Thursday, November 3, 2011

Looming Around

Or maybe I should say "looming a round", which is exactly what I did in my latest weaving project.

For those of you who have experienced the joy of a quick cowl knit up in bulky weight yarn- you ain't seen nothing yet!  Oh- the pleasure of weaving with chunky weight yarn might just surpass the glee produced with an "instant gratification knit".


After warping my little loom (which honestly didn't take more than 20 minutes), I probably spent under a half hour actually weaving this cowl.  If I would've left it as a chunky scarf, that would have been it!



I did decide that I wanted to experiment a bit and see if I could produce a round cowl from my loom.  So, the most time was invested weaving each end in to the other end.  It did produce a seam (as seen below), but it is hardly noticeable while on.


I am still quite in love with the look of woven fabric, and now I feel I have seen a range of what a simple rigid heddle loom can produce.  From lace weight to bulky weight, it seems you can't go wrong.


What do you think?  I think I just found my new favorite cowl!

Loom: Schacht Cricket
Yarn: Cascade Magnum (just over half a skein?)
Raveled: here
Posted by French Press Knits at 8:30 AM
Labels:

29 comments:

  1. KelNovember 3, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    I love it! what an amazing cowl!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MandyNovember 3, 2011 at 8:50 AM

    Oh, it looks so fluffy and cozy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amy MunsonNovember 3, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    This could almost convince me to get a loom. Fantastic cowl.

    ReplyDelete
  4. NatalieNovember 3, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    I want one! Do you have any recommendations on a good book to learn how to use a rigid heddle loom or a good pattern book?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Elspeth H.November 3, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Growing up, my best friend's mom had a loom in her living room. It was one of those GIANT floor looms and they almost never used it. I had this prejudice against looms because of that I think. It just took up so much space for something seemingly useless.

    You have proved my prejudice wrong. Seeing the beautiful projects you've done with your small loom, now I dream of the day I make the leap and start with a loom of my own. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. RachaelNovember 3, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    I knit a cowl in coral-colored super-bulky baby alpaca in seed stitch last winter, and it is my favorite accessory. It's so fat and chunky and warm! Your cowl is absolutely gorgeous and took a LOT less time than knitting mine!

    ReplyDelete
  7. meppybnNovember 3, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    Certainly this is opening my eyes to the versatility of looming - never woulda thunk it! That is great looking and not at all what I am used to re weaving :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. the Momma BirdNovember 3, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Oh my gosh this is BEAUTIFUL!!! You should sell these! Seriously. I know there are LOADS of people that would buy it - like me :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aubrey M.November 3, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    Nice work! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousNovember 3, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    It looks so cozy I can't even stand it! I may need to ask Santa for a loom this Christmas so I can try too....

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownNovember 3, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    A 1 hour cowl! That's amazing. And it looks so soft and cozy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. MargauxNovember 3, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    it's GORGEOUS! And ONE HOUR. nice!! GAH, getting a loom sounds better and better to me.

    ReplyDelete
  13. KookababyNovember 3, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Oh, now I want a loom! Looks Great!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousNovember 3, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    This is gorgeous! I'm sold--now I'm off to read your weaving archives.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very ShannonNovember 3, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    Gorgeous! Love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. JulieNovember 3, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Looks so beautiful!! and cozy. and soft. and awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  17. RachelNovember 3, 2011 at 4:07 PM

    That is gorgeous! WOW! I want one now for myself!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jaime PNovember 3, 2011 at 7:42 PM

    Quite stunning. what yarn did you use?

    ReplyDelete
  19. LisaNovember 3, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    It looks beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. DebNovember 4, 2011 at 3:11 AM

    Oh, I like the looks of that! I may just have to investigate weaving one of these days!

    ReplyDelete
  21. HilaryNovember 4, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    What a stunner! AND it only took half a skein?! Wow. Seems like a pretty great idea for Christmas gifts, too. I need a loom pronto!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. AngelaNovember 4, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    I love this chunky woven cowl!

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 12:34 PM

    When I saw your first post about your new rigid heddle loom, it "spoke" to me. A few months later, and after two day-long sessions of weaving instructions, I am the proud owner of a 24" Ashford rigid heddle loom! I love weaving--it is very Zen when you use great yarn and simple patterns. Thanks, Melynda, for guiding me toward my new hobby!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. sbahetyNovember 8, 2011 at 1:14 PM

    This is really beautiful. Did you move up your cowl bit by bit to make such a long piece on the loom?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Nancy McRayNovember 10, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    love it, and the idea of weaving the ends into the ends. Clever!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Dama KNovember 14, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    wow its so beautiful! love the look of woven things. This looks so classy, and it goes with everything doesnt it?

    follow you since a while, dont remember if i ever commented before. anyways, love your stuff =P

    ReplyDelete
  27. CarrieNovember 14, 2011 at 8:42 PM

    WOW! I even have random Magnum lying around. Did you have any trouble warping the loom with Magnum? I'm very newbie at weaving and thought the weft (?) had to be pretty strong. Surely that half hour didn't include warping....?

    ReplyDelete
  28. French Press KnitsNovember 14, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    @CarrieWarping probably took about 15 minutes. I had to be kind of careful while doing the whole cowl, since I was basically working with roving. You just need the right amount of finesse :-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sarah McIntyreJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:21 PM

    I have been looking for an image of a woven cowl for a while. I'm a weaver, and although I get the cowl pattern idea, woven was something I couldn't seem to 'see' without a sewn connection. This I will have to try. Do you mind me asking how long your woven scarf was before turned it into a cowl loop? It looks great. I'm all for new yarns on the loom - floor or ridgid heddle.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)