We are in the middle of some serious weaving fun, let me tell you! “Barrel-of-monkeys” kind of fun! (Does that complete give away my age?)
Re-purposed ties for everyone!
I am using lots and lots of cut up neckties instead of just yarn. I love the reuse, reduce, recycle idea! (Sadly, I’m not as vigilant in all aspects of my life. But, this is my little contribution!) What I’ve discovered is the world doesn’t really wear neckties anymore. Translation – lots of inexpensive materials for me to choose from!
Another tie in place
I like to use the big rag shuttle to move the ties across the warp yarns and then, alternate with the cotton yarn in the boat shuttle. So, I typically have 2 shuttles jockeying for position at any given time!
Tool of the trade
Folks have asked if I sew the ends of the ties together. If you knew me better, you’d chuckle at that visual – maybe even belly laugh! I tend to get violent when forced to get near a sewing machine. It’s REALLY unattractive…
I like to overlap the ends and call it a day! As tightly as I weave, you would have to go to a lot of trouble to pull those out! Believe me when I say that if I had to sew, this lovely little project wouldn’t be happening! (A huge round of applause to all the seamstresses out there! You are amazing and I would be lost without you!)
Overlapping ends
There are always little bits and snippets that don’t get caught in the weaving. They simply get trimmed when the fabric rolls off the loom.
Trying to escape…
I started with grayish-blue ties and am now morphing into ties with a bit of brown! The earthy colors make me all tingly!
A little brown, anyone?
I chose a darker blue cotton for the browns, instead of sticking with the light blue. Just personal taste, really. Kind of like cooking – it needed a dash of something else!
More ties, please!
We have a philosophy in our family that where 1 picture is good, 20 are better! So, when you glance at the next two photos taken from underneath the weaving surface, you should appreciate the fact that I didn’t subject you to 18 others! (Even though I love them!)
If you lived inside a loom…
Ah, sweet progress!
For this project, I have specific sized handbags I am designing for. So, I’m keeping close track of how many inches I’ve woven. Little safety pins are my friends…
Keeping track of inches
There will be lots more happiness to come! Talk to you soon…
How do you deal with the varying width/thickness of the ties?
Hey! Great question! I vary the width of the strips to accommodate the different thicknesses. Some of those ties from the 70’s could stand on their own – they’re so thick! And in that case, I just won’t use them. Typically, I’ll cut ties into about 3/4″ widths, give or take. I’ve learned that visually it won’t matter tremendously if one tie scrunches down more than the other. Your eye will blend them together. I hope that helps! Thanks for the question! chris
I really like how this fabric looks. And I totally agree with you about not sewing the ties together, that would take a lot of time and the end result would be pretty much the same.
Hey Sonja! Thank you for the compliment! You bring up a good point – how much time do you want to spend for very similar results? It’s wonderful that you get it! Have a good one! chris
I’m quite sure I’ll discover lots of new stuff here!
All the best for!
I hope so! Thanks for the comment! I appreciate it! chris