Weaving mug mats

2020 has been a difficult year for all of us.  However, there have been many examples of kindliness and neighbourliness which have been so uplifting. 

Sharing online has become a way for some people to acquire new skills and also to share their skills with others - from yoga, physical fitness and craft.

I joined the wonderful Weave-Along with Tien Chiu and Janet Dawson.  It was a great online experience with copious notes and live question and answer sessions.  Several thousand weavers joined in the fun. 

There were two variations for the mug mats - 4 shaft and 8 shaft patterns.  I chose the 8 shaft pattern and made a long warp in blue cottolin.

The pattern was for 134 ends sett at 18 ends per inch.  

Here is my first mat.  I used two shuttles one for the tabby weft and the other using a doubled thread for the pattern weft. Here the tabby weft is the same colour as the warp threads. 

I wove two mats.  The first mat was woven too loosely.  I did not beat hard enough as you can see. The second mat with the white pattern is better. 

I hemmed and washed them. Here you can see another woven mug mat made with carpet wool which I wove many years ago.   I felt that the size of the cottolin mats was too large.  I decided to make the epi 20 and to take out some of the warp ends. 

This made the width at the reed as 6.5 inches 16.5 cm. Number of warp ends is 96 plus two ends for selvedge ( one on each side) 

I used nine shafts. The selvedge on each side is on shaft 10 and is shown in green. 

This pattern has the tabby weft in white and the pattern weft in blue and pink. The selvedge weft goes over one warp end for two picks then under one warp end for two picks.  

At 20 ends per inch and beating appropriately, the pattern looked more even. 

The weave structure is 3/1 twill so using the same colour weft the pattern can look quite complicated. 

I tried some clasped weft designs which are time consuming but there are some excellent ways of varying the colours.  This one is straightforward. The colours are clasped in the centre. 

Here is the whole of the narrowed warp off the loom with three wider mats at the top. 

I wove 10 picks of plain weave at the beginning and end of each mat so that they could be hemmed.  This was only just enough so next time I will weave a wider hem.  I also tried leaving a fringe on some of the mats. These are just the right size for me and I gave many of them away as presents.  I will be trying the four shaft variation next. 

What was so wonderful about the Weave-Along was the amazing variations that other weavers showed on the Facebook page.  Such fascinating combinations of colours and adaptations of the weave. This was truly inspiring. When skills are shared, everyone benefits. 

For this New year, I send my best wishes and love to everyone which starts with such hope that the infection will be overcome. 

Susan J Foulkes January 2021

Weaving overshot

On Instagram recently I was invited to list seven books which have been inspiring for my weaving.  Check out the hashtag       #myweavinglifein7books 

 A Handweaver's Pattern Book  by Marguerite P Davison was the first weaving book that I bought. I was learning to weave at a local authority weaving class and was hooked from the first time I sat in front of a loom.. 

Like all new weavers I tried many techniques. One technique, overshot, I have tried only twice. There is a pattern called Norse Kitchen on page 186 in the book.  I wove this table runner on a four shaft table loom and only made one mistake!  I was so proud of it. It is woven in cottolin. 

The runner is 18 inches wide and 54inches  in length. 

This shows the front and reverse side of the runner. 

Here is a close up of the pattern. 

Discover Color Weave-Along!

I signed up for the Discover Color Weave-Along! last week. I am weaving mug mats in overshot on 8 shafts. Five thousand weavers have also joined the workshop which is free. This is a 3-week weave-along delivered via an online course with plenty of information.    https://www.warpandweave.com/classes/discover-color/

I am using cottolin instead of 8/2 cotton sett at 18 epi.  Here is my first attempt on the loom.  I am using a double cottolin thread for the pattern weft. I have a useful shuttle which takes two bobbins. 

The first mat was woven using a doubled red cottolin yarn for the pattern thread.  I do not think that I beat hard enough. For the second mat I used a 3/2 cotton for the pattern weft.  I beat as hard as I could. 

I have cut off the two mats and have machine hemmed them. 

The workshop indicates that the mug mats should be about 8" by 8" but perhaps the cottolin is making the dimensions different. The first red mat is 6.5 inches in width and 8.25 inches in length. Examining it closely I can see that the plain weave tabby has not been beaten in hard enough. The sett is 18 epi.

For the second mat I used a 2/3 white cotton yarn and beat as firmly as I could.  The dimensions are 6.5 inches in width and 7 inches in length. 

I need to wash them to check on the final size before I weave any more. Perhaps a sett of 20 epi might be more useful. They do seem rather large for a normal sized mug. 

Here are the mats after washing.  The small mat is the old one that I use.  As you can see the new ones are very large.  They are both 5.5 inches in width. The red one is 7.5 inches and the blue and white one is now 6.25 inches in length.  Although they have shrunk they are still very large.  

The white cotton weft has produced a lovely firm pattern so I will use this again. 

For the next samples I will hem them on the loom.  This is time consuming but does make a neat edge.

Susan J Foulkes November 2020