Let the magic begin!

It’s time! The loom has been dressed, the ties have been cut into strips, the yarn has been wound onto the bobbins and placed in the shuttles – I’m ready!

If you recall, the yarn was tied in bunches at the front of the loom. In order to spread the yarn out evenly, I use a bit of toilet paper as filler. It’s easy to remove when the project is finished. (If you ever accidentally buy the really cheap stuff, it’s perfect for this! Just in case you need an excuse to begin weaving! “Oh no! I accidentally bought the cheap TP. Guess I have to buy a loom now!”)

When I weave in the ties, I don’t sew the ends together beforehand. I simply overlap the ends. (What you should know is that I would really rather pull out my own fingernails versus having to do any sewing!) So, as an additional guarantee that the fabric will hold together, I send a regular cotton yarn through the warp, too. Worse case scenario – if you were to yank out a chunk of the ties, the yarn in between would keep the fabric sound.

In this particular project, I started with a whole bunch of red ties – as you can imagine, they are by far the easiest color to find! I alternated the weft yarns (in the shuttle) between black and gray cotton, which mimics the warp yarn in the loom. So, depending upon which color ties were up, I emphasized one color or another (ex. more gray with the blue ties and more black with the yellow ties). Below, you’ll see the beginnings of the project and plenty of red! There are more colors to follow, I promise!

TP Spreads out the Yarn

Here Come the Ties!

Shuttle with Gray Yarn

See the TP rolling on?

Lots of Red Ties!