Bent cane weaving frame

On May 14, 2024June 26, 2024 By CarynIn Craft, Flora

I was trimming the yard, and took down a sapling (iNaturalist identified it as a type of elm) growing near the AC units where it didn’t need to be. I noticed that the diameter was similar to some bent cane weaving frames that have been popping up on my Pinterest feed. Because I am easily distractible, my next task became making my own frame. As I stripped the side branches off, I noticed that the bark peeled off easily, like that of a mandarin orange. The bark was flexible, strong and fibrous, so I roughly split it into thick strands and twined the strands together to make a primitive rope. I used this rope to keep the branch in a nice curved shape while it dries.

Photo description: stripped elm cane bent into a narrow arch and secured with elm bark twine

I think this frame is on the small side for the kind of weaving I want to attempt, but it was a good exercise, and I have an acre of woods to source longer cane.

Soybean top page

On April 6, 2024April 3, 2024 By CarynIn Craft

I have finished a new fiber page for my spinning book! I mounted all my samples from hand spinning soybean top (top is the description of the fiber preparation, involves combing, and produces parallel fibers) on prepped black card stock. I would definitely use this fiber again, it is very strong, yet so soft.

Photo description: Soybean top fiber page. Clockwise from top left: original card from Hearthside Fibers reading “Soybean Top Developed in the USA in the 1930s by Henry Ford Used in Ford car upholstery pre-1940”, single spun, 2-ply, and 4 ply yarn samples, woven swatch, nålbinding swatch, crochet swatch, knit swatch, combed fiber.

Photo description: same page with swatches flipped up to show the writing underneath: plain weave on Clover mini loom, nålbinding Dalarna O/U O:U O, crochet 1.75mm hook, Stiockinet size 2 needle knit.

Blocking Soy

On April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 By CarynIn Craft

I made four example swatches from my spun soybean fiber: knitting, crochet, weaving, and nålbinding.

Photo description: swatches before blocking, clockwise from top right: stockinette knitting, plain weave, nålbinding Dalarna stitch, and crocheted lace round

The knitting swatch tells the most about the yarn, the obvious skew is because my singles have more twist than my ply. This bias does not have a significant impact on the other swatches. The nålbinding has several small knots because I could not get the fiber to felt together. I used a 1.75mm hook for the crocheted coaster, which was on the small side because the stitching is dense and stiff. The soy yarn is incredibly strong; I can’t break a single strand with my hands, but it is also incredibly soft even with the amount of twist I put in the single. There is good reason that it also carries the name vegetable cashmere. It also blocks well. It was very easy to shape when wet, and kept that shape when dry.

Photo description: same swatches after blocking

I was able to square up the knitting, and give the woven swatch some more twist in the fringe. The nålbinding swatch stitches opened up, but the crochet didn’t have much change, probably due to the density of the stitches.

The next step is to mount the swatches in my fiber book.

Honored

On January 2, 2024December 30, 2023 By CarynIn Craft

I follow an Inkle band weaving group on Facebook that is under new administration, who are trying to clean up the site and get it back to Inkle weaving (and not a repository for spam). They asked for submissions for a new banner image, and my rainbow tablet weave won by popular vote!

Photo description: Private Inkle Band Weaving group on FB with my rainbow band as the banner image.

They said they would change the image frequently, which is also good. I’m excited that mine was the first picked!

This band went on to become the strap for my ukulele.

Ukulele strap part 2

On October 29, 2023October 26, 2023 By CarynIn Craft, music

My ukulele did not come with strap buttons, so I found some elliptical ones from D’Addario and drilled pilot holes at the base (there is a block of wood inside to support the screw), and the back of the neck.

Photo description: Elliptical strap button installed on the bottom of a tenor ukulele

Photo description: Elliptical strap button installed on the base of the neck of a tenor ukulele

I trimmed the ends of my woven band (see yesterday’s post), and treated them with white glue to make them stable.

Photo description: Both ends of a tablet woven strap treated with white glue (shown on a post-it note) using a brush (shown).

I found two metal slide buckles at the craft store and used one as intended, sewing on end of the strap to the middle bar and threading the other end over it. The other buckle I modified by taking out the middle bar and using as a ring in the fold of the strap. In my leather stash I had an old black belt. The leather was thick but flexible, and great for making the end of my straps. I folded, cut and carved tear drop shaped holes in the belt for the ends of the strap. One end I sewed on using waxed thread. The other I riveted together.