Whig Rose Miniature Overshot Table Runner

I took a wonderful weaving class from Jeff Reynolds at the Jefferson City Fiber Retreat.  We wove samples of the Whig Rose pattern by Josephine Estes.  Her miniature overshot patterns are available online and are called "Original Miniature Patterns for Hand Weaving."  Miniatures are good for smaller projects where you don't want large floats of thread.

This is the threading for Whig Rose by Josephine Estes:

I threaded 5 repeats of the pattern so I can weave a table runner.  We used 8/4 cotton for warp, and I used the natural color.  We could use a 10 dent reed or a 12 dent, and I only had a 12 dent, so I used that. He supplied Sugar 'n Cream for the weft pattern, and we used the 8/4 cotton for tabby.  We used Sugar 'n Cream so we could easily see the pattern as we were weaving.

This is the draw down of the pattern in Star Fashion:

Because the pattern is star fashion, you can follow a diagonal line of the pattern as you're weaving.  So, you can figure out which shafts to use next based on how the threads share a shaft. We put a pin in diagonally on the weaving alongside a diagonal line of the pattern to follow.

I had a lot of trouble getting the weft beat in well enough so the pattern would be symmetrical, which means that the circles should be as circular as possible, instead of ovals.  I used my Structo 4-shaft table loom.  You can take out extra picks as you're weaving.

When I got home, I tried other yarns to get the pattern to work well.  I realized the table loom was moving too much as I was beating since it's not on a stand which should hold it more firmly in place.  So, I changed to a size 3/2 cotton for pattern weft and a 10/2 cotton for tabby.  When I beat, I have to lean against the table loom to brace it so it won't move.  I also change sheds and beat again before throwing the shuttle.  I could hold down the table loom as I beat, but then I'd have to put down the shuttle, which would be a lot slower since you're weaving with 2 shuttles.

Here's the experiment I'm happy with--3/2 cotton weft, 10/2 cotton tabby, and 8/4 cotton warp using a size 12 dent reed, 1 per dent for my table runner.

You can also weave this pattern in rose fashion.  Here's what it would look like:

Overshot Scarf (Civil War Scarf)

I finished my overshot wool scarf, and I'm very happy with it.  A weaver online called this scarf a Civil War scarf because the weaving draft by Johann Schleelein is very old, and the soldiers from the period of the Civil War would use a piece of an old worn coverlet as a scarf.

Johann Schleelein gave his son a book of his weaving drafts in 1844.  This one is Johann Schleelein 123.  I wove this on my Kessenich table loom.

 

A. Loves her Wonderful Wallaby Sweater

A. loves her Wonderful Wallaby Sweater.  I changed the design to suit her.  She likes waist shaping, narrower sleeves, and thumb holes, so I incorporated those into her sweater.  She loves purple, so I used a lilac color for her sweater.  She loves the pouch pocket.

She loves the thumb holes!  Here she is with her mom (my daughter).

My notes and changes on the pattern:

Size 12 with changes. Lengthen sleeves and body. Waist shaping, sleeve shaping, and narrower sleeves. Size 6 and 8 needles. 3” ribbing on body. Lilac color 1033, dye lot 52963. 4.5 sts./inch 6 rows/inch.
3” rib, then 3” knit straight. No stitches between decreases. Decreases each side, 2 per side on Row 1, row 6, row 12, and row 18 of this section. 16 decreases = approx 3.5” less at waist. Knit 2.5” straight so about 11.5” at this point. Increases on rows 1, 6, 12, and 18 of this next section. 2.5” straight = 16.5” to underarm.
Increase: M1R: LF needle back to front, knit through front loop. M1: LH needle front to back, knit through back loop.  Or Raised increases: Right: lift right leg of stitch below next stitch on needle from back, put on L needle and knit it regularly. Left: knit stitch, left left leg of stitch below stitch just knitted onto needle (2 stitches below). Knit through back loop. I used M1R and M1L. 2 stitches between increases.
Pouch: 2nd row after rib, mark edges of pouch. Then at marker (K1, yo) until you have the number of pouch stitches for the yarn overs. Put the yarn overs on a piece of yarn and use the yarn overs to knit the pouch. Pouch about 7 1/4” long. Fuse at 7” body so the edges won’t stretch so much. Knit 16, Fuse 34, knit 16 for pouch front. Use pouch yarn since it’s the bigger ball. Use yarn tail to reinforce pouch at corner later.
Decreases lean into body of sweater. Increases lean away from body of sweater.
Sleeves: Make more narrow and use gradual increases. 50 stitches for sleeve at full width instead of 54. German twisted cast on 40 stitches. A.wants a thumb hole, so K1, P1 for 2” (to cover part of fingers), then go back and forth to create a thumb hole for 2 1/4”. Do the thumb hole after 10 stitches for one sleeve and after 30 stitches for other sleeve so they are in the right spot.
After thumb hole, k1, p1 for 2 inches for cuff. To increase for sleeve width: Increase every 12 rows (row 12, 24, 36, etc.) 5 times for 10 stitches increased= 50 stitches total. 2 plain stitches at underarm between increases. Increases face outward, so increase row: K1, M1L, knit to last stitch, M1R, k last stitch. Increases will be finished after 10” of knitting plus 2” cuff= 12 inches at full width. Knit 4” more plain so 16” total length plus thumb hole/hand length of 4 1/4”.
Since sleeve is only 50 stitches wide, yoke will not have as many stitches as size 12. So, skip the first decrease since each round decreases 8 stitches of yoke (4 stitches each sleeve). So, knit 6 rounds then begin decrease rounds.  This will allow enough length for yoke.
Stockinette Stitch Hood--increase length, so I made the hood 11 1/2” long. Knit one half row, then kitchener together, using garter stitch kitchener at front.

Johann Schleelein's 123 Overshot Scarf

I'm beginning my Overshot Scarf pattern from the Johann Schleelein's 123 draft in Marguerite Porter Davison's book.  In my previous post, I re-drafted the pattern to add borders and to complete the petals of the design on the top, bottom, and sides of the scarf.                                              

                                            The Beginning of the Overshot Scarf

 I'm using Brown Sheep Nature Spun fingering weight yarn in natural for the warp and weft.  For the pattern, I'm using Brown Sheep sport weight in blue.  My sett is 12 epi using my 12 dent reed.  I'm using my Kessenich table loom.  I'm having to use pretty tight tension on the warp to beat more firmly for the overshot.

I'm a novice at overshot, so I'm thrilled to see the pattern emerge.  This is a lot of fun, but takes concentration!  

                                                               A Bit Further Along

Johann Schleelein's 123, Re-working the Draft

I'd like to make an overshot scarf using the draft, Johann Schleelein's 123, in "A Handweaver's Pattern Book," by Marguerite Porter Davison.   I'm re-drafting this pattern to have a complete design at the top, bottom, and sides of my scarf using Fiberworks Software for weavers.  I'll also add some borders.  It's really fun to work on drafts with the software and so much easier than by hand. 

Marguerite Porter Davison's draft shows a repeat of this draft for weaving.  This portion of the draft won't have a complete "pattern" at the edges, though, if you weave it as is.  So, if I weave this draft, the "petals" on each side will be half petals instead of complete petals.  The top and bottom petals will also be half petals, which won't be very pretty.  So, you can see from my pictures how it will be changed.

Here's the original draft in "A Handweaver's Pattern Book" by Marguerite Porter Davison.  Do you see how the "petals" on the sides aren't complete?  That half petal would be at the edge of the scarf (or table runner, dish towel, etc.)  Click on picture to enlarge it.

 Now, here's the draft showing 2 repeats of the pattern, and I have added in my threading to complete the "petals" on each side of the design.  This will be so much prettier to weave.  Do you see the difference here?

Now, let's work on the top and bottom petals and add a repeat to show how it will look when woven.  I'll add my treadling pattern to complete the "petals" on the top and bottom of the scarf.  That way we won't be starting with a half petal at each end of the scarf.  See how the petals are complete at the top and bottom now?

Now, if we want to, we can add some top and bottom borders and side borders.  You can play around with different threadings and treadlings to see what you like.  Here's the borders that I've decided to add.  I can't get the entire draft in the picture, but the borders show on most of it.

Using weaving software can really enhance your weaving projects and it's fun to experiment to see what you can weave.

Valentine's Day Shirts

I embroidered some Valentine's shirts for the sweetie pies.  The designs are from JuJu's Designs.

Latvian Flower Band

I love Latvian Flower Bands.  There's an out-of-print book called "Latviešu Jostas" (in English "Latvian Sashes, Belts and Bands") by Aleksandra Dzērvītis and Lilija Treimanis in Latvian and English where these band patterns are found.  I learned how to weave a Latvian Flower Band from a wonderful "Winter Belt WAL" (weave along) in the Knit Like a Latvian Ravelry group, which was so interesting, educational, inspirational, and so much fun.  They are really fun to weave. 

Here's the Latvian flower band I'm working on now.  It's #10 from the Latviesu Jostas book.  The yarn is size 3/2 weaving cotton from Webs.  The pattern threads are doubled.

The "flowers" are the red flowers in the center of the band and the yellow flowers with the red center alongside the center.  The center of the flower will have the same color as the weft thread that you use, which is usually the same color as the selvage threads.  So, my flowers all have red centers.  The traditional colors of Latvian bands are red, yellow, blue, and green.  Above and below the flowers are doubled threads, or heavier threads, which help decorate the band.  Here's a close-up of the flowers:

To weave a Latvian band, you pick up the doubled pattern threads, weave 2 shots of tabby, and then push down the doubled threads, and again weave 2 shots of tabby, and repeat these 6 rows.  With this band, the flowers aren't side by side--they alternate across the band.  So, for a pattern row, you pick up one set of doubled threads and also push down the other set of pattern threads, and vice versa for the other pattern thread.  

Here's a picture of the band on my Schacht inkle loom.

The shuttle on the right is from Stoorstalka.  It's very handy for picking up threads.  Next time I'll wrap my weft threads around it and use it for weaving.  The small shuttle has a really nice edge.  It's from Buckmaster Family Farms.  I got it from them at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival.

My notes: Red flower center: red, red, double yellow, red, double yellow, red, red. (red flower, red center)
Yellow flower: yellow, yellow, double blue, yellow, double blue, yellow, yellow.  (yellow flower, red center)
Another Yellow flower: yellow, yellow, double green, yellow, double green, yellow, yellow. (yellow flower, red center)