A Pegs & Sticks Pattern

Transcription

1 Pattern 4 Christmas Bauble A Pegs & Sticks Pattern The Christmas Bauble A woven Christmas Bauble. So easy to weave with Weaving Sticks. Introduction Weaving Sticks are so simple to use that anyone can create beautiful and useful woven items. This pattern, The Christmas Bauble, uses the set of 6 Weaving Sticks available from the Etsy shop of Weaving Me Home. You can use any and all yarns. This is a great stash-busting project. Even inexpensive acrylic yarn works very well. Glittery yarn will give some Christmas sparkle to your bauble. For something really different, try weaving with long fabric strips instead of yarn. You will need approximately 20g (3/4 oz.) of yarn, some stuffing (like quilt/cushion batting), and 2 to 4 sprigs of real or artificial greenery. The Finished Bauble Following this pattern, you will make a bauble that is approximately 3 inches in diameter. Definitions Warp the warp yarns are threaded through the weaving sticks and stretch down the length of your weaving. They provide the strength and structure. They are like the bones of your weaving. They will not show on the finished weaving. (See below for recommendations on what to use for warp yarns.) Weft the weft yarns are woven around the sticks and thus are woven around the warp yarns. They are the decorative part of the weaving that shows on the outside. Weaving Sticks the wooden sticks that you hold in your hand. Each stick is pierced with a hole at one end, through which you will thread a warp yarn. Most people can hold 6 sticks at once comfortably. This pattern calls for using 6 sticks. Threader Tool a short piece of wood dowel with a loop attached to one end. The threader tool is used to thread a warp yarn through the hole in each stick. Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 1

2 Warping (Threading) the Sticks What to Use for Warp Yarns? Use any soft, double-knit or chunky yarn. (I recommend acrylic because it is very strong.) Be sure to use a smooth-ish yarn, so that the weaving can easily slide down the warp (don t use bobble or knobby yarn). Use a colour that will match your weft yarn (it s best to use the same yarn if you can). Measure and Cut the Warp Yarns You will cut 6 warp yarns, each measuring 4 feet in length. The easiest way to measure a long length of yarn is to wrap it around a ruler the appropriate number of times, then cut. (photo 1) Thread the Sticks Place the loop of the threader tool through the hole in the end of a stick. Place one end of a warp yarn into the loop of the threader tool. (photo 2) Pull the loop of the threader tool back through the hole in the stick, bringing the end of the warp yarn with it. (photo 3) Photo 1 Then remove the threader tool from the yarn. Pull on the end of the warp yarn until ½ of the warp yarn lies on either side of the stick (both ends of the warp yarn meeting and the stick lying halfway along the length of the warp yarn). Photo 2 Repeat for the other 5 sticks. Photo 3 Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 2

3 Start Weaving the Weft Make a loose slip knot with the end of the weft yarn (like you do before starting a crochet chain), leaving a tail of about 4-6 inches. Photo 4 Slip the loop over one of the weaving sticks, securing it lightly about half way down the stick. (photo 4) Pick up the other 5 sticks and hold all the sticks side-by-side in your non -dominant hand (left hand for right-handers or right hand for lefthanders). Hold the sticks side-by-side with an even gap between them. The hole end of the sticks should be towards you. Weaving from left to right, pass the weft yarn under stick 2, over stick 3, under stick 4, over stick 5, under stick 6. (photo 5) Sticks Photo Do not pull the weft yarn too tight. Loop around stick 6 and proceed to weave from right to left: go over stick 6, under stick 5, over 4, under stick 3. But instead of continuing over stick 2, reverse direction and go back over stick 3 and under stick 4. (photo 6) Now reverse direction again and go over stick 4 and under stick 3, over stick 2 and under stick 1 (photo 7) Loop around stick 1 and proceed to weave from left to right in the same manner. On each pass, don t weave straight across all 6 sticks. Instead, make a figure 8 around sticks 3 and 4 and then continue to the end stick. Do the same when you weave in the other direction. Note: You are essentially encasing the sticks within your weft yarn, which will result in encasing the warp yarns within the weft yarns. Photo 6 Watch your tension. Keep a slightly loose tension. The biggest mistake beginners make is to pull the yarn too tight. Be especially mindful of the tension of the yarn around the end sticks. Don t worry about the tail at this point. You will weave it in later. Photo 7 Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 3

4 Continue to Weave As you continue to weave in this manner, you are making extra passes around sticks 3 and 4 each time that you weave from left to right and from right to left. You will see that your weaving will start to become pointed in the middle because of this extra weaving around sticks 3 and 4. (photo 8) Photo 8 Slide the Weft Down the Sticks When the weft yarn is nearing the top of the sticks (about 3/4 of the way up), gently pull the first stick up about 1 inch, pulling it through the weaving and thus pulling some warp yarn along with it. Repeat with each stick. As you continue to weave, the weaving starts to move down onto the warp yarns. Periodically distribute and smooth the weaving over the warp yarns so that you maintain a weaving that is not too thick and not too thin. As you continue to weave, you will see that your weaving starts to curve to the right. (photo 9) Carry on until you have woven a length of approximately 12 inches and have approximately 12 inches of warp yarns left unwoven. Photo 9 Changing Weft / Changing Colours If you run out of yarn, you will need to add in a new weft yarn. Do not tie the new yarn to the old yarn, as this will result in the knot inevitably being in the wrong place once the weaving is finished. Instead, simply introduce the new yarn so that it follows the old yarn along the last few sticks, leaving the new yarn with a tail of about 4 inches. Then let go of the old yarn, and continue weaving with the new yarn. Cut the old yarn, leaving a tail of about 4 inches. Don t worry about the ends now. You will weave in the ends later, when you are finishing. Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 4

5 Remove the Weaving Sticks Once you have a woven length of approximately 12 inches, it is time to remove the weaving sticks. Slowly pull the weaving sticks (and thus the warp yarns) through the weaving, one by one, until an approximately equal length of warp yarn (approximately 6 inches) lies at the top and bottom of the weaving. Cut the warp yarns from the weaving sticks, cutting close to each stick. Tie the Top and Bottom Ends Together Bend your weaving into a semicircle, so that the top edge is adjacent to the bottom edge. Left warp pair > < Right warp pair Separate the warp yarns so that you can clearly see them. Note that two warp yarns exit each warp channel. These two warp yarns will be referred to as a warp pair. Take the 1st left warp pair and tie it to the first right warp pair with a single overhand knot. (photo 10) Pull the warp yarns as tightly as they will go, so that the top of the weaving closes up into a tight circle. This forms the top of the bauble. (photo 11) Photo 11 Photo 10 Make the knot snug against the edge of the weaving, so that it actually disappears into the warp channel a little. Repeat the overhand knot to secure it. Only a tiny hole should remain in the top of the bauble. (look ahead to photo 14) Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 5

6 Stuff the Bauble and Tie the Bottom Ends Together Turn the bauble over. Fill the cavity with bits of stuffing, such as quilt or cushion batting, old nylon stockings, fabric scraps, etc. (photo 12) Tie the 6th left and right warp pairs together, as you did with the 1st pairs. Pull the warp yarns as tightly as they will go, so that the bottom of the weaving closes up into a tight circle. This forms the bottom of the bauble. Now you have tied the warp pairs at the top and bottom of the bauble. You have 4 more warp pairs to tie together. But first, squish the bauble around between your fingers to get it into a nicely rounded shape. Photo 12 Tie the other 4 left warp pairs to their corresponding right warp pairs. But you will pull them together much more loosely so that you form a rounded shape for your bauble. Note: Pulling the top and bottom warp pairs very tightly but pulling the middle 4 warp pairs more loosely will transform your flat weaving into a sphere. The additional passes you made around sticks 3 and 4 have created additional thickness that allows the sphere to fill out without the warp threads showing through. Hide the Yarn Ends Now you must hide the ends of the warp yarns. Thread the ends each warp pair into a tapestry needle. Run the tapestry needle into the weaving and pull the warp yarns through. (photo 13) Hide the weft ends in the same way. Cut the yarn ends flush with the surface of the weaving. Photo 13 Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 6

7 Add a Hanger and Embellishments With your tapestry needle, sew a 6 to 8 inch length of yarn across the top hole of the bauble. This will be the hanger. (photo 14) Photo 14 Tie a tight, double over-hand knot. (photo 15) Place 2 to 4 sprigs of real or artificial greenery across the knot. Tie another tight, double over-hand knot. (photo 16) Tie the top end s of the yarn hanger closed. (photo 17) The finished bauble! (photo 18) Proudly display your gorgeous hand-woven Christmas Bauble and let the celebrations begin! Photo 15 Photo 16 Photo 17 Photo 18 More Ideas and Resources Join the Pegs & Sticks Ravelry group: More ideas at the Weaving Me Home blog: Patterns, weaving sticks, & peg looms available from the Etsy shop of Weaving Me Home. Pattern 4, The Christmas Bauble, page 7