My Backstrap

The 2nd assignment from Laverne Waddington beginning backstrap weaving tutorial is to weave my own backstrap. Previous post showed a folded towel doing the job.

I was nervous about working on a wide piece (4+inches) so I decided to weave a slightly wider (2.5 inches) tape first. This photo show the beginning of the tape.

This is nearing the end of the warp. I used a heddle stick and a shed stick tied with a shoelace for my two sheds.

A closeup of the weaving. The two sheds created a distinct alternating bump which evens out when the warp is off the loom and has relaxed around the weft yarns.

Finished tape with fringe. I think I'm going to sew a zippered pouch with a rectangular fabric base. Now I was ready to weave a wider piece.

These are the yarns I chose for my backstrap. Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Naturale. It's what Laverne recommends for the project. It's going to be plain weave but with color stripes.

Warp is wound for my backstrap piece.

I used a small square warping board as I have yet to purchase individual pegs for winding straight warps. It worked well enough.

I got ambitious and wound a few warps. Some are 6 and 9 thread ready for complimentary pick up. The turqouiose one is for a really narrow half inch tape. The middle bundle is for the backstrap. I love how easily you can store ready-to-weave warps wrapped around lease sticks (dowels and pencils).

Again I made a heddle stick for one shed and a floating dowel tied with a shoelace for the second shed. I used a plastic ruler with planets on it for a beater sword as I have yet to buy a bigger one in wood. It's on the list to purchase. The ruler was handy because it made measuring for consistent width easy.

I had been anchoring the end of the loom on my TV stand. But found it creeping across the carpet as I pulled and beat with super firm tension on this warp. I needed more tension on the warp for this width. So I moved to anchoring my loom under my dining table. It was very stable. I did have to use a longer tie for the warp bar so I did not have to crouch under the table.

I didn't really like how the yarn colors were mixing as I wove. Not sure if the colors weren't just right or if the large worsted weight yarn was too bulky.

But when I was finished weaving and I saw the whole piece as one I fell in love.  I especially liked how the variegated yarn made a faux Ikat wave of color in the center stripe. Totally accidental with how I wound the warp.

I braided the yarn as per Laverne's instructions. I twisted some natural colored cotton crochet yarn into a cord for the end loops. Because I had color changes in the warp I had a number of knots at one end to weave into the braids. The other end had easy loops to braid with no knots.

My finished backstrap. I have used it and it is fabulous!

The GG Robe

I made a robe for my son Ian a few years ago. That story is told in this blog post. He wore that robe all the time. It kept him warm and toasty for longer than a kid's robe is usually able to. Well, it was finally time to make a new robe.

I took Ian to the fabric shop. We walked down the cotton aisle and the flannel aisle. He picked out 3 cotton fabrics and 1 cotton flannel and said he couldn't decide which was his favorite. Then he asked me to guess which one he wanted. I said "all four?" He said "YES!"

This is what he picked out. Flannel pizza and smooth cotton for the rest.

I know! Crazy right?!? I asked him if he was sure he wanted all of them in the same robe. "Definitely!" He told me exactly where each piece of fabric was to go.

He didn't want a tie so he picked out 2 buttons from my stash. Both are vintage. He liked the metal button because it had military stuff on it and the leather button looked like wood.

Putting all these pieces together...this is the result...I especially like the attitude!

Front view. The hard alcohol print is for dad to enjoy. And the money print gave him buying power.

Back view. He especially liked the pixelated bomb in the print.

 Inside view. The flannel is warm, cozy and yummy.

He calls it his Gangster Gaming robe. AKA, The GG Robe. Everything you need to have a good time...food, drink, games and money. Everything an 11-year old desires.

Side note: I did knit his house socks too. I wrote about his dad's pair of socks in this post. Same yarn, same pattern. I made myself a pair, too. Then I got over my sock craze.