maurice Brassard 8/4 cotton in Gris Fonce and Natural
PATTERN: This zig-zag 8 shaft pattern (I only used one color, obviously). Once I realized the woen fabric wouldn't be wide enough for a dinner plate I put a fabric border around it with my mother's sewing machine.
SOURCE: my brain
LENGTH OF WARP: 5 yards
WIDTH OF WARP: 24"
SETT (ENDS PER INCH): 15
DIMENSIONS BEFORE WASHING: I did not measure them, really...
DIMENSIONS AFTER WASHING: 11 3/4 x 18 3/4" each placemat
% SHRINKAGE: sigh.
LENGTH OF WASTE WARP: I didn't measure this either...
GOAL OF PROJECT: placemats for my SIL's birthday + a bit of learning
WAS GOAL MET? sure...
DISCOVERIES:
  • Take the step block out before weaving!
  • Beaming the warp should probably be done slower tahn I did it. I got some great tips on this in the MAFA Weaving 101 class I took.
  • The beacming affected a lot later on. The selvedges of the warp were the least tensioned and that did cause distortion, but it also seems like selvedges always have a bit of distortion?
  • I somehow under-estimated the amount of warp yarn I would need, and grossly over estimated the amount of weft yarn I needed.
  • Even my best checks and balances were stymied by the point twill threading. I skipped a heddle and was able to fix it, but it threw other things off.
  • Remember to unfold the front beam after threading the heddles and sleying the reed before weaving!
  • Post-It notes don't stay on patterns, so I'm best bringing my ipad to the loom with teh draw down and marking the row whenever I stop.
  • It's important to mark the row every time I stop.
  • I learned how to fix a broken warp thread.
  • Cotton shrinks more after washing in a machine than after handwashing.
  • I learned how to sew borders of fabric

PHOTOS:
Placemats for Kristina

Placemats for Kristina

How the weaving looks closer up. It’s so satisfying. When I do it, I find that it’s hard to actually stop weaving because I get into a rhythm and don’t know where to stop!

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