How to weave inkle bands on Mirrix looms Part One

I love weaving inkle (warp face) bands.
I use  in dollmaking:

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Link to purchase pattern for Inkle dolls: Inkle Dolls
And, they are wonderful for trimming handwoven clothing:

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Link to post that shows how to shape inkle bands to make a yoke or other shaped pieces of garments: Warp pulling
Over the years,  I have also made hat bands, book marks, all kinds of jewelry, key fobs,  vests, bags, bag handles, the garters for the men's kilt hose for my son's wedding, shawls, freeform pieces that combine inkle weaving, knitting, embroidery, spool knitting and crochet, as well as rugs.
Yep. I love inkle weaving.
So, as I have been exploring the possibilities of weaving with my Mirrix looms, I had to give inkle weaving a try.
I found that it was quite challenging at first. But, I don't give up easily :)
I ended up spending waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more hours than I should have, experimenting and obsessing over making inkle bands on the Mirrix.
Well... I finally succeeded.
Since it was so challenging, I figured that I should share what I have learned, so that other intrepid inkle weavers can leap right in, without all the trial,  error and frogging that I went through!
There are definitely tricks to weaving inkle bands on the Mirrix looms, and I have made 4 videos to share those tricks.
Here's part one of the video:

Here is the draft for the bands that I wove in the videos:

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To read the draft: Each square represents one warp strand.
You can check your warping by looking at each shed to see that it has the same number of strands, in the order that they appear in the line.
You will be  putting a total of 8 green strands on, followed by 4 orange strands, 3 sets of  (1 orange, 1 green) for a total of 6 strands, then 4 orange strands and ending with 8 green strands.
At the top and bottom of the loom, you'll see the full count of warp strands.
At the warping bar, the 2 sheds will be separated into their correct (we hope!) configuration for each shed.
The chart will give you bands like this:

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The upper band is the band on the right hand side of the loom in videos 2 - 4.
I only used the center of the draft for it, without the green border strands.
The yarn is Lion Brand Cotton.

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Setting up the loom for inkle bands is different than normal warping.
You need to have the warping bar at the front of the loom.

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Tie the green yarn onto the warping bar and take it up and around the loom, just the same as if the warping bar was in the back.

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You will need to cut the warp strand of color 1 to tie on color 2 at the warping bar, for EVERY color change.
WHAT?!?!?!
Yes. really.
It sounds insane, but this is the biggest key to making the whole inkle thing work on the Mirrix loom.
Trust me. You ~can~ twist your yarns around each other, and are welcome to, I'm sure, if that would make you happy....
BUT.... the quickest, easiest way to have problem free warping for inkle is to cut those little darlin's and tie the knots between the colors.

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Yay! Warped!  Insert the spring rod into the spring to keep the warp strands locked into their notches.
This is sooooooooooo important!  (yep... voice of 'oops' experience here :( )
And in Part 2.... it's on to the heddles.
I have a nifty, super friendly way of using a crochet hook and weaving stick to make the heddling process go like a breeze.
That's coming up next.... so stay tuned! :)
Happy Weaving,
Noreen

How to wind butterflies and make upcycled wooden tapestry bobbins

Some people love weaving with yarn butterflies.
And some people (like me) don't. 
I love wooden tapestry bobbins and I love making each one a unique piece- and I especially like using upcycled wood to make them.
So, for those of you who like yarn butterflies, here's a video tutorial on how to make yarn butterflies:

And, here's how I make my one of a kind tapestry bobbins, which wouldn't suit everyone, but I love them and find them to be a pleasure to use:
Start with a piece of cast off wood. In this case, a wooden plaque (don't use chipboard or mdf ! This needs to be hardwood)

a thrown away plaque from a garage sale

Flip it over, and draw in the rough lines for the first cuts:

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next, saw them into rough shape:

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Working on getting more definition and shaping:

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All the wooden offcuts are going to be burned in the wood burning stove in the studio in the winter- nothing's wasted!

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When the rough saw shaping is done:

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I move over to the belt sander:

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and I do a whole bunch of sanding (very carefully)

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Did I mention that this is a really slow, meditative process? Yup.
Go slowly... and pay attention....
Then, it's off to work with a bunch of different small sanding drums:

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and files:

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And more sanding:

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and then, I draw faces on each one, and get out my wood burning tool and draw and burn faces and the year on each one:

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Here's a closer look:

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I just listen to what each bobbin wants, and then I draw on their faces. Some of them crack me up.

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Like the 'Get to the Point' guy... 3rd from the left....  I know, I am easily amused....
And, here they are, all wrapped up and ready to weave!

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I hope that the photos will all open for you!
So, happy butterflies, and happy bobbin-ing!
Happy weaving! :)

A quick and easy way to make string heddles for your Mirrix loom

At the beginning of May,  a 'new-to-me' loom , a large  Mirrix tapestry loom, arrived in my studio. (Courtesy of my son and daughter in law who picked her up in the city 4 hours away, that used to be her home- the previous owner didn't want to ship her).

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I immediately sat down and made a whole lot of heddles for her, as she didn't come with them.
And then, I warped her up- ooooooooohhhhhhhhhh, I love how easily she warps! Bliss!
As I was warping her up and starting to weave,  I thought.... 'Hmmmm.... there must be a group for Mirrix weavers on Ravelry'
(Ravelry= the facebook of the yarn world)
I looked, and sure enough! There is a Mirrix group.... which I joined, pronto.
And the first thing I saw was that Claudia (the inventor of the magical Mirrix looms) and Elena, her talented daughter, had posted that they were accepting applications for their annual 'Social Networking for a Mirrix Loom' campaign. Link
Well... I had decided within hours of starting to weave on my 'Joni' loom that I wanted to fill my studio with Mirrix looms.
So, I sent off an application....
Um... I wanted to fill the studio with ~Smaller~ Mirrix looms!
MEANWHILE>>>> The Joni is one big Mamma, and even though I am tall, my arms are short, so I found that I was having shoulder pain.
My  clever daughter in law subtly sneaked the information out of me that I was longing for the treadle kit for the Mirrix loom. Then, she orchestrated the family buying me the treadle kit for Mother's Day! What a sweetheart!
To say that I was thrilled was an understatement!
THEN!  on the 18th of May, was just tickled pink to hear from Elena that they had picked me as one of their team for the 4 months of the 'Social Networking' campaign. Whee!  What a couple of thrilling days!
And, now... I am starting to keep my part of the bargain, which is to chronicle my experiences with the Mirrix loom(s).
So, since I began my Mirrix adventures with making string heddles, I am going to show you my quick and easy way of making the string heddles for the Mirrix looms (or inkle or frame looms, too).

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And, here is the video:

Happy Weaving!