Weaving Class Tote, part 2

The bag on the cover of the Spring 2025 issue of Little Looms was the goal.

Not too shabby.

But getting there was rather painful. After struggling with the instructions, the handwoven material, my lack of sewing skills, etc., I decided to make a practice bag. This helped immensely. Then I basically tore apart what I had accomplished so far and started over with the sewing of the handwoven. My seam ripper and I really got to know each other during this phase.

This inkle band is more substantial than the one for the practice bag, but I think it too is a bit flimsy. Annie MacHale weaves guitar straps using Sinfonia mercerized cotton; in the future, I will do the same when I want something more firm.

While the foam stabilizer was easy to sew through, tension problems arose when the layers included not only the handwoven, the foam, and the cotton lining, but the inkle band as well. Some have suggested using a "walking foot" (whatever that is) to remedy this.

Pattern: Weaving Class Tote, by Michele Marshall from the Spring 2025 issue of Little Looms
Weave structure: plain weave
Loom 1: Ashford rigid heddle 24"
Warp: 8/2 cotton in colors as close as I already had without buying (too much) more
Weft: 8/2 cotton in white
EPI/PPI: 12.5/11
Ends: 250 doubled, so 500
Loom 2: Ashford inkle loom
Warp: 8/4 cotton rug warp in colors I already had without buying (too much) more
Weft: 8/4 cotton run warp in white
EPI/PPI: 39/9
Ends: 73

This weaving project is the most ambitious one I have tried so far, but I learned a lot. When I recover, I hope to sew more bags, from both handwoven and commercial fabric.

Weaving Class Tote, part 1

The more one weaves, the more one feels comfortable with the whole process. And the more one views videos on line, reads blog posts, and shares with fellow weavers, the more one incorporates new and better ways of doing things. This project is an example of that process.

8/2 cotton, doubled for warp and weft

While idly watching a YT video on weaving towels, I noticed the weaver did two things that I've added to my repertoire: attach the back warping stick to the heddle to keep them steady and use multiple "pegs" when warping.

Steady as she goes

Repurposed coat rack

After a few false starts with warping, I thought (rather smugly) I was well on my way. But then I discovered I was reading the warping chart incorrectly. Could I just forge ahead? No, the stripes on the bag would look all wrong. So I removed those errant warp threads and started over.

Then, while winding the warp onto the back beam, I found two broken warps. WTH?!? Fortunately, they both were at one edge, so I just knotted them together and hoped they would be hidden when the sides were joined.

I use different methods for tying onto the front beam. This one usually gives me the best tension all the way across the warp.

Once the warping was done, the weaving went fairly smoothly. I attached a measuring tape to keep track of my progress.

After I finished weaving the straps on my inkle loom, both the straps and the fabric went into the washing machine for a good dunking, then into the dryer. This "sets" the weave of the cotton yarn well.

The fabric and straps sat for quite a while after this, while I got up the gumption to actually sew the bag. What motivated me was an upcoming weaving guild program on making bags and purses with handwoven. See part 2.

Practice bag

I'm not a sewist. I can barely stitch a straight seam. So my stuggles sewing the Weaving Class Tote led me to stitch up a practice bag using commercial fabric.

The pattern in Little Looms provided a link to a two-part tutorial from the Missouri Quilt Company. I watched this multiple times, and the techniques finally sank into my tiny brain.

I think I purchased this material at a moving sale that one of the weaving guild members staged. Bosal In-R-Form Plus double-sided fusible foam stabilizer provides the stiffness needed for this bag to stand up by itself. The bottom is boxed, which helps as well.

The lining is some muslin that I threw into the dye pot after dyeing yarn with dyers coreopsis.

I wove the handles on my inkle loom using 8/4 cotton. They seem really flimsy, plus no matter how much I iron them, they look wrinkled. Also, they are too long for this size bag.

While this is not a perfect bag by any means, I am fairly satisfied with the results. Understanding the pattern instructions and improving my sewing techniques were the goals, and that happened.

Other things I learned (and they apply to many activities) include taking things slow, one step at a time, and walking away when I need a break.

Kit & Caboodle tote

This project exercised my brain a bit. A comment about there being barely enough yarn from two skeins encouraged me to purchase an extra skein, which came in useful for swatching so I could practice the one-step provisional cast-on and the right- and left-twist stitches.

Project: Kit & Caboodle tote from Purl Soho
Yarn: Purl Soho Sunshower Cotton, in 'Bright Watermelon'
Needles: US8
Modifications: None.

The pattern is very easy to understand, even the attached i-cord instructions. There are alternative instructions if you just don't want to try the one-step provisional cast-on, and there is an online tutorial at Purl Soho if you do.

My only reservation is if the i-cord straps will be sturdy enough or will they stretch? Ditto the fabric. A few items seem okay, though. It would definitely work as a project bag.

I blocked the tote in hot tap water, then ran it through the dryer. It came out still damp and took *forever* to air dry.

Mostly cotton artisan market bag

My fiber journey began with crochet, but I haven't "hooked" much in recent years. My granddaughter is interested in learning to crochet, which rekindled my interest. Then a fiber friend crocheted one of these bags, which pointed me in this direction.

Pattern: Artisan Market Baskets, from Crochet Southwest Spirit, by Susan E. Kennedy
Yarn: A Good Yarn (hand painted fingering yarn by Mary Ann Habeeb, superwash wool and nylon); Maysville 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp in 'Tulip' and 'Yellow'; Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton in 'Blue Ice', 'Tropic Breeze, and 'Grape'; Lion Brand Lion Cotton Solid in 'Off White'; Omega Sinfonia in 'Matizado Azules'; Pisgah Peaches & Creme Ombres in 'Spring Meadows'
Hook: L (8.00mm)
Modifications: Handle

The pattern calls for seven(!) yarns to be held together. I have a LOT of odds and ends of yarn from various projects, so this seemed like a good way to use some of them up. To start, I pulled both ends from the cake of A Good Yarn (blue and brown), added the 'Blue Ice' Kitchen Cotton, the Lion Cotton, the Sinfonia (various shades of blue), and the two colors of cotton carpet warp. That made a nice bulky yarn. When I ran out of the 'Blue Ice', I switched to 'Tropic Breeze', and when that ran out, to 'Grape'. Similarly, when the Lion Cotton ran out, I switched to the Peaches & Creme.

A fair amount of effort goes into yarn wrangling, so I had to sit at the dining room table to work instead of curling up on the couch. One problem I had with all that yarn was sometimes one of the fingering yarns escaped. When I noticed it, I backed up to fix it, but I missed several of these loops. Lesson learned. The other problem I had was crocheting makes my hands hurt!

The pattern called for a leather (or leather-like) strap handle, but I went with something I found on a YouTube video. One simply skips 8 stitches, making 8 chain stitches in the process, on either side of the bag. On the next round, crochet 10 single crochet stitches in the loop created by the chain stitches.

The bag is a bit floppier than I expected. Since it consists of all cotton and sock yarn, it is machine washable (theoretically). I wouldn't try to carry a watermelon in it, but it would have worked fine for the baklava I purchased at a recent fair.

At that fair, I chatted up a woman who was selling crocheted boxes. They were much stiffer. Her secret was to crochet around a rope, like clothesline or mop yarn, and to use wool, which locks together better than cotton. I may have to try that someday.

Felted up

This past week I felted the L-Bag and its pocket patch. Initially, I didn't use lingerie bags - MISTAKE. After deciding the fabric couldn't be too felted, I ran it through two hot water agitation cycles with a pair of jeans. The bag has a nice shape to it, but the rectangle is a bit skewed.

Crochet: I finished the artisan market bag - it's a bit floppy; separate post to follow. I met a woman yesterday who makes similar fiber boxes, but she uses wool and crochets around a core of rope, like clothesline. Hers are much stiffer.
Dyeing: As I write, some skeins of yarn are soaking, destined for the amaranth dye pot.
Knitting: Still working on Bigfoot's socks.
Spinning: Still spinning the merino top.
Weaving: Fourth Third wash cloth off the SampleIt loom. I'll explain that later.

The local parks and rec department put an end to our spring fiber festival, instead inviting us to join their new fall harvest festival. I didn't attend last year, but this year demo'd spinning. It's a lot of fun chatting up the visitors, both kids and adults. I spun on my wheel, but the kids could also spin a little yarn of their own on a spindle. Some improvements for next year: have microscopes or some kind of magnifiers so the kids could look at wool fiber and see the barbs. Also, have samples of wool they can feel and SMELL.

Are hobbies just a distraction?

I like to knit and spin and (sometimes) weave. BUT. Sometimes I think that my hobbies are just a distraction, something to keep me entertained as I grow older. But what else would I want to do?

Well, there are a few things I want to tackle before I'm too old to do so: sort through all the photos I somehow "inherited" when my dad passed away; transcribe my journals; and play tennis.

Back in the day, I taught my son to play tennis, and he went on to be the number one seed on his high school team. So when my granddaughter showed an interest in tennis, I thought I could teach her as well. She has taken a few lessons from parks and rec, but needs to practice more.

Well, I am discovering that I need to practice even more than she does! I can't race around the court like I used to, I get out of breath rather easily, and my shoulder gets tired. But it is something I really enjoy doing, so I'm going to continue, just to have fun.

Knitting: The socks are about halfway up the calf now. I finished the knitting part of the L-Bag - it's large enough for me to wear as a skirt! Now I'm knitting a 12"x12" square to felt along with it, to use for pockets.

Spinning: Still working on the three-color braid.
Weaving: I am sort of finished with the circular weaving from last week. I have a tendency to go too far and ruin something, so I stopped where I am. I may do something more with it, but I'm letting it rest for now.

Here is a sweater I would love to knit or even purchase. The picture is from the cover of the local parks and rec fall catalog. I think it is a style that would work with my lumpy body.

Has anyone seen this sweater anywhere?

Swatching can be reassuring

Last week I decided to start another L-Bag, this time using the sport-ish weight Kauni yarn I purchased at the estate sale. I wasn't sure what needles to use, and had started a swatch that was not knitting up very well. Fortunately for me, one of my spin-in groups includes the author of this pattern. I mentioned my dilemma to Lorinda, and she reminded me that the pattern included instructions for knitting it with sport weight yarn. Duh!

So I jumped right in and started knitting the bag with US10 needles, but I still wasn't very happy with how things were going. So I knit up a new swatch. Initially, I put it in a small lingerie bag and threw it in with my regular wash, but that did not do the job. I finished the felting by hand and am quite pleased with the results.

Still, I restarted the bag because, after using a knitted cast on, I had neglected to knit through the back on the first row and the top was rather floppy. Now I am on my way.

Knitting: Started an L-Bag - see aboe. The heels are turned on the basketweave socks, but now I am bogged down on them. Progress is being made on the non-matching socks, as they have been my traveling project.

I have not been spinning much lately. When I spin at spin-ins, I tend to go too fast and the yarn gets kinky (can't talk and spin at the same time), so I've been knitting instead.

In the better-late-than-never department, a quilt top that I hand-pieced over 45 years ago finally got quilted. One of my fiber friends has a free-arm sewing machine, and she uses it to generate a bit of extra cash by quilting for others. I was ecstatic with the results (and the price - a pittance compared to what others charge - it pays to have fiber friends).

For some reason, I made the quilt top too long. So I asked Beth to cut off two rows of blocks and make them into a wall hanging, for over the bed. Now I need to find a rod to hang it from, one that won't kill me if it falls off the wall.

Help me, help me

I'm used to being independent. Ordinarily, I find it difficult to ask anyone for help. While awaiting surgery for hip replacement, though, I have been forced to lean on others, literally and figuratively. Yesterday my granddaughter mopped my kitchen floor, today my SO weeded the area where my wonderful gold mop grows. He is being very patient with me as our dates devolve to lunch and running errands; he's particularly helpful at Costco where they seem to move products around, especially this time of year when they need more room for xmas crap.

My daughter and son-in-law and SO came over last Sunday to finish moving stuff around, but I have made no more progress on the new fiber arts studio because, frankly, the rest of the house is a pit. The living room and dining room are now under control; next is the family room and kitchen. Maybe THEN I will get back to the studio. I miss spinning.

Knitting: Progress has been made on both the socks and the L-Bag. The latter has reached the shaping phase, but of course the stitch counts are not coming out right.

Weaving: The yarn arrived and is exactly what I need. Now to just get going again.

In an attempt to uncover the coffee table in the living room, I have designated the recliner as my "knitting station", complete with Ott light to show the way. My daughter pointed out that until I have a place for everything and everything in its place, I am a Marie Kondo FAIL. I will get there someday.