How to build a tablet weaving loom in only 7 years!

Yes you read that right. 7 years. Not 7 minutes, or even 7 hours.

I started these looms when I first learnt how to tablet weave, which was in 2007. And yes its now 2014. But they are finished!

They are really basic. It was just one length of pine cut into 6 pieces. I didn't even cut it myself, got someone else to do it (this was my pre-power-tools-do-selfer days). I did varnish it myself way back when. My first (and quite possibly last) foray into oil based products. Clean up was a pain in the bum I tell you. And then thats where it got left. Random little varnished pieces of wood that moved house three times before being contructed.

The end bits are glued and screwed, and had a hole drilled in them for the threaded rod. The guy at bunnings (I love those guys) gave me a really nifty tip for how to screw it in. You put two nuts on the rod and tighten them against each other. Then you use a spanner on only the top nut and screw it in like a bolt with a spanner. So lets just pretend that was my brilliant idea :) I will be using the same technique for the tension peg on my inkle loom when I ever get around to it.

Carly's Tablet Weaving Loom

My tablet weaving loom, almost finished
You can see the nuts on the right where I haven't taken them off after screwing in the rod

I broke the hacksaw blade on the last cut. So frustrating. And then when I tried to screw it in something bizarre happened and it just kept chewing up the timber and spinning around without going any deeper until the hole was too big. So I just drilled a new hole. Yes it's annoying and my OCD nature is screaming at me that the peg is not in the centre but not so much that I really cared about trying to fix it even if I was able.

Looms Finished

So the larger one with the dodgy extra hole is for me and the smaller one for my friend Carly (who better be reading this :P). It has been promised as her christmas and birthday present for the last seven years. I'll have to actually get her a present from now on.

Catch up time!

Well after losing my phone last month my insurance replacement finally arrived. Which means now I can take photos again! I've still been working on various bits and pieces in the interim but it didn't seem worthwhile posting anything without accompanying pictures. So today I am hoping to catch you all up on what I have been working on.

My red kirtle bodice is basically complete (except for the bottom edge). I forced myself through the torture of the silk facings and to be honest once I set my mind to it I got into a bit of a rhythym. It still took a couple of days but boy was I happy when I finished!

Kirtle bodice finished

Next it was the eyelets (which were already done in the above photo). All 40 of them. For those who haven't sewn eyelets before there is a pretty good tutorial here. I did the buttonhole stitch eyelets that she describes, but I have the buttonhole stitch side on the inside (I don't think it's as pretty as the other side) so there is a lot of turning the fabric over when you pull each stitch tight to make sure it sits where you want it to. Next time I'm going to try the satin stitch ones and see if they are any easier.

Reverse view of eyelets showing buttonhole stitches (if you have really good eyes!)

Before that though, you need to work out where you are going to sew them. Spiral lacing seems to have been much more common in period than cross lacing, so now whenever I make garb I spiral lace. It really doesn't make a difference functionally but it feels more accurate and it uses less cord (which means less time luceting!). There is a really good article on the Festive Attyre site which explains all about how to space your holes to get the right look. I think my eyelets on this bodice are 3/4" apart (apart from the extra one at the top and bottom) and 1/2" away from the edge. To work this out I measure the total length of the edge where the eyelets will be and try dividing it by something to get an even-ish sort of number. Then I get some big berry pins and go along and mark the spots so I can see if they are too close/far away from each other, and even too close/far away from the edge of the fabric. I pin out a couple of different waysand then pick the one that looks best. It's often a different configuration on each piece of garb.

The Zen of Spiral Lacing Spacing from Festive Attyre

Now I have done plenty of hand sewn eyelets before but the last lot I did through a canvas interlining ended up so small I could barely get my teeny tiny (read thin) lacing cord through them. Luckily I was a bit wiser this time. The trick is to do as few stitches as will hold the hole open, and keep reopening the hole with the awl. My first few eyelets (way back when...) I went around three or four times to make sure I covered the ENTIRE edge because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. They ended up so tiny and I had no idea what I had done wrong. And over here at The Renaissance Tailor is where I learnt that the holes will close themselves up as you sew if you let them. I was not going to let that happen again. I stabbed those suckers about 5 times each! And now they can even fit my normal thickness of lacing through (luceted 8 ply crochet cotton) so I'm quite happy. (Note: use something solid as a base to rest your awl on and push your fabric down onto it. I had quite a sore knee, and then a dented wooden chair until I discovered the kitchen bench worked quite well.)

After that I finally got to cut the skirt pieces out. The back skirt piece is a plain rectangle while the front is shaped slightly as that was what was done in the time period I'm working in (according the the authors of The Tudor Tailor anyway, which is good enough for me).

Skirt pattern from The Tudor Tailor

The sides seams of the skirt have been sewn up by hand using back stitch, leaving about an 8 inch gap at the top where the bodice laces. I'm up to flat felling the seams which is a period technique to finish the edges of a seam so they don't fray. The wool I'm using has been felted so it probably wouldn't fray much anyway, but the skirt isn't lined and I'm a bit OCD about the details like that. I know they probably wouldn't have bothered in period but leave me alone! I hate raw edges! I've finished one side and started pinning the other one down to sew. After that I just need to cartridge pleat the skirt and attach it to the bodice. I haven't quite worked out whether I should finish the bottom edge of the bodice before I do this or not? Any suggestions?

And that's where my kirtle is at. Yay for progress!

I'm still plodding away at the blue and brown sleeves (one is finished).

One sleeve finished

After finishing the criss cross inkle leg wraps (which totally don't stay up by the way. I really need to do the proper thick spiral ones) I rewarped my inkle loom with some thin red and white crochet cotton so I could experiment with pick patterns. I pretty much just plodded along following the instructions here until I knew what I was doing. Then I wanted to steam ahead and do a stags head for my husband but I didn't make my band wide enough. Next time though!

I am also fairly determined to build this floor sized inkle loom so I can weave lots and lots of braid at a time and then sell it but I will dedicate another post to that.

I reorganised my sewing room and have plans to install some fabric storage drawers/shelves.

I started knitting some socks but I've only done a few rows because I started reading a book in bed instead. I've finished it now though so it will be back to sock knitting before sleep.

I'm also researching menus and other things for a weekend long camping event I hope to run in November. There will definitely be pancakes and waffles!

The Pancake Bakery by Pieter Aertsen 1560

I learnt how to make lace at the last A&S day which was pretty exciting. I came home so determined to try this amazing pattern and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and start it. But I couldn't believe how easy lace making is. It's really just made up of different combinations of crosses and twists! I will get around to trying that pattern but I need to finish up a few other things first.

So that's what I've been up to. Hope you guys didn't miss me too much. Actually that's a total lie. I really hope you were all devastated by my blogging absence and you kept refreshing the page to see if I had put up a post yet. I am that vain. But lets pretend I didn't admit that ;)