A few months ago, I ordered some "rags" from Great Northern Weaving, a weaving supply business near Kalamazoo, MI. I have actually gone there before and like it very much. It isn't like a regular yarn/fiber shop, but more a mail order place of business, and is open for "walk-ins", too. :) I ordered my supplies over the phone and asked for something blue and white. I was pleasantly surprised with the material sent.....I found it truly beautiful! Another thing that is so nice about this material and others they stock, is it is one continuous piece, so I can fill a shuttle completely, and have fewer cuts/ends to deal with later.
Having never woven a rag rug before, I decided it was time to try it. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but my Harrisville floor loom isn't really heavy enough for weaving rugs, as the frame is too light so the weft can't be beaten as tightly as it should be, but I have woven loopers rugs on it before and they hold up fine washing after washing. I'm sure they won't last as long as one which is firmer/tighter, but they will do for now.
I set up my loom with enough warp to weave 2 rag rugs, just in case I liked how the 1st one turned out, which I did, so this is number 2. I don't believe I posted any photos of what the material looked like prior to weaving before, so here it is today. The original width was too wide, in my opinion, and I'm sure other weavers would agree, so I cut it in half. I think I could actually cut it into 3 or 4 strips and have a very nice weave, too. I will experiment with that another time........I have left over material and could weave at least a table runner. ;)
The material woven......
Copper hangs out with me while I work and gives me great technical support/advice. ;)
2 comments:
:Snort: Copper helps a lot like Ben does! Beautiful blue and white material!
Mike, the fabric is beautiful, both off the roll and woven! I order my rug warp from Great Northern, nice place. Hope to see more rugs from you!
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