Weaving A Gem Of A Life

I really enjoy learning. New techniques, new processes, new ideas – I find them all exciting. I also like to push the envelope – to make the limited tools and skills I have do something that is supposedly beyond their capacity. I think that’s the teenager in me: tell me that I can’t do something, and my reaction is, “Wanna bet? Just watch me!” Not necessarily a mature reaction, but it is one that has served me well often enough that I haven’t tried to squash it.

After years of thinking that I wasn’t either interested in or able to weave lace patterns on my counterbalance loom, I finally decided I’d give it a try. I couldn’t have done that without having gone through several experiential processes.

I had to work with fine yarn – in my case 5/2 Egyptian cotton, rayon, and pearl cotton – to learn that I like it, that it has relevance to my weaving, and that its properties are appealing.

I had to learn to do the doubleweave, and do it on my loom, to learn that my sweet, old, counterbalance loom could do unbalanced weaves (1 harness up and 3 down versus the 2 up and 2 down that is counterbalance’s diet of choice).

Then I had to stumble on a pattern that I liked, and directions that gave me clues about what types of yarn it would work well with.

All that accomplished over the course of many months, I was ready to tackle a light, lacy weave. Although it’s not perfect, I am really happy with my first attempt. This scarf is made from 10/2 pearl cotton. Pearl cotton is mercerized, making it nice and smooth and almost shiny. 10/2 cotton has 4,000 yards per pound – it’s about the same size as a heavy sewing thread.

I found weaving the lace to be interesting and full of surprises. First off, it was the first time I’d worked with solid black. This was a challenge in and of itself. It’s not easy to see what you’re doing, at least on my loom, with black. Then, while you’re weaving, the fabric bears little resemblance to the finished product. The lacy effect is pretty much invisible. You can see some unusual patterns on the loom, but you’d never know that it would turn into lace.

Take it off the loom and finish it (wash it with an appropriate amount of agitation), and VOILA – the cotton slides around itself to create lovely lace!

I’m looking forward to weaving more lace scarves in this and other patterns and colors. I don’t have any up on my website yet, so contact me to get a lace scarf now, during the warmth of summer.