Bead/Fiber Combination, Projects
The Final Installment of the Silk Smart Phone Case
At last, I have finished the Silk Smart Phone Case. And I am a little sad. I really enjoyed the process and need to move swiftly on to a new one. I loved the finishing once it was off the loom. I took my time because I was going for as close to a perfect finish as possible. Did I achieve it? Of course not. Perfection is not possible, but trying for it is!
The good news: I used fewer than twelve bobbins of silk. I started with twelve of the regular silk (not the silk ribbon) and then added two bobbins of the silk ribbon (which has only 12, not 24 yards, on a bobbin). I still had the equivalent of two and a half bobbins of the regular silk left, which tells me that even if you are weaving a slightly larger piece (the final dimensions of my piece once all sewn together is: 6 inches tall and 3 3/4 inches wide. Because of shrinkage, my piece before I took it off the loom was thirteen inches wide. I also used up a bit of length by folding a the ends to the back.
Here are some pictures just before I took the piece off the loom:
Remember back to the very beginning of this piece. My first row was a row of beads. But before I removed the piece from the loom I realized that I didn’t want that row of beads to be at the very edge of my piece. I wanted some fabric that I could fold over for a neater edge. So before I cut the piece off the loom, I turned it around and wove a few rows of silk. This is the piece on the back of the loom with the added rows of fiber.
Here is the piece off the loom: the back with all the hairy ends that need to be trimmed to from one to one and half inches; the front of the piece.
Turn the top and bottom edges to the back and sew down with a whip stitch. This stitch isn’t going to show so no worries about being too neat. Just get the job done.
Pin lining material to the back. I’ve used silk fabric but you could also use ultra-suede. Sew all around with small stitches (again, they will be disguised by a braid so they don’t have to be perfect, but the smaller the better).
Fold the piece in two and sew the edges together.
Next I took my 33 inch long braid and sewed it up one side of the piece. I then sewed the other end up the other side of the piece.
I then sewed the top part of the loop across one edge of the opening to that a loop was formed on one side.
These are the braided tales at the bottom of the piece.
That’s it. A lovely little Silk Smart Phone purse to give to one of your favorite people or to keep for yourself and make another one.
Bead/Fiber Combination, Projects
Woven Silk Smart Phone Case
I wanted to share my progress on the Silk Smart Phone Case. I got distracted making braids and thin silk bands, but not so distracted to ignore it completely.
I wish I could tell you in advance how many hand-painted silk bobbins it will require. I have used the twelve pack of hand-painted silk bobbins and still have quite a lot yet however I also still have a bunch to weave. So stay tuned.
I am adding to this blog (although I plan to write a new one later today). Just wanted to mention that I have been using double strands of silk in some places. The sett is wide enough that it can accommodate two strands of silk and the color combinations can be really beautiful.
