Thrum Cloth

Thrum Cloth
Knotted thrums of random color and grist on every third pick

Loads of carpet warp fills my collection of thrums but lots of finer yarns are in there, too. I’ve been concocting  ways to put those finer ones to use.

Here is a very simple weave structure. Small weft skips lay between every two plain weave picks. The design came about by way of serendipity. As I wove the plain weave structure I experimented with frequency of thrum placement. Were they best included every other pick, every third pick, etc.

In the end I decided on a three-pick repeat but found the uneven number of picks difficult to maintain. I rely a lot on rhythmic shuttle movements. Once I am in the groove my mind is free to wander. The two picks of shuttle one, one pick of shuttle two kept throwing me off so I decided to throw the third pick, the thrum pick, on treadle #3. My previous tie-up was still in place so I just used what was there. It happened to lift two adjacent shafts. The result made me happy and made shuttle movements more predictable.

The resulting Thrum Cloth yardage is visually interesting with a nice hand. I’ll be considering it’s final use; perhaps a sewing project is in order.

Thrum Cloth
Swatch of my original sampling appears at lower right.

Next is a group photo of my three Deflected Double Weave towels. This structure would be great for scarves, baby blankets and lap robes, too. So much to weave, so little time . . .

Three Kitchen Towels

Spring takes me outdoors more and more, keeping me from the loom. But a study group project is in hot competition for time. A deadline approaches so I am deep into the study of a structure of which I know very little: Crepe Weave. Wish me luck!

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

On the Ply

This is rather exciting. Using what I already have makes sense to me. Finding new ways to use what would have otherwise been binned is especially fun. Once the idea of plying my knotted thrums using the drop spindle method occurred to me, I was off and running.

Here I'm weaving a Rep Weave Placemat using knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

Knotted thrums add colored bumps poking up between warp ends. I worried about the effect those bumps would make in the finished weave but the added texture turned out to be a plus. The added interest serves to camouflage crumbs, a valuable trait in a placemat.

Rep Weave Placemat
8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp colors - Black and Tan
Knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

Rep Weave Placemat
8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp colors - Black and Tan
Knotted and plied thrums as thick weft, reverse side

Rep Weave Placemat
This one is still on the loom in the first photo.
This warp is a multi-ply marl that had been sitting on my shelf for years.

The third warp used Christmasy colors but will work at other times of year, too.

The reverse of the Christmasy colored Placemat

Here are the three color ways of my Rep Weave Placemats
with knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

We have enjoyed these placemats for several weeks now and all three color ways are pleasant. They wash well, too - always a plus.

Here's wishing 2019 is a year chock full of happy weaving adventures for you.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Why Not Ply?

Having used I Cord thrums for several Rep Weave projects I finally admitted to myself that repetitive motion was taking a toll. As I wove the first place mats on this warp I thought and thought about how I could still use thrums while saving my hands.

Rep Weave Placemat using I Cord thrums for thick weft

The reverse side of the same Rep Weave placemat

I'd thought about plying knotted thrums but getting out my spinning wheel and actually doing it was another issue. Then the idea struck me of hand spinning several strands together with a drop spindle approach.

I filled eight bobbins with knotted thrums. Putting them all into a bin I took hold of the ends together as one and pulled the strands out in a single bundle. I kept pulling and pulling until the whole length was laid out on the floor. Then taking the eight ends together I began winding them on a ski shuttle. Every now and then I’d put a half hitch around the shuttle end, hold it up and spin it around in drop shuttle fashion to put a slight ply into the eight strands. Winding on at intervals, I filled the ski shuttle. It was fun and easy.

Here are my eight bobbins of
knotted 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp Thrums.

The resulting plied yarn made for lovely thick weft in my placemats. Color changes were more muted than in the I Cord version. The ply twist made interesting effects. My hands were happier.

This new use for thrums is an exciting discovery. Now I’m thinking and thinking of other ways to use thrums. Creativity has been awakened.

Next time I'll share photos of my knotted and plied thrum placemats.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Thrums Placemats

Happy New Year!

Since I missed wishing you a Merry Christmas, I just thought I'd better make my New Year greeting early.

I do hope everyone had a lovely Christmas celebration and that the happy glow is ongoing. We were (yet, again) dealing with things medical so our festivities were somewhat muted, but perhaps more meaningful. In any case: Happy New Year to you and yours.

Rep Weave Placemats
I Cord thrums as thick weft

Here is a quick snapshot of my Rep Weave Placemats using the knotted thrums described earlier. Since the thrum color changes are abrupt, I designed a simple overall block design in the warp. The mats are extra wide on purpose. They are sturdy yet pliable and very good insulators, altogether satisfying to use.

Watch for a few more photos of these soon. For now, duty calls elsewhere but I'll be back.

Happy New Year 2019!

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Waste Not, Want Not

Since I tend to tie on to a warp twice for a total of three unique color ways, I’m left with back beam thrums of around one yard in length. It isn’t much more work to tie those long bits together into continuous threads.

These are a few spool knitters from my collection.
The little red one in front is the first one I bought as a child.

  

At first I used my little spool knitters with knotted thrums to create long tubes to use as thick weft in my Rep weaves. Those cords made very nice rugs, runners and placemats. But after a while the slowness of the knitting process grew tiresome and my hands grew tired, too.

Then I discovered I-Cord, a far quicker method of making the same knit tube. With short double-pointed needles I knit to the row end and without turning the work slide the stitches across the needle, pull the working yarn around behind and continue knitting. This is a huge improvement over spool knitting. It is lots quicker and isn't nearly as hard on my hands.

It's far easier to create cords from knotted Thrums with the I-Cord method.
These cords are knit from knotted 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp Thrums.

Knitting yards and yards of multi-colored cord, I realized I was creating another version of variegated yarn. Have I mentioned my strong attraction to color? Ha!

My loved one is still very ill and we spend many long hours at various doctors’ offices and treatment centers. By the end of the year we should see a reprieve and hope for an improvement. Time will tell. In the meantime we are happy for every new dawn.

I am behind on photographing my work but promise to get around to it and to write again sooner rather than later.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Remember Spool Knitting?

Sewing thread no longer comes on wooden spools and that’s too bad. Here you see my wooden spool collection. I treasure these, a remnant from my childhood.

My wooden spool collection, two with nails added for knitting

As a little girl I learned to knit using a spool. My dad pounded nails into the top for me. Then with bits and pieces of yarn, mostly of inexpensive acrylic, I spent many happy hours producing long, usually colorful knit tubing. (Variegated yarn was my favorite even back then.) It did not matter that I had no idea how to use these in any particular way. The making of them was what mattered to me.

Did you do the same? What did you do with the knitted cord?

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Thrums Away?

8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp Thrums

Weave it and they will come. "They" are the unavoidable waste at the beginning and end of each warp.

What's to be done with thrums? What do you do with your thrums? Do you toss them away?

Upon learning to weave I was told to save my thrums. No reason was given. I tend to follow directions so with only the rare exception I blindly followed this advice, not knowing the whys or the wherefores of it.

Over the years my thrum collection has grown to fill entire bins. Thrums make good choke ties but my supply far outstrips that need. Uses for them had indeed been few – until recently.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver