It has come. The summer in its scorching moods and light saturated glaring afternoons, where the heat is reason to be out in the early mornings just to get a breath of fresh air, to water the plants, fill the birdbaths, and take Juno for a scamper. Then it is back inside, to stay busy beneath the posts and beams of the house, sheltering in. The solstice has already long passed, the days are shortening already, at a dizzying rate, it will soon be Autumn again, and each year older I become, the pages of my calendar flip faster than I can write anything down… the days, near empty boxes on pages turning… and my blog goes quiet for weeks upon weeks now. My focus has been elsewhere, and for a long time. I feel this morning though, as I have woken not only to a new day, but a new clarity, a new trust in myself.
In the new year I put together the Brooklyn 4-shaft table loom, and I finally began to weave very fine narrow cloth, satisfying a craving that goes beyond reason, lost to its gravitational pull, I was sure it was me married to fine linen weaving for the rest of time (Cloth No.4) . Even though everything, and in all directions, is part of the creative experience, adventuring so far out in one direction, before recentering and then again drifting off in another direction, like a pendulum. I wonder, is this the way of the artist? I am longing for a mid-summer reset at center. I confess, there are times I’m just too embarrassed to post about yet another diversion, that I have become more quiet, unsure of my impulses, I seek the stillness, worried that as soon as I put it into words, the words already begin to change inwardly.
Soon we will (finally) be putting in the finish floor for our rebuilt home (but not too soon, hopes Juno), and in a bit of anticipatory celebration I have decided to weave rugs. Lots of them? Reminiscing in the archives to November of 2024, I had recently woven my first sakiori from torn cloth, and then completed my first floor rug, feeling certain these were to be the first of a huge series where I would refine my technique. But I had not woven another until now. Reconstructing worn clothes into bit of improvisational rag weaving of sakiori cloth and rugs, while at the same time weaving fine cloth requiring intense focus, should keep me on my toes for the remainder of the summer!
♣ Weaving Notes ♣
I wove a third of the rug with no particular pattern in mind but to make stripes, which I think was maybe a bit cliche. I did however, make intentional “mistakes”, laying down a few colors out of sequence, and making some stripes fatter than others, going for that folk art appearance. The effect was perfectly achieved when the faded areas of the fabrics, from drying on the clothes line inside-out in the sun, over time create a variegation of color, sought-after in folk textiles.
Oh, and it is definitely worth mentioning that weaving a rug on a rigid heddle loom needs a bit of specialized extras — specifically a weighted beater to really pack down the weft (the plastic reed is only to change sheds, not to beat anything) , and in my opinion the Ashford Freedom Roller is essential for the bulk that builds up in no time on the cloth beam.
The actual weaving notes are minimal for this project, as I was improvising through the whole thing, and not taking notes. Here is what I remember…
- Yarn: Warp: 8/4 cotton warp yarn from Maurice Brassard, in color Rouille. Weft: Linen strips cut from many pairs of 100% linen pants, ranging from 1/2″ to 1-1/2″ , creating a thick-and-thin appearance, from spiral cutting up from the hem of the legs, over side seams and patches, going with the rustic nubby effect.
- Loom: Ashford 32″ Rigid Heddle Loom with Freedom Roller attachment.
- Warping method: Direct warp method, double threading from back apron rod, through front to peg = 110″ , which was a rough guess to be more than long enough to use up all the terracotta linen strips. Wound on to back beam and finally threaded 1 in each hole and 1 in each slot. Tied off on to front apron rod for weaving.
- Number of warp ends: Approx 182
- Reed: 12.5 dent, but threaded every other hole/slot to create 6.25 dents per inch.
- Width in reed: approx. 29″
- Selvedges: Used a temple to keep width in reed.
- Finished: I didn’t want fringes, so I planned to hem. Wove the first and last 2″ woven in warp thread, packed down with weighted beater created weft-faced, stitched a rolled hem. I should have woven first 3 inches and packed down tight with weighted beater like I had at the last 2″. Measures 29″ wide by 66″ long unwashed.
- What I will do differently next time: Cut the strips 1″ consistently, weave the warp thread header longer and pack down with fork for a tightly woven rolled hem. I will make a very minimal weavers angle when laying in the weft, for fear I was too dramatic with this one. Also, I really think for linen rags, I would like to use linen warp.
