Finished Variegated Shawl

 

Here it is, all finished and ready to go.

I'm about to swing into my annual prayer shawl/lap robe marathon which should end on the Sunday nearest Valentine's Day. I turn in as many as I can finish to my church and they give them to our local hospice. Sadly for this project, I'm a much faster crocheter than weaver and I want to make as many shawls and lap robes as possible.

I'm not abandoning my weaving blog. My wrist and elbow will start complaining at some point and I will switch mediums to give my joints a break. After all, we still have to work on diamonds, textures, and plaids.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi Linz

Only Variegated - Part 2

I'm close to finished with the variegated prayer shawl. This is maybe the easiest kind of patterning you can do. The colors create the design.

You can do a completely random color arrangement if you want to, but I have one trick that organizes the colors just a little.

I like to start in the middle with variegated yarn. Then I cut a number of strands. You'll notice that one side of the yarn is mostly greens and turquoises. The other side is mostly purples and blues. I weave the strand on whichever side the end most closely matches.

The colors on the strands don't match exactly along the way, but you end up with pools of color that blend into each other. To me, that makes a more pleasant design.

That's my only hint for working with variegated yarn.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Nothing But Variegated

 

Here's where I am in a prayer shawl using nothing but variegated yarn. The visible mesh is going to be one big chevron - ascending on the left side and descending on the right side.

I'll post it again when I get to the end of this project.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi Linz

Woven Granny Squares Complete

 

Finished!  And it doesn't look as washed out in person as it does in this photo.

 

 



 

 

I was hoping to use up some of my odd bits of yarn, but I hardly touched my stash for this project. The good thing about mesh weaving is that it takes a good deal less yarn than other types of yarn crafts. Or maybe it's the bad thing since I have S.A.B.L.E. - Stash Above and Beyond Life Expectancy.

 

I want to do a prayer shawl completely in variegated yarn to show you how that comes out. I also have a certain color of yarn coming in the mail so I can work up a baby blanket for a friend's great-granddaughter soon to be arriving.

 

But I also have something challenging to figure out. I was looking at bargello yesterday. I like the pomegranate pattern.

 

   

 

However, I don't know how it would translate to mesh weaving.  Look at the canvas you would ordinarily use to do a bargello pattern. The lines cross each other forming perfect squares.

 

 



Mesh has rows where the holes are offset.

My best guess for reconstructing bargello on utility mesh would be that you'd need to use a shorter yarn needle and work through the middle of some of the "slubs" - the woven stuff between the holes.

If I were to use a bargello-type pattern on utility mesh, I think I would do a couple of rows of the bargello pattern as an accent row separated by plain weaving.

I'll think about it while I first do the other projects I mentioned.  Hmmm...

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz
 

Joining Two Pieces of Mesh

Let's say that you've done a few projects and you have some end pieces left over. You don't want to throw them away, but they just aren't big enough to do you much good.

Well, you can make placemats, coasters, or something smaller.

Or you can join two or more pieces to make a larger canvas.

Overlap the edges. You don't have to trim them if you don't want to, but make sure that you start with the narrow part and work to the part with the larger overlap. Be careful to match the holes in the rows. Edges sometimes get stretched out and you can easily miss your row.

You may want to plan to work a side-to-side pattern for this or else baste the overlap and remove it some at a time as you work over that section.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz


 

How Many Rows?

Back in the day, a couple of companies used to have specific patterns for exactly how many rows to do of each color and how long each strand of yarn should be cut. The way they could effectively do that was because they sold everything as a kit with a given length of mesh and a specific amount of yarn.

I can't tell you everything about working your pattern because I'm not selling you a kit. You get to choose how large a piece you want to make. You get to choose the color, the length of fringe, and how you want to make the best use of the information I'm sharing with you.

Some people will be frustrated not having a specific pattern. I hope you can make something you enjoy from your own imagination. If you give it a shot and you don't like some part of it, it's pretty easy to pull out that section and redo it a different way.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Progress on Squares

These beautiful days have called me outdoors, but I am making progress on the squares blanket.

It's hard to get the tension just right on this pattern. I am having fun with it. I like working on any square I choose. I like only having to do a little weaving to see a whole section filled.

I can't cut a piece of yarn long enough to fill a whole square. It takes more than one piece of yarn to complete one color. If I work one direction with the first piece and in another direction with the next piece of yarn, the visible mesh starts to look like an optical illusion. If I make sure all of the yarn works in a continuous pattern, a corner-to-corner diagonal pattern shows up. You can play with this one to see how interesting you want to make it or to make everything come out even.

I'll post more as I get farther along.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz
 

Working on the Granny Squares

Once I worked the dark green borders, I started filling in the squares.

I cut a long piece of yarn and kept going around in a spiral.

This is the way to weave in a yarn end.

Run the yarn under a few strands and then turn it around and run it in another direction to lock it in place.

 

 



Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz
 

Squares - The Math

I'm an inveterate crocheter turned weaver, so you'll have to forgive me if I turn some of my favorite crochet patterns into weaving.

This is going to be my rendition of a woven granny square lap robe.

The math got all weird when I had to factor in the difference in the width of the rows up and down as opposed to across. The up and down rows are a bit narrower than the ones going across. That means you can't count the same number of rows in both directions if you want to make a square.

I made my up and down borders 7 rows wide. When I started going across, I realized that 7 rows would be out of proportion with the up and down rows. It turned out that the right numbers would be 7 rows worked up and down and 5 rows worked across.

That meant I also had to refigure the numbers inside of the squares. I started with a plan for 7x5 squares in the lap robe - with 46 rows in each square in each direction. I got out a ruler and counted both ways. Now my numbers are 46 by 39.  So the number of squares actually increased by a whole row of 7. Now I'll be working 42 squares instead of 35.

I don't know if you want to call this one a "plaid" but the pattern does cross itself.

I was hoping that all of the visible mesh would be covered once I went in both directions. It doesn't seem to happen that way. When I next work a plaid, I will have to take that into account.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Patterns for the Length of the Mesh

Here are some of the basic patterns for weaving the length of the mesh.

These four are made by choosing to weaving up or down in the first hole of the row and then weaving up and down in each hole of the row going up.

I will be writing these patterns working from right to left.

 

 

The red downward diagonal (working from right to left) is made like this:

 

Work down in the first hole of the first row.

Work up in the first hole of the second row.

Work up in the first hole of the third row.

Work down in the first hole of the fourth row.

Work down in the first hole of the fifth row.

 

Repeat 2 ups and 2 downs to form the pattern.

 

The green chevron (working from right to left) is made like this:

 



Work down in the first hole of the first row.

Work down in the first hole of the second row.

Work up in the first hole of the third row.

Work up in the first hole of the fourth row.

Work up in the first hole of the fifth row.

Work down in the first hole of the sixth row.

Work down in the first hole of the seventh row.

Work down in the first hole of the eighth row.

Work up in the first hole of the ninth row.

Work up in the first hole of the tenth row.

Work up in the first hole of the eleventh row.

Work down in the first hole of the twelfth row.

 

Alternate 3 ups and 3 downs to form the pattern.

 

 

 

The red upward diagonal  (working from right to left) is made like this:

 



Work down in the first hole of the first row.

Work down in the first hole of the second row.

Work up in the first hole of the third row.

Work up in the first hole of the fourth row.

Work down in the first hole of the fifth row.

Work down in the first hole of the sixth row.

 

Repeat 2 downs and 2 ups to form this pattern.

 

The blue zig-zag (working from either direction) is made like this:

 

Go down in the first hole of every row.

 

These are the basics. There are a few special patterns that we can play with, but most of the old patterns and probably the ones you are likely to use the most will have one or a combination of these basics.

 

Thanks for visiting with me.

 

Kathi Linz

Patterns Side-to-Side

Weaving side-to-side on the mesh.

These two ways to weave make a stacked brick pattern:

Blue - Go down in first hole of each row.
Red - Go down in the first hole of the first row.
          Go up in the first hole of the next row. Alternate.
It makes no difference in the pattern which one you choose for this pattern.

Close up of stacked bricks - start of rows

Diagonal weaving
Go down in the first hole of each row. Turn the corner at any point you choose, but make sure that the following rows turn the corner at the same point.

My next post will show some weaving patterns using the up-and-down rows.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Other Weavers!

I've had a few people ask me for the patterns that I had from old kits. I've emailed them the patterns and recently sent out an email to the same people with news about my mesh weaving blog.

One lovely lady from North Carolina sent me photos of some of the pieces that were finished by their prayer shawl group.

Check out these lovely pieces done by the "Wrapped in Love" Prayer Shawl Ministry of Independence Hill Baptist Church of Huntersville, North Carolina.

My thanks to Dora and her prayer shawl group for allowing me to post these pictures of their gorgeous work.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone who loves to do mesh weaving. Some of you are much better at it than I am. lol

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Half Plaid

I finished fixing and weaving the plaid base. I used a traditional overhand knot for the fringe and trimmed it fairly short - at least my idea of short. If perhaps a hospice care person is in a wheel chair, I would want the fringe short enough not to easily get in the wheels.

 

 

I wove this lap robe from side to side across the mesh. For every row, I started by going down into the first hole.

 

 

If  you look at the dark rows of the pattern, you will see that the visible mesh makes a small zigzag - almost a straight line across the weave. It's possible to make chevrons going either up and down the mesh or across. In the next couple of days, I'll make some small samples to give you exact directions for ways to show off the visible mesh.

 

Thanks for visiting with me,

 

Kathi Linz



 

The Unplaid

The ugly cross weaving came out fairly easily. I rewove some of the strands so that the pattern flows evenly. I think it will work better this way than me trying to weave a complicated plaid pattern without the ability to back it up.

Like I said, I'm not giving up on cross-weaving. I'm going to work up to it a little more gradually.

I'm hoping that my next post will feature a group of ladies that knit, crochet and weave for a prayer shawl ministry. They've made some really beautiful shawls that I'd like to share with you.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Gift Quality?

Some people believe that when they start a book, they have to finish reading it. Some people think the same thing about any project they start.

I want to give this plaid lap robe to hospice. Tell me if you think this is good enough to offer to someone who is suffering.

To me, it looks sloppy. Obviously, there is something about the process of weaving plaid that I have not yet mastered. I will eventually try again with a simpler pattern.

I want to make my time and your time worth while. If I can cut out the up and down part of the pattern, I will fill in the across weaving with white and offer that to hospice.
Even that will be a challenge.

What I wanted to show you at the end of this project is how to weave in the ends of the yarn on the sides where you don't want fringe. I guess that will be happening at another time.

I apologize for this glitch. But if you can see that I'm not perfect and that I don't have this whole thing securely under my belt, you will feel more ready to jump in too, knowing that we can grow into this together.

If I can remove the 44 up and down rows that I've put in, I'll show you the final project. If I wreck the whole thing trying to save part of the work - well, we'll be starting on something new over the weekend.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Starting the Plaid

I finished working the pattern going across.

 

 

 

I started in the middle again as I'm working the up and down part of the pattern.

 

While I understood the theory of the design, this is the first time that I'm actually working a plaid pattern.

 

 

 

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. The next time I work a plaid, I will choose a simpler pattern.
2. When I work only on the mesh, I might scrunch up to a foot of mesh on the needle before I pull the yarn through. Crossing over yarn is another story. Work in short sections and tug each section before you go on.
3. You WILL weave through other strands of yarn. Don't plan on pulling out the mistakes easily like working on open mesh.
4. You have to decide if you want to weave over or under the across strands. Whichever one you decide to do will determine how much of the color shows.
5. Sometimes it's hard to find the holes under the other yarn.
6. If you are a perfectionist, try a simpler plaid or stick with single direction weaving.
7. The mesh will pucker more than it does when worked in one direction.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

You might have noticed that I added a donation button to the blog. If you will help me keep up with supplies, I will keep posting here for all to see.

Thanks in advance.
 

Gone to Plaid

Sorry, I couldn't help using the line from "Spaceballs".

Anyway, I worked up the first part of the pattern.

If I wanted to be really picky, I would move the two outside reds in one space. Then it would be perfectly balanced.

You'll notice that I did all of the colors except the white. When you weave a plaid pattern, you choose the main color and only work it going up and down - not across.  The other colors have to be worked across as well as up and down to get the solid color blocks and the two-color blocks. If that isn't completely clear, you'll see a little better as we go.

I chose white for the main color even though the original photo showed green. The best main colors for mesh weaving plaid are white, off-white, and tan so that the visible mesh doesn't complicate the look of the pattern.

Today, I'm going to finish the pattern going across. I'll try to get that posted tonight or tomorrow, and then we'll start weaving the pattern including the white.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

My Plaid Pattern - Sort Of

I'm planning to make this plaid except I will substitute white for the green.

1 dk blue
2 white
1 dk blue
2 white
5 dk blue
5 med blue
1 red
5 med blue
5 dk blue
2 white
1 dk blue
2 white
1 dk blue
11 white
2 red
1 white
1 red
1 white
1 red
1 white
2 red
11 white
Repeat


I'm making a good guess as to the width of each stripe basing 1 width by the single blue and red stripes.

I'm working on a lap robe which I plan to eventually donate to hospice.

I've already trimmed, basted the hems, and counted to the middle both ways. I'm going to work from the middle out so that the pattern will balance.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Plaid Patterns

Put "plaid" into your favorite search engine and choose "Images".  Pick a pattern you like and favorite it or print it out in color.



That's our next project.

We can make any plaid we choose (I'm not sure about the diagonal ones - yet) with mesh weaving.

I'll show you how starting tomorrow. Today I have to work.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Finished Lilac Stripe Afghan

This is the underside of a hemmed edge. Weaving through both layers covers the hem.
I've been tugging on the mesh to keep the tension of the yarn from puckering the mesh. When I worked the hem edge, I had to leave a little puckering to keep the mesh from rippling on the edge.

 

 

And the finished product, trimmed and ready to use.

 

I have several projects in mind. I may have to draw ideas out of a hat to figure out what I'm doing next. You'll hear from me soon.

 

Thanks for visiting with me,

 

Kathi Linz

Adjusting the Edge - Part 2

When I finished the last stripe, I needed to deal with the extra rows at the edge of the afghan.

I trimmed off the extra rows - MAKING SURE TO LEAVE ENOUGH FOR A HEM!
Don't trim it to the last row that you are going to weave. Leave enough to turn under. Five or six rows are good for a hem.

 

 

The last step is to loosely baste the hem under. Then you can finish weaving your work. Knot the fringe and trim it. And you have completed a beautiful piece of yarn art.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz
 

Adjusting the End

Even though I counted the mesh at least three times, I've obviously miscalculated somewhere along the line. There should only be five rows left on the outer edge after I finish the last two purple rows.

I am not panicking. I am not going back to shuffle the number of rows in any given color. This is an easy fix. I'll be back in a couple of hours to show you what I do about it.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz