November is a busy time for crafters! With that in mind, we have an easy weave this month. The structure is a basic plain weave showcasing an example of how playing with color alone can create a beautiful pattern.
You will need:
– Rigid Heddle Loom at least 8” wide such as the Kromski Harp Forte or Presto
– Worsted weight Cotton yarn: Teal, Orange and Red (or just 2 contrasting colors)
– 8 dent heddle
- 2 stick shuttles
- Tapestry needle for hemming
Warp 50 ends – 1.5 yards
This pattern is written for the direct wrapping method.
The warp color sequence is as follows:
*2 teal, 1 orange* repeated 16 times and then end with 2 teal.
Normally when we are warping just one strand of a particular color, we would cut it and tie it on the peg. But with this many single threads, the knotting would be overwhelming.
The way that we avoid using cuts and knots while using a direct warp is described below.
Using the warping peg, begin with 1 loop of teal.
Do not cut the yarn until all of the warp is added.
Next make 1 loop of orange followed by 2 loops of teal, repeated 16 times. There are no cuts and no ties other than one for each color at the beginning and end of the warp.
You should have a total of 50 ends.
Wind the warp onto the back beam to prepare for the threading of the heddle.
In order to thread them so that they are in the correct slots and holes, the threads will need to be rearranged as you work across the heddle, thus creating the sequence needed.
The 1st loop of teal is done in the usual fashion.
Beginning on the left, leave one teal in the slot and move the other to the hole to the right of the slot.
Shown here in the middle of the warp by the red arrow.
In the following slot there will be 2 orange threads.
Leave one in the slot and pull out the second one and lay it across the top of the heddle for now.
Indicated by the 2 blue arrows.
In the next slot there will be a loop (2 strands) of teal.
Pull out one of the teal threads (leaving one in the slot) and bring it to the left to fill the hole next to the orange thread.
The purple arrow points this out.
Now bring the orange thread from the top of the heddle back down and place it through the hole to the right of the teal that was left in the previous slot.
The orange arrow points to this.
Continue in this way until you worked across he entire heddle.
Tie them to the front beam in the usual manor.
Wrap 2 stick shuttles, one with teal and one with red.
The weft sequence is as follows:
Set up with 3 passes of teal (don’t forget the hem allowance).
Do not cut the yarn.
For the body of the mug rug weave 2 red, followed by 1 teal a total of 16 times.
Do not cut the yarn until you have woven all 16 repeats. At that time you can cut the red only.
End with 3 passes of teal.
This is a fun pattern that can be changed dramatically just by using a different weft color.
Here is an example of how it would look if you used orange in place of the red in the weft.
What colors will you choose?
