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Sunday, May 28, 2017

A Good Trick from My Upcoming Book

When my friend, Karma, asked me if I used this trick, I was blown away by it's cleverness and wondered why I hadn't thought of it myself. I thought everyone should know, so I'm sharing. It's one of the tips which will be included in the inkle design book I'm working on. 


By using a comb with long, straight teeth, you can preview a design without even having to set up a loom. Simply weave under and over the teeth in the comb. Even numbered teeth will represent one shed, and odd numbered teeth, the other. 

After weaving the preview on the comb at left, I decided to omit the motif in the center. 
The actual woven strap is shown at right. 


In this photo, with the woven comb laid on top of the woven strap, you can see how well the woven comb mimics the woven strap design.


The spacing on this comb is a bit wider, so the pattern is stretched out a bit from what the actual woven design is. 


I searched for the perfect comb with long and strong teeth. The comb used here is actually a vintage angelfood cake cutter. It's a little bit bigger than needed. 


My search finally led me to this hair pick.

EDIT: The book was published in 2019 and is now available in paper or PDF from Taproot Video here: 

15 comments:

  1. This is so smart I can hardly stand it! Really enjoy your blog, one of the first things I came upon when beginning to inkle (not so long ago), and have learned a lot from you.

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  2. Great idea! Thanks for sharing ,this is so simple and perfect !

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  3. A person truly dedicated to samples could use a threaded tapestry needle to pick up the cross-weave from the tines and then lift it off the comb – a mini tapestry on the go!

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    1. A couple of East Asian Youatubere have tutorials that involve the technique you describe. They turn the wewvings into flowers for embroidery and dometimes use forks.

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  4. Love your work, love your site, can't wait to buy your new book!

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    1. Thanks! It's taking longer than I hoped, but please stay tuned!

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  5. When's your book coming out? You are fabulous!

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    1. Thanks! I've been having a hard time finishing up some of the details. It's taking longer than I expected, so please stay tuned!

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  6. Annie: That is genius! I'll have to use it to warp the loom for Las Aranas for outreach...

    Maura

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    1. Great! A super simple way to sample! Glad you found it useful!

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  7. I am new to this...do you have full directions somewhere for this project? Is this something you could do with teens or preteens?

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    1. Loretta, this is not a project per se. I'm showing the comb as a way to preview a pattern which you would then weave on an inkle loom. Inkle looms are great for kids. I've had them as young as 3 weaving with me!

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  8. i have a few cake "combs" and using them for a sample pattern still works..just bigger. But it is the same idea. Gotta love crafter's minds. we all think out of the box sometimes.

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  9. I have that Afro pic! I use it as a tapestry beater. I think weaving in Africa colors and maybe gluing it to the comb would be a great gift for someone from Africa, of African descent, or just a lover of Africa. I like to preview peg loom or stick weaving designs on it.

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