An update on joining squares

When you work with very small squares of cloth the issue of joining the squares is a very big deal. You may be aware that I have a whole section on the page Pin Loom Essentials devoted to some of the different joins that I use most. This note is an update about one of my favorite joins, the double overcast stitch. In the past I have suggested that it works best to use this stitch with the two lines of loops matching perfectly, then taking two stitches through each matching pair. Like this...

What I've only recently discovered is that this stitch works even better if you line up the squares so that the loops don't match up but instead are staggered. You then take two stitches through each pair as shown below.

DOUBLE OVERCAST STITCH

This may seem like a ridiculously small change but I think that it makes a better, smoother fabric. The other reason that I really like this join is that it is crazy strong. I primarily use it when I'm making a blanket on the basis that there is going to be quite a bit of stress on the seams due to the blanket weight and, if at all possible, I never want to have to go back and repair a hole in anything I've made.

Here are a couple examples from a blanket I'm currently working on using this double overcast stitch through staggered loops. The finished side of the blanket is on the left, the underside of blanket is on the right. The finished side lies nice and flat, there is a discernible bump on the underside seam.

Right side picture is the underside where I have not yet cleaned up all the yarn ends.

One further update on joining techniques. 

I recently ran into a lady in my local yarn shop who makes scarves using hairpin lace techniques. She showed me a join that works pretty satisfactorily with pin loom squares. You can see a video of the join at One Loop Joining Hairpin Lace Technique. It involves using a crochet hook to chain loops from the squares on an alternating basis to create a very snug and stable join. I have tried it a few times but have not yet figured out a way to make certain that the two squares stay perfectly lined up. So far, my attempts have led to the two squares being well joined but offset from one another. This will take some practice before I would use it in a project to be shared with others.

I think that this join may work really well with pin loom squares that have been woven on a potholder loom. (This is a technique that is demonstrated in the most recent book, Pin Loom Weaving To Go.) Because the potholder loom produces a much lighter, soft-woven square there would be more room to work and this join might be perfect for a scarf or shawl.

A Pin Loom Alphabet

I used to believe that pin looms were being overlooked and underrated due to their simplicity and size. But when I look around (and I'm usually looking at something involving pin looms) I find people doing fun and incredible things.

For example, this is a Pin Loom Pattern Baby Blanket and Alphabet Set by Yarnovations.
























What a wonderful and creative idea! Its true that I may not make this specific pattern because I really like my own baby blanket patterns. But I LOVE the idea of having the entire alphabet plus all the numbers available! How cool to be able to easily weave a name, a birth date, a wedding anniversary right into the fabric of your next project. Check out Yarnovations right here.

Shepherd's Harvest Celebration Sale

Thanks to everyone who came by and visited at Shepherd's Harvest and who checked out the pin loom weaving patterns.  Happy Weaving!!

Marilyn Wing, Master Pin Loom Weaver

I was lucky enough to catch up with Marilyn Wing, a master pin loom weaver who has been practicing the craft since about 1936.

Marilyn is responsible for the extremely clear, lucid directions on bias weaving on the 4" pin loom and was kind enough to allow me to put the project plans for her bag in the new book, Pin Loom Weaving To Go. So I had to catch a picture of her with bag and book on hand.

Marilyn was also kind enough to let me share a glimpse her latest creations, scarves spun out of raw, dyed silk, woven on the pin loom. That "raw, dyed silk" description might sound clunky-- it goes to show how little I know about what she is doing. But I got to see the silk cocoons that she begins with,

then carefully unrolling/pulling apart a fiber that is so light that you can barely feel it. She spins it into a yarn and dyes it, using the pin loom to produce the exquisitely light, airy, soft scarves you see here.

The sample on the right was woven in a traditional horizontal/vertical weave with pearls woven into the weave. I do wish that I could somehow translate into these pictures the extraordinary gossamer feel of these scarves.

The mobius type scarf below was woven using the continuous bias method with two rows of squares. One of the several aspects that blows me away is that after dying the silk yarn in multiple colors (!) she wove each square to exactly match the others so that the colors of warp and weft flow from one square to the next.  It is just lovely.

For all those who have considered bias weaving on a pin loom but was not sure where to start, I would encourage you to check out Marilyn's directions for bias squares and triangles in Pin Loom Weaving To Go. She makes it so easy to do.

The secret of the Pin Loom Biscornu

So what do you get when you sew two 4" pin loom squares together and stuff them?  A puffy square, right? Not if you're Caroline Fylpaa, who has mastered the secret of the Biscornu.  

To quote Wikipedia: A biscornu is a small, 8-sided, stuffed ornamental pincushion-like object. A button is typically secured in the center of the cushion to give a small depression on the top. Beads, tassels and other objects can decorate the biscornu. They are typically able to fit in the palm of your hand. The name is derived from the French adjective, biscornu, meaning skewed, quirky or irregular. 

One of the ongoing challenges for pin loom weavers is to figure out new and interesting things to do with our favorite loom. Caroline has kindly offered to share her experience making a Biscornu Woolie Dryer Ball.  

She explained, "I love exploring , designing within the constraints or challenges of a craft. I'm sending you a sample of dryer ball infused with lavender, stuffed with wool fleece. Composed of 2 pinned loom squares, top one placed diagonally over the bottom one so that when stitched, the corners meet at the half point of other square." So instead of a boring old stuffed square, we have this very clever eight sided biscornu.  Caroline notes, "it was chained stitch embroidered before being stitched together and stuffed with wool."  Stitching was added through the middle to pull the top and bottom into the tuffet shape. 

I love this creative use to help laundry go a little greener. But I can also see a bunch of embellished biscornu pincushions and ornaments in my future!  As Caroline noted, "play with these patterns... see what you come up with.  

A new book - Pin Loom Weaving To Go

So here it is, coming out this month, a new book of pin loom projects and techniques. I am extremely excited (and a little scared) to see it go out. Its like sending your youngest child off to school.

My original idea for this book was that pin looms can offer a fun, first step into fiber arts. So I included a number of beginner-type projects that would work for younger weavers or groups of kids or adults who are just beginning to weave. I included a simple to make 2" loom pattern so that kids could learn to both make and weave on a loom.


But then I started thinking about how so many of us had our first weaving experience on a potholder loom and how cool it would be if we could turn all the potholder looms into pin looms. So I wrote a section on weaving in the pin loom fashion on a potholder loom. You use a potholder loom and a hook, I suggest using an afghan hook, and the directions teach how to weave a big square with finished edges so there is no need to finish with a crocheted edge when you pull it off the loom. There are also a number of projects, including scarves and shawls, to make on a potholder loom.

But then I started thinking that if you could pin loom weave on a potholder loom, maybe you could pin loom weave on other available looms. After some experimentation I found that the 7" fine gauge adjustable knitting loom could be used as a pin loom to make an incredible variety of pin loomed fabrics. Techniques and projects for weaving on the knitting loom are also included in the book.

These log cabin style pieces were woven on the knitting loom, the 2" pieces in the middle were woven on a 2" pin loom.


And then I remembered a pin loom friend, Marilyn Wing, who has been pin loom weaving since 1936 and long ago perfected a continuous warp, bias weave on the pin loom. She was kind enough to permit me to share her directions for weaving on the bias on a zoom loom/pin loom as well as allowing us to all share in her wonderful quilted look bag pattern.

By that time I had thought up a bunch of cool patterns for the 4" pin loom/Zoom Loom that I just couldn't leave out of the book. One of my favorites is the "Blooming Backpack" that appears on the cover. Another favorite is the Zoom Loom Blue Shawl shown below.

This is just a few of the 30 or so projects. It is my hope that people, including kids and fiber groups, will find at least some of the items in the book to be helpful and fun for them. Margaret (Meg) Stump

A Pin Loom Ruana

Here is the finished pin loom ruana.   I have found it to be comfortable and warm. I am amazed by the difference in the feel of the fabric after a very light washing/fulling. Before it was fulled, there was a feeling of it being a bunch of squares sewn together, afterwards it just felt like a supple fabric.

My method of assembly closely followed the directions in the Pin Loom Weaving book. I joined the squares in strips using a double overcast stitch. I left several inches of yarn dangling on each side of the joined squares so that I could tie the strips together in order to keep the corners of the squares lined up. Before I washed it I went back over the lines of stitches to make sure that I hadn't skipped any stitches and left holes (I had). Once the holes were closed up, it was easy to finish.

Since I still have yarn in the same color, the next challenge will be making pin loom mittens to match.

My local yarn store expert pointed out that I didn't have to wash the ruana by hand in my tub. I could use the spin cycle in the washing machine if I was very careful not to let it go too long.  I actually agitated it a little by hand and then let it spin out. Taking most of the water out with the spin cycle made a great difference in drying it.








The ruana dimensions are 12 squares across by 14 squares long.  This number would likely need to be increased for taller people.

I wanted to leave enough room at the neck to make a comfortable opening so this is a sketch of the ruana front shown sideways. The two squares at the front of the neckline are folded diagonally and stitched down. I used the edging yarn to single crochet an edge all the way around the ruana.


Here's the original information on my latest project, a pin loomed ruana... which is the name given for a poncho that is split open down the front. I am going to be adding pictures of the finished project in the next week or so. These pictures show an earlier stage, with most of the outfit still in piles of squares.

It is now finished, but I need to full it slightly before there are more photos. I'm going to swish it around in the bathtub with a small amount of Neutragena basic shampoo to full it and then it using my steam iron to pull and flatten the seams while only very lightly touching the fabric.

I found the yarn for the body of the ruana at a local church flea market. Someone had purchased six skeins of Germantown worsted weight wool yarn in "Glen Heather" and then carefully stowed them away for twenty years or so. Germantown may not be a currently available product but I think there is still an awful lot of it around, still waiting to be knitted, woven or crocheted.

The Minnesota winter has been so cold this year that the idea of a cozy warm wool blanket shaped to fit my body has sustained me while weaving all the squares. Pattern details will be forthcoming but just to let you know, the finished piece in a size that works for my short stature has 168 squares.  One problem that I ran into was that the Glen Heather fabric needed some contrasting color.  I found several skeins of Raggi worsted weight on clearance and it turned out to be an incredible match. I love the way that the bits of dark grey assume an almost Celtic pattern in these edging squares.

Finished pictures will go up as soon as the ruana is dry and blocked.  I figure it will take a week or so for it to dry.  In the meantime, this is a behind the scenes illustration of trying to take a picture of the woven squares with some unsolicited help.