The Headband Project, Part 3 ...And why you can weave anywhere

Mirrix Looms are incredibly versatile in many ways, one being their ability to be functional anywhere. Sure, they work great on a stand or on a table, but they also work great leaning against a pillow in your lap on the couch. Sure, not the ideal situation (is weaving in front of the TV sacrilege?) but I like to make the most out of my down time... and Dancing With The Stars is my secret weakness.

If you're lucky enough to get your Ideal Weaving Situation (picture: Studio overlooking rolling hills and horses at pasture, no crying children, no whining significant others, endless time) then I tip my hat to you, but sometimes weaving time is stollen at the DMV, on the playroom floor, at a youth soccer game, wherever there's a little bit of space... and that's just as good. The fantastic thing about weaving (and on a portable Mirrix especially) is you can stop and start at virtually any point so any distraction (though still distracting you from the creative process) can be dealt with gracefully.

Anyway, here's some more on the headband.

Progress on the weaving soon-to-be-headband:

The soon-to-be headband, note that I have advanced the warp once already and will again before it is finished. 

yarn-stealing-feline

Headband Progress

I've started my tapestry headband. First, I warped my Mirrix (using a 10 dpi warp coil) about an inch and a half wide. This will go over a one inch headband and that extra width will make up for pulling in the edges while I weave and leave me some extra room to sew the edges. (Editor's Note: I ended up putting this on a headband that was 1.5 inches thick at the widest part. I made it work, but would suggest making your piece a little wider if you were to do the same thing. 17 warps across would be perfect. Or, and 1.75 inches)

Warped16" Big Sister Loom

Weaving Started

After choosing my colors I began to weave, making sure to keep the width of the piece the same. Up top there are a few places where the railroad yarn makes the piece look uneven. I will probably go back and fix this. If you aren't careful the thicker parts of that particular yarn can end up on the edge and cause this unevenness.

This piece needs to be 15 and a half inches long. I will make it a bit longer than this because the edges will be folded in and sewn down. 

Keep checking back!

A New Project: Woven Headbands

When I was little I loved hair things. Scrunchies, clips, ties, I was obsessed. At one point I even had my mom (Ms. Claudia Chase, you may have heard of her) slaving away sewing scrunchies for me. My all time favorite hair accessory, though, were headbands. One of my favorites was a black headband with Native American beading glued on. The beads were plastic and in primary colors and it started to fall apart soon after I began wearing it, but I thought it was the perfect companion to any outfit. (I was choosing my own clothes at a relatively young and had only one rule that I picked up from either my mother or my grandmother: Don't wear pink and red together. Everything else was fair game.)

I still wear handbands sometimes, but haven't found one I really love in quite some time.

That's about to change. I've decided to take the "tapestry/bead cuff bracelet" concept and apply it to headbands. (Take a moment and imagine, I've included a picture of a tapestry/bead cuff bracelet)

I've ordered some headband blanks (plastic, let me know if you know where I can get thick metal one in bulk) and have started a weaving that's a little more than an inch thick. I'll keep writing through the phases of this project!

Elena
www.mirrixlooms.com