Pages

▼

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Bath Mats Ho!

 I've made a start.


I measured warp for two bath mats, and decided to weave the first one in classic crackle. I didn't care for the crackle structure with the red plaid scarf, but I think it will work very well for a bath mat. Classic crackle is a three shuttle weave with no tabby. It uses one color for the pattern weft, and two other colors for the two background wefts.

Weaving Notes
  • I had quite a few colors to choose from (see Bath Mats: Planning) and finally settled on lemon yellow and orange for the warp blocks. 
  • I wanted to try the variegated white/yellow/orange yarn in the warp, but had trouble measuring it so that the color sections matched up (like they did for my diddy bag.)
  • I'm using brown for my pattern weft; golden yellow and red for my two background wefts.
  • Weaving is a 4-pick sequence:
    • background x (golden yellow)
    • pattern weft (brown)
    • background y (red)
    • pattern weft (brown)
  • I'm using stick shuttles instead of boat shuttles because for a heavier yarn, they hold a lot more than my small boat shuttle bobbins.
  • When I went to wind the red onto the shuttle, I discovered that the ball was made entirely of short pieces of yarn(!) So I bought a new red when I was out doing errands.
  • I chose brown for the pattern weft because I consider it a neutral color, and I'm hoping it will help keep all those bright colors from looking too gaudy. 
  • I only say that because autumn colors aren't my favorite, so they tend to look gaudy to me. 😄 But they match my stained glass window.
  • At first, handling the three shuttles and keeping track of the colors plus lift order was awkward and required a lot of concentration. But it got easier pretty quickly.


Now that I've worked with the colors a bit, I've decided that they aren't gaudy but cheerful. I think this will be a colorful addition to my bathroom. 

Onward ho!

Bath Mats Ho! © December 2023

Related Posts
at

5 comments:

  1. Toirdhealbheach BeucailDecember 16, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    I like Autumn colors, but I am preferential to Autumn in general.

    How big will this be, Leigh?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LeighDecember 16, 2023 at 10:08 AM

    I'm aiming for 17" by 26". It's always a guess because the weaving process itself pulls the threads together (called draw-in for the width and take-up for the length). Then there's wondering how much it will shrink after it's been washed and dried. In the end, it will be approximately that size.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MichelleDecember 16, 2023 at 11:08 AM

    I am itching to start another project, but am afraid it will have to wait until after the holidays. I need more warp twine, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MichelleDecember 16, 2023 at 11:09 AM

    PS. Autumn colors are my least favorite as well, but I do like your bath mat!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LeighDecember 16, 2023 at 12:35 PM

    Michelle, I'll look forward to your new project after the holidays. It is a busy time!

    The mat colors match the window, so I'm content with that. :) I am looking forward to trying this structure in a different color scheme.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome! And thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.