Okay… so my selvedges need a little work, but not bad for my first attempt, eh? I used Peaches & Cream for this. I wouldn’t recommend it. It started pilling really early and made it difficult to get a good shed after a while because all the threads wanted to stick together. That’s why the piece is so short. I got tired of fighting it.
I wove the above piece with the backstrap loom anchored around me feet. I had a hard time with that. It’s like a juggling act keeping things just right being “tied” to the loom at the waist and feet. Felt a little like a contortionist at times.
Here’s what I love about backstrap weaving. It’s eaaasy. It’s cheap. It’s portable. It’s easy. Did I mention that it’s easy? Also, did I mention that it’s cheap? This would be a fabulous way to introduce kids to weaving. I think I spent mmaaaybe five bucks on it.
So after I took the little sample piece off, I warped the loom for the backstrap pattern that Laverne Waddington showed in the videos and Weavezine Episodes which I believe are gone of the net now. If you give this a try, be sure to watch all the videos. I didn’t and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t get the shed open on a wider project. Then I watched the videos again and saw the way to open a wider warp. No problems after that.
Here’s everything ready to go. I used a pillowcase for my temporary backstrap. See how portable it is? It would all easily fit into a bag (which I think is my next project). I may try the feet thing again after I get better. I like it better that way because you can sit anywhere and do it and don’t need to anchor it on anything else. I think it’ll be easier when I’m used to the movements and all.
This time I used Sinfonia that I bought at Hobby Lobby (Varigated Blues and Royal Blue) with a 40% coupon. Dan bought a skein and I bought a skein so we could use two coupons. Hey. Every little bit helps. lol. This yarn was easier to work with than the Peaches & Cream. It is a little thinner than what Laverne uses I think, so my backstrap ended up not being as wide, but it beats the pillowcase out of the ball park.
This time I decided to try anchoring to my dining room chair as suggested by a member of the Backstrap Forum at Weavolution.
Not an attractive picture, but I wanted you to see the full set up and how easy it is:
Once I got all set up and comfy, I finished the weaving of the backstrap in about an hour and a half. I had a hard time with the end warp threads loosening up so I’ll be more careful in the future. I’m really pleased though and I can see really getting addicted to this.
