How to Create Your Own Teeswater Cowl

Many knitters have asked me how I created my beautiful Teeswater cowl I posted in my Dawning Dreams group on Facebook. So I decided to write it down for you. I want to warn you though, this is not truly a pattern. I'm not out to give you every last detail to how I made mine because it was an invention of the imagination and the fibers. The yarn is my handspun from my friends sheep. It is a one-of-a-kind in an of itself. So, to tell you to use this or that yarn would be like trying to repaint a famous work of art. Don't let that turn you off, however. Instead, look at this as an opportunity to create your own "work of art" using your knowledge and skills. So, if I haven't scared you off by now, let's begin.

Materials:

• ~200 yards of a thick and thin spun, super bulky single (My handspun for the body  was Oklahoma-grown Rambouillet fiber from Lowder Colours Farm.)
• 4-8 oz of long, (~6-7") Teeswater wool locks (other varieties of locks could include mohair, Wensleydale, or Suri alpaca to name a few.) 
• Size 15 Circular Knitting needles (mine are Denise Interchangeables)

Methods Employed:

1. The yarn is a thick and thin single, as I said before. The thickest parts are about the width of my thumb. If you don't know how to spin thick and thin check out Jacey Boggs Sit and Spin! DVD.

 

2. The Teeswater locks were about 6-7' long and slightly felted on the cut ends. I purchased mine from Lowder Colours Farm right here in Oklahoma. This is important! The slightly felted ends allowed my to create a hole, that you will see to add as fringe. The following images show you how to create the hole.

Once you have all your supplies gathered, we're now onto the "pattern" part.

1. Cast on 70 stitches on the size 15 circular knitting needles. Side note here: If you don't like it as large around the neck, decrease the amount of cast on stitches. Keep in mind. though, you will have to increase to get back to the needed number later to get around your shoulders.
2. Join beginning and end to form circle.  Don't twist the stitches!
3. Work four (4) rounds in purl stitch. This will creating a Stockinette that will roll the collar. 
4. Now, work (2) rounds in knit stitch. This will create a division between this and the next bump.
5. Work (4) more rounds in purl stitch. 
6. Work 10 rounds of knit stitches. 
7. Increases begin here; make an increase every 7 sts all around. I used Make One Front as seen in the Knitting Help video collection at http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/increases. This will increase your overall number by 10 sts (80 sts)
8. Knit (5) more rounds. 
9.  Increases begin here, make an increase every 8 sts all around. This will increase your overall number by 10 sts (90 sts)
10. Knit (2) rows. 
11. Now for the shaping... and insertion of locks
12. We're going to bind off (15) stitches now, but at the same time add locks for the fringe. Using the method above for creating a hole in the tail end of a lock, you will add a lock into the needle before binding off the stitch. As you knit the stitch, you will pull the lock and yarn through as one. It's kind of like thrumming. If you don't know how to do this, check out on the Daily Knitting video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCIghU9gT0. Instead of folding the roving, you'll just add the end through and leave the beautiful tip hanging. 
13. Here's the tricky part because I did not know how much yarn I had so I decided to go until I had enough to bind of. With what I had left, it created a gentle curve, but if you had a lot much yarn, it would eventually come to a point.
14. From now on, until you run out of yarn, you will bind off (1) one stitch at the beginning and end of each row while adding a lock or two each time. Your method may be different than mine, but I simply K2Tog (knit two together) on the knit rows, and P2Tog (purl two together) on the purl rows.The more locks you add, the fluffier it'll be, but it will also be harder to knit. Find what's comfortable for you. 
15. Keep up this pattern until you have just enough yarn to bind off. (I made another 15 rounds before needing to bind off.) Bind off remainder stitches as mentioned in number 12 above. 
16. Weave in any ends.

The finished product should have a nice gentle asymmetrical curve from the thinner part to the bottom. This gives you flexibility on wearing it.

If you like this or any other DIY tutorials, feel free to donate directly to me using the link below. I truly appreciate anything you can offer to keep me creating. 

DIY Blending Board for Fiber (lots of photos)

With a plethora of fiber tools out there, I try to save money any way I can by making things myself. In many ways, I feel like I am the antithesis of today's use-it-and-throw-it-away mentality. I love to reuse things in new ways to make them useful again.

With many tools, I have no problem purchasing them straight from manufactures like spinning wheels and drum carders. However, I love to make the simple tools myself. I have a number of handmade crochet hooks, knitting needles, spindles, and so on. You don't think women of the 1800s ran off to Walmart to buy a set of knitting needles, do you?

I already have a DIY Triangle Loom tutorial. Recently, I decided to buy a blending board to take on the road. My drum carders range from 10 to 60 lbs. No way am I hauling those bulky, babies around while trying to keep them (and me!) safe.

After looking around through the various blending boards offered from Clemes & Clemes, Howard Brush, and Etsy. I decided the $160-$250 price tag just wasn't for me. So I decided to go the DIY route and make my own.

SUPPLIES:
1 ea - 12" 72 TPI blending Carding Cloth from Natural Fiber Yarns on Etsy ($65)
1 ea - 15" x 22" cutting board from Walmart ($17)
1 ea - can of 3M Super 77 spray on glue from Walmart ($7)
1 ea - medium grit sandpaper ($3) had on hand
7 dozen - 1/2" staples for my air compressor nail gun had on hand ($3)
Polyurethane spray can had on hand
1 image for transfer (optional)
1 sheet of fabric transfer paper (optional) had on hand
1 - DIY attitude

 EQUIPMENT:
Air compressor with nail gun
Iron (optional)
Computer with Inkjet Printer (optional)

STEP 1:
Sand lightly over entire board. This allows for better bonding with the glue. I choose a larger heavier board, so when I lay it on a table, it doesn't scoot around much. You can have a smaller one of you want or even buy more carding cloth to cover more of the board. It's your choice.

Optional Image Transfer :

 Print the image you want to transfer onto the special Iron Paper by following the instructions provided with the packaging. A couple of notes on this... Make sure you do not buy the type with either the white or black background. It should be clear. Otherwise, you will have a white block around your image. Also, the transfer is not 100% and has an aged look to it. I choose an image that is all black and simpler in design because I knew this would happen. You can look up other ways to transfer images to wood, but I had these supplies on hand, so it didn't cost me anything.

I cut around the edge of the image and placed it on the board where I wanted it. With my iron on the "Cotton" setting, I heated up the image until I could easily peel away the backing and all the ink was transferred to the board.

I repeated this again on the back side with a larger image, so that I have one on the front and one on the back. After cooling, I sanded to left over glue residue around the images off.

 

STEP 2:

Now, for the carding cloth.  You have to prepare the cloth before stapling it onto the board. when it is created and cut, they do not remove the staples on the front and back cut edges. You have to pull a row or two out beforehand to give your staples enough room to fit. I used a metal nail file to take these out. It's really quite simple and only takes about 10 minutes to get done.

See, now there is a nice pile of dead staples.

I placed my cloth on the upper portion on my board. When you add fiber to the work area, it will hang off the bottom a bit. I rationalized that I should leave some room on the lower edge for this. 

STEP 3:

Now, it's time to glue. Read and follow directions on the can. I sprayed the back of the cloth and the board itself. (1/18/14 NOTE: I have recently been informed that gluing the entire clothe to the board has been know to disrupt the stability of the tines. If this is an issue for you, please only glue the edges of the clothe down, not the entire surface. I have not had any issues, but it may be better to be safe than sorry.) When they were both tacky, I placed them together for an initial bond and then set a flat medium weight box to add some pressure for better bond. You have to be careful to put enough weight over the entire area to firm hold it together, but not too much to bend the staples. I let this dry overnight. 

 

STEP 4:

The next day, I pulled out my air compressor and staple gun. Using the 1/2 " staples, since these would not go all the way through the board, I stapled around the edge of the carding cloth, spacing the staples 1" apart. The glue will keep the cloth from shifting and the staples will keep it secure. Remember, this is a tool, we want to to last and only doing glue or stapling is not good in the long run.  

 

STEP 5:

I lightly sprayed a polyurethane coat over the exposed wood parts while cover the carding cloth to make sure it didn't get any on it. This seals the wood and protects the images from damage. 

STEP 6:

Enjoy your new handmade board! I'm not going to go into how to use it in this blogpost. I think you should just play in to beginning and see what happens. It will not replace my drum carder, but its a great tool that I can take to fiber festivals and on the road.

Also, the cutting board I purchased has these wonderful groves around the edges which work great for placing my dowel rods in so they don't roll away. The only thing I wish it has is a handle and maybe a brace underneath to hold it in my lap like some of the more expensive ones. That's okay though. If you have the tool and gumption, I'm sure you all could do it to your own boards. I sure am happy with the way mine is.

 TOTAL COST: ~$90 since I had some of the things on hand. That's $70 cheaper than the least expensive board online. Actual time I spent on the piece (-drying time) 30 minutes. It's kind of like cooking, if your willing to put some time into it, you can save yourself some money by buying the ingredients and making it yourself.

If you like this or any other DIY tutorials, feel free to donate directly to me using the link below. I truly appreciate anything you can offer to keep me creating. 

DIY 7' Triangle Loom or TriLoom, for short

First off, let me point you to the site where it all began as you may have already seen because everyone uses this site when they build a loom. It's http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/triloom2.htm.

There's a reason these babies are quite a pretty penny, and it isn't because of the cost of materials. The amount of time it takes to drill and hammer in all 486 nails can be daunting. If you have a laid back nature or too poor to shell out $250 for a fancy one, then this project is for you. My loom is 7 feet at the widest point, which makes my shawls slightly smaller depending on shrinkage.

DIY TriLoom:

Now, down to business. Head over to your local Home Improvement store (Home Depot for me) and gather your supplies.


SUPPLIES:
2 pcs - 8 feet 2x1" Pine (or Oak if you can afford it)
1 box - 1 lb - 1 1/4 " Trim Nails (I choose the ones with heads to help keep the yarn stable)
3 - 3" screws 
Wood Glue

 EQUIPMENT:
1- Measuring Tape / Ruler
1 - Drill with matching drill bit size to nails and screws
1 - right angle
pencil for marking

Here's the nails I used just in case:

I think it helps to lay it all out, so you can see what you're working on and how it'll come together in the end. You can get an idea of the angles you'll be cutting to give it it's triangular shape. This takes up a lot of room. You''l need to clear plenty of space to be able to work around it. Oh, to have a woodworking shop!

 

 I measured and cut the first wood piece down to 84" (7 feet) long with square 90 degree ends. Remember to measure twice and cut once to get it right. This is the base for all the rest of the angles and lengths, so make sure you get this right.









Luckily, I have a laser guided saw that helps me know exactly where to cut. It's particularly helpful when I'm cutting the 45 degree angles though this picture shows the 90 degree cut.

You can line up the V portion of the triangle now, which creates the 90 degree angle. See how I have the wood butting up to each other? Less cutting = less mistakes and less time wasted. I'm not a master wood carver, and one less thing to do is nice.

 When you lay the pieces on top of the 7 foot length, you can see the angle on which your next cut will be. This is one of the two 45 degree cuts that will sit on top of the 7 foot section. You'll notice that you'll have one side slightly longer than the other with both having a 45 degree angle cut one one end and 90 degree on the other. 








 Ah, all cut down and ready to be assembled. Now, it's time to drill. You're going to want to drill starter holes through the ends making sure to go through both pieces of wood. This is why you need the long screws. I nailed, glued, and screwed them together to make sure they never come apart. Don't skip the drilling because this keeps the wood from splitting. You wouldn't want to run to the store to get more would you?

You can see here how the pieces meet on the long end.  See how nice and even they are? You wouldn't want any extra places for yarn to snag, so keeping your cuts clean is important. If you don't, you may have to come back later and sand sections down because they keep snagging your yarn while you're weaving.

 Now, for the nails. This is the most time consuming part, so be prepared to spend hours on this. Mark out the center top nail and working your way down the short sides, spacing them 1/4" apart, mark 164 places to drill starter holes. I place mine about 1/2" from the edge of the wood. Once you reach the long side,  work across it spacing them ~1/2" apart, measuring straight down from the short side nail marks using the right angle.

You should have 486 holes total. 161 one each side and all sharing an extra corner nail. 161+161+161+3 corners=486 nails total. Next, pre-drill holes and hammer in all those little nails. I left them sticking out about 3/4" above the wood.

 A neat way to mark spacing is to leave every 10th nail slightly raised/lowered. This can help you when you're weaving and making patterns or if you want to know how many rows you have left to weave.



 Viola!! You've done it! Now, you can start weaving. I hanged my loom on the wall for easy weaving. Some weave with the long side up, some with it down. You're preference really. . . I prefer to weave up.

Here's the action shot of the weaving process. There are other site that give directions on the continuous weave process such as on Wayne's This and That or at Confabulation.com. By switching colors, you can create a nifty plaid effect.










 There's a nice video on YouTube by WeaverHazel that shows the complete process on a smaller loom, It also shows you how to make a square weaving (Afghan?) using a Triloom.

 Finishing the Edges:


 I found that the ends were very loosey, goosey after removing it from the loom, so I prefer to crochet the edges to tighten it up a little.

 Slip stitch across the edging.

You can see how the final crochet edge compares. The thicker the yarn, the less this will happen. With the spacing of this particular loom, bulky weight yarns work best.








It's been a real treat to have my own loom that I made. Just like when I spin a yarn then knit it, I have more pride in what I've done because it is mine form beginning to end. Plus, saving all that money for yarn doesn't hurt either! Don't forget to check out the multitude of resources on the web, in your library, and from your friends. 


If you like this or any other DIY tutorials, feel free to donate directly to me using the link below. I truly appreciate anything you can offer to keep me creating. 

DIY Raddle for Weaving Loom

HOW TO MAKE A RADDLE FOR A WEAVING LOOM

Raddle - An instrument consisting of a wooden bar, with a row of upright pegs set in it, used by domestic weavers to keep the warp of a proper width, and prevent tangling when it is wound upon the beam of the loom. [1913 Webster]

After warping my loom for the first time, I realized quickly that a raddle would be a very helpful tool. Unfortunately, I neither have the funds, nor the desire to purchase a $50 plus S/H raddle, when I can make my own.

The loom I have is an Ashford 32" 8 Shaft Table Loom. It's a beauty and a dream to work on (once I got it warped). The legth measurements I give or for my particular loom. To make it fit yours, simply measure the width and cut accordingly.


Materials:
1 1/2 inch Pine/Oak cut down to width of loom (34 1/2" for my Ashford)
3/4 Inch Dowel for Legs cut down to 2 1/4 length (optional)
Lots of 2" nails
Pencil
Measuring Tape















Directions:

1. Measure the space you would like your raddle to sit and cut. For my loom, it was 34 1/2".

2. Marking the center of the loom, place two parallel lines on either side. This is where you hammer in the nails. I use two lines to keep the close nails from splitting the wood.

















3. On one line, make a 1/2 inch marks from the center out. On the other line, stagger the marks, and mark 1/2 inch again across the wood. This will give 1/4 inch gaps between front and back nails.

















4. Now with your nail placement marked, start hammering in all those nails. I'm not very picky, so my nails aren't perfectly straight. It will still work. (Optional) I used different color nails to mark the center and every 4 inches out.
















5. (Optional) Since I needed mine to see up higher to keep the warp from stretching over the top, and making it uneven, I added in 2 1/4" dowel legs on either side.


6. Finally finished! I put the raddle on my loom and I'm ready to go.



It know it's not pretty, but it works great. When I'm actually ready to use it, I tie it down using a couple of pieces of scrap yarn to keep it from moving.

Another method I've seen it to drill holes down the wood and set in wooden pegs. I didn't want to buy more than I needed to or waste time drilling all those holes. It can look prettier though, so it's your choice. I hope this helps one of you out there to make your own!

 

If you like this or any other DIY tutorials, feel free to donate directly to me using the link below. I truly appreciate anything you can offer to keep me creating.