Just off the loom and time for some bubbles! Not for me!....but my handwoven blankets. Why do they need a soak? So the fibres expand and settle into the weave.  Weaving a piece doesn’t just finish when you cut it from the loom. This is how to finish your hand weaving. The blanket is wet and heavy, but I need to shake it in a gentle “fulling” process to interlock the fibres to make a sturdy and warm beautiful blanket.  There is so much which goes into the making of my handwoven blankets; from preparing some of the yarn I use from the raw fleece; “fulling” the blanket after soaking; to the final stitching and then sending on to new homes; where others stories are made with them.  For more my journeys which inspired each series of my blankets; my process; and to remind you to give the items you knit or weave a good soak; save this for future reference and come follow me.   #handwoven #handmade #fibreart #artisanmade #weavingtechnique

Time for some bubbles… Not for me!....but my handwoven blankets just off the loom need a soak.   Why?  So the fibres expand and settle into the weave.  This is how to finish your hand weaving. Weaving a piece doesn’t just finish when you cut it from the loom. The blanket is wet and heavy, but I need to shake it in a gentle “fulling” process to interlock the fibres to make a sturdy and warm beautiful blanket.  There is so much which goes into the making of my handwoven blankets; from preparing some of the yarn I use from the raw fleece; “fulling” the blanket after soaking; to the final stitching and then sending on to new homes; where others stories are made with them.  For more on my process; and my journeys which inspired each series of my blankets; save this for future reference and come follow me.   #handweaving #madebyhand #fibreartist #handwovenluxury #artisanmade

Split ends? Brittle sun-damaged tips? Do you have that problem? 🤣 I don’t. Hehehe But I can help solve your problem if you do! For those of you who have the good fortune to feel beautiful raw fleeces in your hands, sometimes the fleece just needs a bit of extra preparation before it is spun. If the fleece has matted, brittle or fragile tips, I need to remove that tender part of the staple. There are many ways to do this, but I have my preferred way. It’s simply a snip. With the weak part of the fibre removed, my yarn will be smooth and strong, to use in some of my blankets.  Losing a little of the staple length is ok, because I’m carding a rolag to spin a yarn using the long-draw technique. I’m going to show you how I do that in an upcoming post. You can save this pro-tip. To see more spinning and weaving tips; and the next steps in preparing fleece to spin; follow me!   #handweaving #woolfleece #madebyhand #rawwool #handspinning

I use very simple tools to weave my beautiful handwoven blankets.  My rigid heddle loom is just a rectangle. My shuttle is really just a flat stick with a notch at each end; and my heddle is just a single reed. I also use another flat stick to help with the shed. I also have a very simple hook to thread and sley the reed.  Colour is my ‘thing’, so I don’t require a lot of heddles or fancy pedals to create intricate patterns. For more insights into my weaving studio, the stories behind my blankets and how each blanket evolves; love you to come along and follow me.   #handmade #artisanmade #weaving #loom #handwovenluxury

Have a problem being in two places at the same time? It’s a tough one without a teleporting wand; but I can help you warp your rigid heddle loom without needing to be in two places at the same time! It seems that dumb bells are actually quite a clever solution. 🤣 Here, necessity was the mother of invention; and I’m sure I’m not the first person to have used this solution; but it was what came to mind and was at hand! Hehe. For more pro-tips on weaving, my handwoven blankets; and a bit of fun; you can save this tip for future reference and follow me. #madebyhand #handweaving #protips #handwovenluxury #artisanmade

It’s warping day. On a previous reel I explained what a warp was, and today I needed to tension warp threads to wind the warp onto the back beam.   I can’t be at both ends at the same time, so being a rather practical and creative person, I came up with a plan! Perfect solution! Doesn’t save me going to the gym though! hehe Here I’m using my fabulous Ashford Rigid Heddle 48” / 120cm loom. You can save this for future reference; and to see more pro-tips on my handwoven blankets, and have a bit of fun on the way; come along and follow me. #handweaving #madebyhand #warping #studiovibes #protip

I just stared. I haven’t used my spinning wheel for a while, and I found myself being overwhelmed with not knowing what to do. I haven’t had much time on the pedals of my beautiful relatively new Matchless @schacht_spindle_company spinning wheel, so I was a bit unsure about my setup for spinning a woollen yarn. I thought about returning my wheel to its spot in my room; but decided to crack on and have a go. I wasn’t going to dodge this challenge! As soon as I placed my @louet_australia carders in my hands. I immediately and intuitively started to card the staples of wool into beautiful airy rolags, ready to start spinning beautiful woollen yarn. I really love to spin long-draw style, which I’ll show in a future post. If you’ve enjoyed this post, and want to find out how I spin yarn and weave blankets; you can follow me. @skeinydipping #handweaving #spinningyarn #artisanmade #madebyhand #uniquegift

It’s been a year since I’ve spun my own yarn? What should I do? To find out what I did; and see how I weave my heirloom handwoven blankets, I’d love you to follow me and share with a friend. #handspinning #weavingart #handmade #artisanmade #uniquegiftideas

What to do when things break in one’s studio.  STEP 1. Have a rummage for possible solutions; and never brush any ideas aside! Hehehe  They may end up being the perfect solution. In my studio, my yarn swift broke, and I needed to fix it so that I could continue to wind the yarn skeins into balls. I DID find the solution, and I could keep on with the progress of weaving my handwoven blankets. All my content is from my day to day living creatively; and is created ALL from my own head!  If you had a giggle at my solution to my equipment malfunction - and this post, I would love you to perhaps save it for a future laugh; follow me, and forward this to a friend. #studiovibes #artisanmade #madebyhand #handweaving #giggle

Just off the loom and time for some bubbles! Not for me!....but my handwoven blankets. Why do they need a soak? So the fibres expand and settle into the weave.  Weaving a piece doesn’t just finish when you cut it from the loom. This is how to finish your hand weaving. The blanket is wet and heavy, but I need to shake it in a gentle “fulling” process to interlock the fibres to make a sturdy and warm beautiful blanket.  There is so much which goes into the making of my handwoven blankets; from preparing some of the yarn I use from the raw fleece; “fulling” the blanket after soaking; to the final stitching and then sending on to new homes; where others stories are made with them.  For more my journeys which inspired each series of my blankets; my process; and to remind you to give the items you knit or weave a good soak; save this for future reference and come follow me.   #handwoven #handmade #fibreart #artisanmade #weavingtechnique

Time for some bubbles… Not for me!....but my handwoven blankets just off the loom need a soak.   Why?  So the fibres expand and settle into the weave.  This is how to finish your hand weaving. Weaving a piece doesn’t just finish when you cut it from the loom. The blanket is wet and heavy, but I need to shake it in a gentle “fulling” process to interlock the fibres to make a sturdy and warm beautiful blanket.  There is so much which goes into the making of my handwoven blankets; from preparing some of the yarn I use from the raw fleece; “fulling” the blanket after soaking; to the final stitching and then sending on to new homes; where others stories are made with them.  For more on my process; and my journeys which inspired each series of my blankets; save this for future reference and come follow me.   #handweaving #madebyhand #fibreartist #handwovenluxury #artisanmade

Split ends? Brittle sun-damaged tips? Do you have that problem? 🤣 I don’t. Hehehe But I can help solve your problem if you do! For those of you who have the good fortune to feel beautiful raw fleeces in your hands, sometimes the fleece just needs a bit of extra preparation before it is spun. If the fleece has matted, brittle or fragile tips, I need to remove that tender part of the staple. There are many ways to do this, but I have my preferred way. It’s simply a snip. With the weak part of the fibre removed, my yarn will be smooth and strong, to use in some of my blankets.  Losing a little of the staple length is ok, because I’m carding a rolag to spin a yarn using the long-draw technique. I’m going to show you how I do that in an upcoming post. You can save this pro-tip. To see more spinning and weaving tips; and the next steps in preparing fleece to spin; follow me!   #handweaving #woolfleece #madebyhand #rawwool #handspinning

I use very simple tools to weave my beautiful handwoven blankets.  My rigid heddle loom is just a rectangle. My shuttle is really just a flat stick with a notch at each end; and my heddle is just a single reed. I also use another flat stick to help with the shed. I also have a very simple hook to thread and sley the reed.  Colour is my ‘thing’, so I don’t require a lot of heddles or fancy pedals to create intricate patterns. For more insights into my weaving studio, the stories behind my blankets and how each blanket evolves; love you to come along and follow me.   #handmade #artisanmade #weaving #loom #handwovenluxury

Have a problem being in two places at the same time? It’s a tough one without a teleporting wand; but I can help you warp your rigid heddle loom without needing to be in two places at the same time! It seems that dumb bells are actually quite a clever solution. 🤣 Here, necessity was the mother of invention; and I’m sure I’m not the first person to have used this solution; but it was what came to mind and was at hand! Hehe. For more pro-tips on weaving, my handwoven blankets; and a bit of fun; you can save this tip for future reference and follow me. #madebyhand #handweaving #protips #handwovenluxury #artisanmade

It’s warping day. On a previous reel I explained what a warp was, and today I needed to tension warp threads to wind the warp onto the back beam.   I can’t be at both ends at the same time, so being a rather practical and creative person, I came up with a plan! Perfect solution! Doesn’t save me going to the gym though! hehe Here I’m using my fabulous Ashford Rigid Heddle 48” / 120cm loom. You can save this for future reference; and to see more pro-tips on my handwoven blankets, and have a bit of fun on the way; come along and follow me. #handweaving #madebyhand #warping #studiovibes #protip

I just stared. I haven’t used my spinning wheel for a while, and I found myself being overwhelmed with not knowing what to do. I haven’t had much time on the pedals of my beautiful relatively new Matchless @schacht_spindle_company spinning wheel, so I was a bit unsure about my setup for spinning a woollen yarn. I thought about returning my wheel to its spot in my room; but decided to crack on and have a go. I wasn’t going to dodge this challenge! As soon as I placed my @louet_australia carders in my hands. I immediately and intuitively started to card the staples of wool into beautiful airy rolags, ready to start spinning beautiful woollen yarn. I really love to spin long-draw style, which I’ll show in a future post. If you’ve enjoyed this post, and want to find out how I spin yarn and weave blankets; you can follow me. @skeinydipping #handweaving #spinningyarn #artisanmade #madebyhand #uniquegift

It’s been a year since I’ve spun my own yarn? What should I do? To find out what I did; and see how I weave my heirloom handwoven blankets, I’d love you to follow me and share with a friend. #handspinning #weavingart #handmade #artisanmade #uniquegiftideas

What to do when things break in one’s studio.  STEP 1. Have a rummage for possible solutions; and never brush any ideas aside! Hehehe  They may end up being the perfect solution. In my studio, my yarn swift broke, and I needed to fix it so that I could continue to wind the yarn skeins into balls. I DID find the solution, and I could keep on with the progress of weaving my handwoven blankets. All my content is from my day to day living creatively; and is created ALL from my own head!  If you had a giggle at my solution to my equipment malfunction - and this post, I would love you to perhaps save it for a future laugh; follow me, and forward this to a friend. #studiovibes #artisanmade #madebyhand #handweaving #giggle