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Weave along #8- Part Seven Finishing Techniques

And, so, the Soumak Pouch Weave Along draws to a close with a very long video on finishing techniques.

Here are the chapters in the final installment:
1- Steam, Press and block the finished weaving
2- Overcast the straight edge of the inside front of the pouch
3- Making the point for the tip of the pouch
4- How to do the chain stitch embroidery
5- Cut out a lining
6- How to stitch the lining to the pouch invisibly
7- Stitch the side seams
8- Sew on the snaps
9- Stitching the edging cords to the pouch – in the video, I show how to add things like large beads at the ends and center of the cord, as well as the swivel clip hook. I also show how to stitch size 8 seed beads to the edging to embellish it. You don’t have to add these extra flourishes, but I thought that it made sense to show you how to do it so you ~could~ do it, if you want to.
It’s the embellishments that make the pouch the truly individual statement of your creativity!
And, here’s the video:

Happy Weaving!
I hope that you have had fun weaving your Soumak pouch!
And, cheerio, this is my last post on ‘A Word From Elena’
:o) Noreen

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Weave Along #8 Soumak Pouch- Part 5 Checkerboard borders

Part 5 of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a step by step series of photos that I took while we were on holidays at the end of August.
I adapted the pattern to have checkerboard borders and wove the Soumak pouch on my Mirrix Mini (5 inches wide… perfect traveling loom).

Here’s how the pattern looks with the black and white checked borders:

If I had wanted to make the pouch wider, I could have added ‘s’ hooks to the side and just added the checked squares to the pattern.
Adding 2 more ‘s’ hooks at the top and bottom on both sides would have added one inch (2.5 cm) to the width of the pouch.
I wanted the squares to be symmetrical off a central square, so I had to do some fancy footwork with working out the size of the squares.
Here’s what I decided: Here’s the graph for the lower border of the pouch:
Each square represents one strand of warp:

And now… to the step by step photos: Photographed in Jasper Alberta Canada

And, here is the finished pouch: Woven in Lamb’s Pride yarn from the Mirrix kit:

The embroidery is worked with Kreinik threads.
There is an amethyst bead on the center of the back of the pouch.
Happy Weaving! :o)

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Four Weaving Techniques

The video for Part 4 of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a really big one because it’s the ‘how to’s’ for the actual weaving of the pouch.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Here’s what’s covered in this video:

How to weave the 4:2 Soumak border
How to weave the 2:1 body of the pouch
How to add more weft yarn when you run out
How to add new colors
How to change colors and make perfect joins between the color blocks
How to step colors sideways in an outward direction
How to step colors sideways in an inward direction
How to work horizontal stripes
How to do the ‘Topsy Turvey Trick’ with the Mini loom
How to remove the weaving from the Mini

When I went through the video after the final rendering, I smacked my hand to my forehead a couple of times as my directional challenges clearly pop up in the video- arghhhhhhhhh………. several times, I call the left hand side of the loom, the ~right~ hand side. arghhhhhhh
And, at one point, I called the weft, ‘warp’…………. oh sigh…………. so please forgive me for the errors.
Luckily, pretty quickly, I do say the ~correct~ thing. But still……….. arghhhhhhhhhhhh………….
And, no, I am not willing to re-shoot the video….. there are days and days and days of shooting, and so I am not going back to do it again.
Said in the nicest possible way, with really the minimum of snarls and snaps. 😀
Anyhow…. I hope that you will have a WONDERFUL time weaving your pouches!
Without further ado, here’s the video: (bugs and all- and dogs barking and rain raining and thunder thundering…. the dogs were freaked out by the lighting and thunder, so they were indulging in a LOT of vocalizing about the bad bad sky!)

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Three Warping the Looms

Today’s installment of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a video tutorial about warping the looms for the ‘no warp ends’ technique that will be the foundation of the Soumak Pouches.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

There are a number of hints and tips that I have found that make warping for the pouches much quicker and easier.
The video shows how to warp the 8 inch and 12 inch Mirrix looms, using ‘s’ hooks.
The Mini (5 inch loom) is warped using the ‘no warp ends’ kit from Mirrix.
The looms are almost gift wrapped after warping!
Really? Yes 🙂
I have found that using ribbons to tie around the ‘s’ hooks on the lower edge of the 8 inch, 12 inch or larger Mirrix looms keeps the weft yarn from getting snagged on the hooks while weaving.
And, the Mini wears little babushkas or headscarves!
Yep. I tie bias tape or ribbon around the ends to cover the paper clips and keep them from snagging on clothing and to protect them.
I know it may seem odd, but it makes the weaving go more smoothly.

Here’s the video that shows how the warping is done for the Weave Along:

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Two: Design Notes

I am sure that everyone who is participating in the Soumak Pouch Weave Along wants to create a finished piece that is completely unique.
So, that’s why I am sharing a few design notes.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

In Part One of the Weave Along LINK I posted my design for the Soumak Pouch.
How did I come up with this design, and how can you make it be a reflection of your personality?
I started the design process by thinking of the rug that was in my grandmother’s dining room when I was a little girl:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I spent many a happy hour on that carpet, when I was a child, playing with my cousins.
The flowers became a deeply ingrained part of my ‘pattern language’.
So, when I was designing the pouch, it was natural to look at the flowers in the carpet and see if there was a starting point there.
Indeed there was, and I sketched and played with variations on carpet flowers:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I traced out lots of copies of the prototype pattern.
I find that tracing the pattern by hand is better for me than scanning and printing the pattern.
When my hand and eyes are quietly engaged in tracing the design, then connections are made that are really helpful in making creative leaps.
I choose aquarelles (watercolor pencils) that matched my weft colors.
Then, I colored lots and lots of variations on the theme, playing with combinations of colors and trying to push myself to use the weft colors in ways that I might not have considered.
I also would make little sidebar colorways when I was uncertain about a specific motif in the pattern.
And, then, when I was happy, I started weaving.
As I wove the prototype pouches, I discovered a few things: OOPS! The weaving contracts when it’s released from the loom, so it NEEDS a header and footer beyond the pattern!
Also, I felt that making the pattern more geometrical would make it more weaver-friendly, so I re-designed the pattern to make it conform more closely to the warp strands:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I felt constrained to stick to using only the colors of yarn that were in the various kits and packages supplied by the yarn companies.
I didn’t mix and match, BUT… you can feel totally free to use yarn from your stash to personalize your pouch.
The only exception to the ‘no stash’ rule that I was following was that, for the black and white checkered pouch, I did pull white wool from my stash (well, my daughter in law’s stash to be perfectly honest… bless her for her donation to the cause <3 and 😀 )

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

In this photo, you’ll see that I traced the pattern onto graph paper (4 squares to the inch or 2.5 cm).
(The photo of the pouch at the beginning of this post was woven with the Mirrix Soumak Pouch Kit yarns and this colorway.)
Graph paper is the top of the list of my favorite design tools…. it’s a weaver’s very good friend indeed!
Playing with graph paper allows you to try out all manner of interesting things.
So, in a nutshell, what are the key points of designing a unique project?
1- Look for a starting point in something that you love or are inspired by.
2- Be willing to make mistakes and to start over
3- Trace, don’t print the extra copies of the design.
4- Use colors in ways that you might not usually consider when you are experimenting with your coloring pages.
BUT… if you have signature colors, then, of course, feel free to use them.
5- Make multiple color combination sidebars if you are uncertain about a part of the design.
6- Use graph paper to work out colorways and patterns.
7- The ways that you choose to embellish your pouch will make your pouch TOTALLY unique, as the finishing and embellishment techniques are incredibly expressive 🙂

Here’s the Design Notes Video:

Happy weaving! :o) Noreen

Tapestry Weaving

Two more pouches for the Soumak Pouch Weave Along

I’ve been shooting videos for the weave along that begins on September 2nd.
As I was shooting, I was weaving along on a couple of pouches.

Here they are:

A Stripey one, with some beads and other embellishments:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

and the back:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I wove it with Lion Brand Bonbon yarn- cotton for the body of the pouch and metallic for the embellishment.

The size 8 beads along the sides are from Mirrix and the bone beads at the lower edge were in my stash.

The medallion on the back of the pouch is one that I snitched from a box of stuff that my daughter in law was going to give away.
(She gave it away, but to ~me~ instead of giving it to ‘anonymous’ – I can be shameless when it comes to pretty goodies! )

My daughter in law grinned at me when she saw the finished pouch, and said:
‘This one is yours, isn’t it, Mum?’
‘Yes! but how did you guess?’
She just laughed.
I guess it’s because I adore these colors and use them all the time!
…
I was concerned about this pouch:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Why? Well, because both my daughter and my daughter in law declared that they loved it and would love to have SantaMamma leave it in their Christmas stocking.

I didn’t want to make two pouches that were exactly alike, so I had to have a big old think about it.

And, I came up with the perfect answer!!!!!

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

TADAH!!!! I wove it up in the same colorway, but using the drop dead luscious wool yarn from the Mirrix kit [LINK to purchase]
(and, please note,: I don’t profit by raving about the delicious and gorgeous yarns I am using for these pouches, but I am just tickled pink with them, and VERY happy to say: WHEEEEEEEEEEE about them and to say: Yup… thumbs up, order and love ’em, too) :o)

Here’s the back of the woolie pouch:

www.kreinik.com supplied me with the gorgeous embroidery thread and edging cord for this pouch.
Here are the links for them:
The edging is 3/8 ” trim: # 170 Natural Pewter
http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=17023&cat=0&page=1

The embroidery thread is: Ombre: http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=622&cat=0&page=1 1000 – Solid Silver
I love the combination of the soft loftiness of the wool with the sparkle of the metallic embroidery floss. The embroidery thread is soft and lovely to work with. Some metallics can be barky and sharky. This is soft and nooshy.

!AND!

Happy dance!
and ~whew~

My daughter in law (who happens to be an incredibly gifted and talented handspinner, so she is naturally inclined to be more drawn to wool), likes the woolie pouch –

HURRAH! SantaMamma is so relieved!

My girls will have their lovely pouches in their Christmas stockings, and they are ‘sister pouches’…. similar, but each unique!
Alright… time for me to get back to editing video….. :o)
~Noreen~

Tapestry Weaving

Oooh Claudia made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches

Oooh, Claudia has made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches!

Oh my word!
Claudia has outdone herself in making the kits for the Soumak pouches for the Weave Along in September:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Aren’t the colors and textures gorgeous?
I just went and picked up the text from this page: LINK

If you’re a weave-along 8 participant get $10.oo off this kit with discount code: weavealong8

This package goes with our Weave-Along 8 hosted by Noreen Crone-Findlay.

Learn more about the weave-along and sign-up here today.

Kit Includes:
-30 yards of 10 each of ten colors of wool/mohair yarn
-12 x 6 piece of silk for lining
-A semi precious stone for a clasp
-100 gram tube of Navajo Wool Warp

*Please note, this kit does not come with fiber for the edging or a kumihimo kit to make one.

The kit can be purchased separately.

You will have 4 options for making the edging cord for the pouches:

1- A beaded peyote stitch tubular cord. If you want to make your cord with beads, be sure to add beads to your shopping list. Either #8 or #11 work fine, depending on what your favorite size is. I used the #11.

You can order them from Claudia when you order the kumihimo kit and the pouch kit.

By the way, you will be able to weave more than one pouch from the kit.

OR:

2- A kumihimo cord. You can order it from the link above.

OR:

3– A spool knitted cord. LINK for the ordering information.

OR:

4- A twisted cord. I’ll be showing you how to make a twisted cord with a spool and a crochet hook.

I am rubbing my hands together in delight, as I am having a wonderful time working on a ton of videos to make the Weave Along really fun and super user friendly.

There is a mountain of information, so I am breaking it all down into bites that make sense and are easy to refer to when questions come up.

Happy Weaving!

Noreen

Tapestry Weaving

Mirrix Loom Weave Along Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 -Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

This is the second ‘Prelude Post’ for the Mirrix Loom Weave Along for the Soumak Pouch.
The pouches are perfect for both business cards:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

or for cellphones:
My cellphone is one of the smaller, lower tech ones [4inches tall, 2 inches wide, 5/8 inch thick] if yours is larger, then you will want to upsize your pouch, if your pouch is going to be a cellphone pouch.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Alright… now onto the gathering up of tools and equipment:
First of all, you need a loom:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Most of the photos and videos for the weave along will feature my 8 inch Lani Mirrix loom. (Although I have ordered a Mini and a Little Guy, so hopefully, they will arrive soon, so I can use them in the photos and videos, too.)
The pouch can also be woven on any of the larger Mirrix looms as well- if you are using one of the smaller Mirrix looms, then warp up one pouch at a time. If you are using one of the larger looms, then you can warp and weave 2 pouches at the same time.
Even if you don’t have a Mirrix loom, please feel welcome to join in the Weave Along.
As long as you have a loom that you can get good tight tension on it, then you will be able to weave the pouches.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You will also need: A steam iron, a pressing cloth, a good source of light, pencil crayons or watercolors or some other way of coloring your preliminary pattern colorways, 2 clothespins, scissors, needle and thread for finishing, snap fastener and a swivel clip, you’ll also need paper for tracing out your patterns and trying out different color schemes.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting needles and crochet hooks are very helpful, and a loop turning tool is handy (I bought mine at my local fabric store), a piece of cardboard that is 10 inches tall by 3 inches wide (25 cm tall by 7.5 cm wide), a weaving stick, small paper clamps, a fork or beater, a hole punch, at least a yard of firm yarn or cord, clear tape (packing tape works well); a black fine tip permanent marker

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You’ll need rods for the top and lower edge of the weaving: 6 inch (15 cm) tent pegs or 6 inch (15 cm) lengths of steel or brass rods 1/8 inch in diameter (I bought a 36 inch long one at the hardware store and cut it to 6 inch lengths with a hacksaw); velcro straps (I bought mine from Lee Valley: Link; ‘S’ HOOKS: 25 “S” hooks, either 7/8 inch or 1 inch- opened or closed :[ I had a huge ‘AHA’ when I bought closed ‘S’ hooks…. having one end closed is just GREAT… so if you buy closed ‘S’ hooks, open one end with pliers. If you buy open ‘S’ hooks, squeeze one of the ends closed. Having the closed end keeps the ‘S’ hooks on the rod. 🙂 ] ; 1/4 inch Washers: 54 in total; 1 or 2 pairs of pliers for adjusting the ‘S’ hooks; ruler and tape measure.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Some of these things have shown up in other photos, so I won’t list them again, but the other things are: A small bowl for holding pins, needles, clamps etc; a bag or box to store and transport the project (that’s Tottie Tomato’s knitting bag); chopsticks are very handy for several things besides your Pad Thai 🙂

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You will need at least 5 or 6 blunt tapestry or craft or darning needles. It’s handy to have a needlebook or tin, or cardboard tube or eyeglass case to store them in.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

To line the pouch: Fabric (I upcycled one of my son’s abandoned t shirts for the lining of the first 4 bags), scissors, pins, needle and thread, snap fastener: I used the 15 mm size.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

To make the edging cord: A kumihimo kit (the cd is a stand in as I haven’t received mine yet) available from Mirrix: LINK
OR a spool knitter: Lion Brand: LINK
or Harrisville: LINK

CHECKLIST at a glance:

– Loom

– steam iron
– pressing cloth
-a good source of light
– pencil crayons or watercolors or some other way of coloring your preliminary pattern colorways
– paper for tracing out your patterns and trying out different color schemes
– 2 clothespins
-scissors
-needle and thread for finishing
-snap fastener 15 mm size

-swivel snap hook (optional)
-knitting needles & crochet hooks
-Optional: a loop turning tool is handy
-a piece of cardboard that is 10 inches tall by 3 inches wide (25 cm tall by 7.5 cm wide)
– a weaving stick
– small paper clamps
-a fork or beater
-a hole punch
-at least a yard of firm yarn or cord
-clear tape (packing tape works well)
-a black fine tip permanent marker
–Rods for the top and lower edge of the weaving: 6 inch (15 cm) tent pegs or 6 inch (15 cm) lengths of steel or brass rods 1/8 inch in diameter
-velcro straps Link
–‘S’ HOOKS: 25 “S” hooks, either 7/8 inch or 1 inch- opened or closed
– 1/4 inch Washers: 54 in total
-1 or 2 pairs of pliers for adjusting the ‘S’ hooks
-ruler and tape measure
– small bowl for holding pins, needles, clamps etc
– a bag or box to store and transport the project
– chopstick (optional)

– At least 5 or 6 blunt tapestry or craft or darning needles and a needlebook or tin, or cardboard tube or eyeglass case to store them in.
-Lining fabric
– Straight pins

-kumihimo kit OR a spool knitter
-any other embellishments, beads, buttons, charms or found objects that you wish to use.
Happy Weaving!
🙂 Noreen

Tapestry Weaving

Mirrix Loom Weave Along #8- Soumak Pouch-1-Warp and Weft

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 –

Soumak Pouch- 1- Warp and Weft

In September, I will be leading a Weave Along, using Mirrix Looms.
I will be posting the pattern, video tutorials, instructions and step by step photos for the Weave Along here on Tottie Talks Crafts.

The project is a Business Card Pouch, which also works well as a cellphone pouch, woven in Soumak, embellished with corded edges and chain stitch embroidery.
I have designed it to be welcoming to entry level weavers, but also, with options that will appeal (I hope) to more advanced weavers, too.
Because it can take awhile to get orders cleared and shipped, I am posting some suggested warp and weft yarns, as well as the links for ordering them now.
Hopefully, your yarns will arrive before September first.
Here are a few photos of some of the Business Card pouches that I have woven so far:

This is the first Business card pouch that I wove, using:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
Harrisville Warp LINK
and: Wool weft: Harrisville Variety Yarn Pack: Brights LINK

I wove the second pouch with the Harrisville warp and for weft:

Harrisville Variety Yarn Pack Jewels LINK

I quite like both p0uches, but …. OOPS!
They are slightly too small for their intended purpose! EEGADS! Business cards don’t fit in them!

So, I went back to the drawing board, and altered the pattern.
By then, gorgeous yarn had arrived from Lion Brand yarns: LINK TO BONBON YARN

The photo doesn’t convey the scale of the balls of Bonbon…
They are tiny, perfect little balls of loveliness. Each of them is 2 1/2 inches (6cm) tall.
The cotton is simply gorgeous to weave with. I love it.
I wove these Pouches in Bonbon cottons, with Metallic chain stitch embroidery:

I used the ‘Nature’ colorway for the pouch in the photo above, and ‘Beach for the pouch in the photo below:

The Metallic yarns come in six packs, as does the cotton. I used yarns from both colorways: Party and Celebrate, for these pouches.

My daughter in law suggested that I add a swivel snap hook to the upper corner of the pouch.
I thought that it was a great suggestion, and so I have added it.
The swivel clip allows you to clip it to your bag, or the belt loop of blue jeans.
If your cellphone is one of the larger ones, you may need to upsize your pouch if you would rather use it as a cellphone pouch instead of a business card pouch.

I used Lion Cotton for the warp for these two pouches, because I wanted to use yarns that you can order at the same time to make this all easier for you:

I wasn’t sure if it would work for the projects, but it does just fine.
I don’t think that I would use it for tapestry warp for a really large project, because it has a cheerful slightly bouncy nature.
Warp for tapestry really does need to be made of sterner stuff 😀 None of that youthful springiness!
Speaking of warp- a couple of my Ravelry friends have asked if carpet warp would be okay for the Weave Along, and yes, indeed, it will work fine.

I am going to weave some of the pouches on carpet warp, and also on the green linen that’s on that ginormous spool.
I am waiting for yarn (both Warp and Weft) from Mirrix. When they arrive, I will edit them into this post.
They haven’t arrived yet, but Elena has posted a photo and a link for the kit:

Gorgeous, yes? 😀
Here’s the link to order them: MIRRIX KIT LINK
In my next post, I will show you the equipment, materials and tools that you will need to gather up for the Weave Along.
Here’s the link to a post that has all the blog post links, to keep everything quick and easy to refer to : LINK
You are invited to post comments on the blog posts here on Tottie Talks Crafts…. AND….
Please post your photos and join in the discussion on the Facebook group: LINK
And, you can post your weave along photos and chat with the other WAL participants on Ravelry, too: LINK
There’s a sign up on the Mirrix website so you’ll get notifications of the posts. LINK

CHECK LIST FOR WARP AND WEFT:
– warp
-weft
-optional contrast yarn for chain stitch embellishment

You are so welcome to join in!
🙂 Noreen

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Tag Archives: soumak pouch

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Weave along #8- Part Seven Finishing Techniques

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Weave Along #8 Soumak Pouch- Part 5 Checkerboard borders

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Four Weaving Techniques

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Three Warping the Looms

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Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Two: Design Notes

Tapestry Weaving

Two more pouches for the Soumak Pouch Weave Along

Tapestry Weaving

Oooh Claudia made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches

Oooh, Claudia has made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches!

Tapestry Weaving

Mirrix Loom Weave Along Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 -Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

CHECKLIST at a glance:

Tapestry Weaving

Mirrix Loom Weave Along #8- Soumak Pouch-1-Warp and Weft

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 –

Soumak Pouch- 1- Warp and Weft

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Tag Archives: soumak pouch

Oooh, Claudia has made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches!

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 -Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

CHECKLIST at a glance:

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 –

Soumak Pouch- 1- Warp and Weft

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