Tablet Weaving

Tablet weaving (often known as card weaving in the United States) is where cards are used to create patterned bands of woven fabric. This technique is limited to narrow work such as belts, straps or trim for garments.

Examples have been found in Germany and France that suggest this technique goes at least as far back as the early Iron age and are presumed to have been well used by the Vikings.

Tablets have long been made from materials such as bark, wood, bone, horn, leather and metal whereas modern cards are frequently made from card or plastics. I crafted the two tablets above from buffalo horn and Ipe (a Brazilian ironwood) choosing to try out a simple square disc with just four holes before having a bash at anything more advanced. Tablets are typically a regular polygon (a shape with all angles equal and side lengths also equal) with holes in each corner and sometimes the centre too.

 I found tablet weaving to be far more complex and involved than weaving with a simple rigid heddle and decided to stick with a very simple three colour pattern. Designing a pattern and correctly warping the discs takes some research and concentration and I'd best not confuse anyone with any attempts to explain the procedure. I managed to find plenty of helpful online articles and blogs from which I was able to pick up the basics to get me started.

 As you can see from the above image, it is possible to create decorative patterns as opposed to the simple plain weave of a rigid heddle. The compact loom frame used for this weaving is a recent prototype that I made for the mini rigid heddles that we produce. Both the frame and tablets will be available from spring 2014.

To view my blog entry covering the frame and rigid heddle, please follow the link below.

http://sorazora.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/loom-frame-for-mini-rigid-heddle.html

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Loom Frame For A Mini Rigid Heddle

Although I have enjoyed strap weaving with a mini rigid heddle, until now all of my straps became much narrower than the heddle as all the warp threads were staked to a single point at each end.

The concept of incorporating a beam on which to load the warp and another beam to hold the woven fabric is not new and basic horizontal looms have been in use since at least the later medieval period. One clear advantage to beam looms is that the warp threads can be kept evenly spaced out during the weave, this will help weave as wide a fabric as the heddle allows. Having all the warp loaded also requires less work space.

The mini loom frame above has been designed to work comfortably with our mini rigid heddles. I cut the two side frames from two old larch panels that still had a little life left in them. Larch is very much valued for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities. Attached to the pine dowel beams are lengths of willow, these are for the warp threads to tie to. The beams have 8mm threaded rods inserted at each end. Wingnuts are used to hold the frame together and also to lock the beams firmly whilst weaving.

A two ply cotton thread is shown for the warp and a mix of hemp, hemp-cotton and hemp-wool for the weft. All colours are traditional naturals dyes. The frame works well for weaving with a rigid heddle and I'll report at a later date how the frame will fair for tablet weaving.

 As this frame has been specifically designed for use with our mini rigid heddle, it was important to make this device as compact as possible whilst maintaining ease of use. The frame can be taken down in seconds making it ideal for easy transportation. Measuring 30cm x 19cm x 10cm, it isn't really that difficult to carry around whilst set up with a loaded beam.

This prototype will be produced and available through our website during spring 2014.

Please follow the link below to view the blog entry regarding use of this frame for my first attempt at tablet weaving:
http://sorazora.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/tablet-weaving.html

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Weaving Waxed Hemp On A Rigid Heddle

Having acquired a simple heddle loom frame back in the summer, it was about time I cleaned it up and got it back to work. The heddle that came with it was the width of the frame, but sadly too finer a heddle to be able to cope with an uneven handspun hemp twine. Our mini rigid heddles are more than up for the task so I took full advantages of using the frame as opposed to staking out all the warp threads to a single point at each end.

 The benefit to this frame is being able to warp up the beam with a few metres at a time whilst still keeping everything compact and easy to work with. Another major difference is the ability to have all the warp threads run parallel and true to the holes and slots of the heddle, this creates wider fabric compared to having all your warp threads heading to a single immovable stake. We are thinking to develop a similar frame on a slightly smaller scale that wood suit our mini rigid heddle, but that remains to be seen as yet!

 One of the difficulties I find with weaving handspun hemp or nettle fibre is that the naturally uneven twine can easily get worn in places leading to rather inconvenient repair missions. Through making waxed cordage for pendants, I noticed that a handspun twine becomes easier to work with if given a quick floss through a block of beeswax. It removes the twine's tendency to twist up on itself and is also more forgiving if you need to undo any knots (something I greatly appreciate if working with macrame).

 Each of the handspun hemp twines in the image above are all organic wild Himalayan hemp which has been harvested, retted and then handspun in the remote villages of the Himalayan foothills very much in the same way as it has been done for centuries.
The dying we organise ourselves and use only traditional natural dyestuffs and mordants. Weaving with wax coated hemp twine was a first for me and I was keen to know if the resulting fabric could bring any new craft applications.

 The beam on the loom frame was loaded with just over two metres of twine and with each warp thread doubled for added strength. Each of these twines had to be pulled through the wax one or two times to give them a smoother, tighter appearance. I must admit that it is an added effort, especially as all the weft threads would go through the same treatment. As I planned to use as many natural dye colours that I could get my hands on, it worked out a lot easier to load up several shuttles with different colours and always having the selection to hand.

The resulting weave was still fairly loose even after using a beater so I took advantage of another benefit to waxed thread. Due to both warp and weft threads all being waxed, they can slide over each other with relative ease. This fact allowed me to slide all the weft threads by hand to compact them. This action also adds another element of effort, but the extremely tight weave in combination with the beeswax coating makes for a fabric far more resistant to water and abrasive wear and tear.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Hand Carved Craft Tools

As much as I love working with bone and horn, I have enjoyed carving various hardwoods into craft tools.

Below is a selection of tools used for needle binding, braiding or weaving. All have been carved from either boxwood, ironwood, ash or bamboo.

 The image below shows four slightly different styles of weaving shuttle. The weft thread is wound onto the shuttle to be passed through the shed in the warp threads. These styles are based on shuttle designs that have been in existence for many centuries. Unlike other shuttles that I have made, these are slightly more user friendly as the shuttle doesn't unwind so much if dropped (and I tend to drop things regularly!). Two of the shuttles have a flat bladed edge along one side, this is so the shuttle can also act as a simple beating stick to tighten as you weave.

 The selection of needles below have been carved from either ironwood, ash or bamboo. They can be used for many different applications involving a thick yarn or twine. This style of needle is commonly used in needle binding.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

How to use your mini rigid heddle

Our carved buffalo horn mini rigid heddle is one of this year's additions to our selection of craft tools. Unlike crochet hooks, knitting spools and lucets, the heddle is not so easy to demonstrate for our customers at festivals, nor is it easy to explain in words for online customers. We believe we have the solution.

We have uploaded a three minute video to youtube which gives you the basic information needed to get you started. Click on the following link to be taken to the video tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcW-VLjjAPY

The video can also be found on the Sorazora product page for our rigid heddle. We plan on making a couple more basic 'how to' videos for our knitting spool and lucet.

To visit the mini rigid heddle's product page, please click on the following link:

https://sorazora.com/product/mini-rigid-heddle/

The images above and below are just to give you a basic idea of how the heddle should look after the warp threads have been set up and also a closer look at the plain weave created. These two images show the heddle being used with natural dyed cotton twine, also available from our materials collection.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Sorazora's Mini Rigid Heddle

Coming Soon To Sorazora

The rigid heddle dates back to ancient times in many parts of the world and is also a part of a backstrap loom that has seen centuries of use and still used today. A mini rigid heddle would be used to weave narrow bands for either straps or decoration on clothing.

All that are needed to start weaving are the heddle, weft stick and twine. Printed instructions included with the tool will explain how to thread your warp through the heddle and load the weft stick. This simple, yet effective device helps separate alternate threads enabling you to weave effortlessly between them.

Sorazora's Mini Rigid Heddle is one of our latest editions to our range of craft materials and tool and comes with a clear explanation printed on hemp paper. The heddle and weft stick have been carved from buffalo horn and polished. The 55% hemp & 45% cotton pouch has been dyed using indigo with myrobalan and we added a soapnut seed to the hemp twine closure.

Our 2012 collection will be with us by the end of March. We'll send out a newsletter to let you know when our new range of products will be available online. For a newsletter, simply request your email address to be added to our mailing list by contacting us at info@sorazora.com

Other great craft tools to arrive will be:

Knitting Spool
Crochet Hooks

Lucet

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Weaving & Braiding

One range of objects that I am always delighted to make are tools that produce something which will become part of a finished item. Below are a few of these tools, starting with three variations of rigid heddle that I use to produce straps for bags, pouches or decorative detail on garments.

The two objects below are the most recent to roll off my work bench. The slotted disc in the background is a version of a kumihimo disc carved from a slice of pine. Kumihimo is a Japanese form of braid-making where a number of threads or cords are interwoven to create thicker ornate  cords. The four pegged disc in the foreground is for spool knitting (sometimes called French knitting) This I carved from a slice of boxwood and used just a simple pointed piece of bamboo for the hook. This is a very traditional way to teach the basics of knitting. With just four pegs, this produces a knitted cord from a single yarn.

The photo below shows two lucets. The smaller one I carved from boxwood and the larger from ironwood. These two prong tools are very similar in use to the knitting spool above. With just two prongs, it produces a thinner cord. Lucets, like rigid heddles, have a very long history and would have possibly been in use during the time of the vikings and in many parts of the world.

The following images are just a closer look at the rigid heddles I made for the construction of simple woven straps. The smallest is made up of individually carved bamboo slats that have been bound together with hemp twine, This was my first attempt at a rigid heddle. With a very small number of slots and holes, it is only possible to create rather thin straps on this one.

A beautiful slice of boxwood enabled me to create a slightly larger heddle with the ability to take more warp threads, therefore create broader straps.

The most recent and also the largest I have made is this heddle pictured below. Its frame has been carved from a single slice of soft pine with small bamboo rods used to create the holes and slots. The holes are quite small, which limits the range of yarns I can use on this heddle.

To give you an idea of the straps made so far, the image below  shows three made on the boxwood heddle and one on the larger pine heddle. All of the weaving done to date tends to emphasize the warp threads. That is to say that the threads visible on the finished strap tend to be those of the warp, leaving the weft threads mostly hidden.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Mini Rigid Heddle

Something I wish to share with you all is a small and simple rigid heddle that I recently made. It is extremely portable and easy to use, especially when you wish to weave a band of just one or two metres. This sturdy little heddle has been carved from a slice of boxwood and given a couple of coats of hemp seed oil. I have to thank sculptor and good friend Ben for sending me several slices of this wood, which is really easy to work with, but has a fine grain and nice strength. Ben works with many mediums other than wood to produce his pieces of fine sculpture. To view his work please check out his website!

This style of rigid heddle dates back to at least the viking period when it was used for weaving narrow bands for straps and decorations on clothing. It saves time by allowing the weft threads to pass quickly through without manually weaving in and out of each warp thread. I figured such a simple idea with a deep history couldn't be too difficult to use and I was pleasantly surprised by my first result with this heddle.

In rigid heddle looms, the warp threads pass alternately through the heddle's slots and holes. When raising the heddle, half of the threads will raise (those passing through the holes), and lowering the heddle will lower the same threads. The threads passing through the heddle's slots will always remain in the same place.

You have to have your warp threads secured firmly before starting to weave. Tension is of great importance and the same tension must be applied to each of the warp threads running through the heddle. The easiest thing to do is to tie both ends of the warp threads to stakes, you could just as easily use any firm fixing to tie to. My heddle can take a maximum of 17 warp threads. For the trial (pictured above!), the warp consists of 15 threads of Wild Himalayan Nettle with a thread of Belgian Flax at either side. The weft is Hemp.

The image below shows the simple weave. You can easily see that the weft alternates over and under the warp threads. The heddle makes the passing of the weft much quicker and easier.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

The Nettle In Nepal "Allo"

In the mountains of Nepal, Nettle has been used for centuries because of its strength and durability. it is indigenous and regenerates quickly after harvesting. it grows like a weed and requires no irrigation, pesticides or mechanical processing. It is one of the best green fibres with an enviable environmental profile. Known locally as "Allo", Himalayan Giant Nettle occurs naturally as a forest undergrowth and on land unsuitable for farming between the altitudes of 1500m to 3000m.
The bark is stripped, which can be later used for basket weaving. The inner fibres are boiled and simmered overnight in a solution of water and wood ash before being beaten and rubbed in soil to help separation. After the fibres have been dried in the sun, they are spun on a hand spindle. This spinning process is time consuming and may take one person one day to produce 100 grammes of nettle yarn.


A great number of Nepal's population live in the hill areas and self sufficiency is usually a necessity. Nettle is a valuable raw material that provides a source of food, medicine, fodder and most importantly fibre. With farms unable to provide food all year round, nettle fibre provides the necessary income to ensure there is food on the table all through the year. One village that is well known as a nettle fibre producing area is Sankhuwasava which lies about 60km South-East of Mt. Everest. Sankhuwasava is an area that interests us greatly and provides some of our products, for example our 100% nettle shawl. Sankhuwasava is the subject of a very informative book written by Susi Dunsmore, titled "The Nettle In Nepal" it provides details of all aspects of harvesting , production and the farmer's lifestyle. This book comes highly recommended to those with an interest in nettle or traditional textile crafts. Through the promotion of Himalayan Giant Nettle we believe nettle can become a valuable commodity for the villagers and an international demand for this fibre would guarantee a stable income. This income would be vital for ensuring the continuation of traditional skills and improve access to some of life's basic needs, ie. healthcare and education.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs. sorazora.com

Thread Dyeing Advantages

This year saw Sorazora's introduction to thread dyeing. Previously we had been fabric dyeing with natural dyes, which lead to a small percentage of damaged material due to uneven colouring. Thread dyeing significantly reduces this kind of damage and produces a more even shade throughout the fabric after hand weaving. One other advantage is the effect gained through weaving different coloured threads within a single fabric. Our hemp cotton shawls, pictured below, illustrate the beauty of the various dyestuffs used.

sorazora.com

Textile Production

This year will see a slight change in our fabric production as we have chosen to natural dye the thread before being handwoven into fabric. This process takes a little more time than dyeing the finished fabric, but will provide a more even and fast colour.

The weather here in Kathmandu is fine and sunny with daytime temperatures reaching 23 degrees C, but with nighttime lows of 1 degree C.
Load shedding gives the city 9 hours a day without electricity and this is likely to increase to a possible 16 hours a day without power. Choosing to use handwoven fabric is a wise choice as only electrical lighting is effected by the power cuts. This problem can easily be overcome by the use of battery power. Tailoring factories have to rely on diesel generators to run their machines.

I will upload further news as we make continue to make progress with this year's production and look forward opening our online store for retail on the 8th March.

sorazora.com