So I decided I needed a super soft blanket for myself like I made for my sweet girl. I know many people with smaller looms make double length blankets and then cut in 1/2 and sew the 2 panels together to make the correct width. The only problem with this is....for an adult sized blanket...that is a horrendously long warp.
Rigid heddle looms are fantastic, but not really if yardage is what you're after. Tension is a nightmare and you're limited by the front beam with any large projects. So I decided I would try to spend as little money as possible, find sale yarn just in case this whole notion goes to pot.
I found some bulk skiens of a soild black acrylic on sale at Micheals. I bought 2 of the 1 lb skeins. I knew if I ever had hopes of actually finishing this project I wanted to use a chunky yarn for the weft to keep it moving along. I found a pretty, oh so soft, twisty, chunky, I don't know how else to decribe it chenille that was on sale 2 for $6. Excellent.
So I got home and did my math. Yes I realize that was poor planning on my part, math should be done prior to shopping, but well...eh I have no real excuse. From my measurements, including waste I was going to need a 214in warp. Holy crap. That's nearly 6 yards. As panic of how big this actually was going to be sank in, I figured....I might as well give this a go. Who knows, if it turns out halfway decent maybe it will inspire others....and plus I had an evening with the kids out to eat with Nana and Pops so if there was ever a time to sprawl out 6 yards of yard x 240 ends I guess this was it.
So I fashioned up a poor girls warping board (aka my dining room table with my 6 chairs turned up side down on top) and got to work.
It moved pretty quickly since I was just using a solid color warp.
The came the fun...or something. Winding this beast on...I had my husbands help, but really needed like 2 more people, really. We kept tension the best we could and got it all on...first big step...completed.
Despite some tension issues on the right hand side (being remmidied with extra cardboard strips when needed) weaving has been going really smoothly. Tonight I think I am close to the halfway mark (I need to make a note to mark the middle next time...well if there is a next time). I am excited to see how this project progresses. Here are a few pics so far.
This picture was from a couple of days ago of the front beam...so obviously I wasn't half way here.
Stay tuned!
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