Greetings Aurifil family! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator I’m excited for UK-based Aurifilosopher and Aurifil Designer Jo Avery of The Stitch Gathering to host the February 2024 Thread Matters. Jo is one of those amazing designers whose fresh, bright creations keep you coming back for more. Besides being a treasured Aurifil Designer, Jo is a pattern designer, an educator, a retreat host and an author. Jo is a creative unicorn that shines regardless of the technique, design, thread or fabric that she adopts. Huge thanks to Jo for sharing her love of Aurifil Wool 12wt with us today.
Is your shop, group or guild looking for insightful, inspiring and educational information on thread? Consider booking a virtual or in-person program with one of our skilled Aurifilosophers. Learn more about Aurifilosophy and find your favorite Aurifilosopher here.
Happy Stitching!
Karen L. Miller ~ Redbird Quilt Co.
I’m always looking for new ways of using my favourite Aurifil thread, Wool 12wt. It’s incredibly versatile and to-date I’ve used it for hand quilting, machine quilting and embroidery. I even wrote a whole book about embroidering with it called Modern Crewel Embroidery. (Learn more via the buttons below.) But I felt there was probably even more I could do with this gorgeous soft thread. What about using it for some mini weaving?!
Last year I discovered this book, Weaving with Little Handmade Looms by Harumi Kageyama (published by Search Press). I had tried some weaving at a workshop a few years ago and though I really enjoyed the process, it was very time consuming. But weaving on this small scale would surely be quicker? And I just loved the DIY approach to making your own little loom from something as commonplace as a cardboard box! And as this involved such a tiny loom, perhaps a fine woolen thread like Aurifil Wool 12wt might work?
Rather than jump in feet first and make my own loom I decided to experiment more with the weaving side by using the Mini Weaving Loom from Clover. I had great fun over the Christmas period making cute mini rugs (or maybe coasters better describes them!) using the odds and ends from all my knitting. A couple of years ago I discovered the joys of Fairisle Knitting and as this involves using lots of different colours I had plenty to choose from including leftovers from sock knitting too.
The process of weaving is so gentle and mindful and I found it such a soothing pastime, especially during that downtime in the holidays. In fact I couldn’t stop and spent a happy few days weaving at the dining room table and soon completed two pieces. The Clover Mini Weaving Loom is an excellent product and has such extensive and clear instructions that a complete beginner would manage.
Once finished I felt the mini rugs needed something more. The stripes of colour reminded me of landscapes so I decided to use some Aurifil Wool 12wt thread to embellish them further.
I have a bit of an obsession with crows, especially the shape of them in flight. I love their feathery wings and that dark silhouette against the sky. So I decided to try embroidering a crow in the sky of my woven landscape. Embroidering on the bumpy texture of the weave was quite a challenge. It’s also too thick to trace through so I had to draw my crow freehand. In the end I wondered if it looked more like an ink splot than a crow!!
However, if in doubt just add more embellishment! So for the second mini rug I used different colours of Wool 12wt thread to add lines of stitching to the stripes of coloured yarn. I used my favourite stitches: cross/plus, fly, chain and colonial knots. If this were a flat textile I would have added lines of running stitch but that didn’t work with the weave so I turned the stitches upside down and made them a series of vertical bars instead.
I was very happy with this embellishment idea so I added some lines of stitches to the crow landscape too, including cute lazy daisies. I then added black fly stitches to the sky to evoke more crows in the distance. Both of these pieces were very much experimental and I feel it’s important to allow yourself to try, and sometimes fail, with new projects and not be afraid to let go and be truly creative.
At this point I felt confident enough to try and make my own loom with a suitable cardboard box (measuring 2¼” x 3”) and following the instructions in the book. I made one extra step which was to cover the warp ends with washi tape once in place to stop them slipping off the slots that I’d created for them. This worked really well. I used leftover sock yarn for my warps and Bamboo Double Pointed Knitting Needles (also from Clover) for my shed stick and header. As suggested in the book I used a fork for a weaving comb. Again I just love the approach of using household objects to do this, it makes this craft so accessible!
Finally, I used a curved darning needle from Clover for the actual weaving. These needles come as a set in a little screw top tube which means you can always find them for threading in your ends at the end of a knitting project! The curved end of the needle worked so well for weaving at this tiny scale!
For the weft I used the Aurifil Wool 12wt thread doubled to start with. At one point I tried doubling it again to speed things up but the weft looked a little ‘bunchy’ so I went back to double threads, cutting different lengths to vary the width of the stripes. I used shades from both my wool collection boxes, Modern Crewelwork and Stitching With Wool, to create a gentle sunset rainbow. (note: to purchase these collections within the US, click on the buttons below. For sales outside the US, visit Jo’s website HERE.)
Once finished this tiny weeny rug measures 2” square. A friend asked what I was going to do with it and I suggested giving it to a mouse family! If I was to take up miniature doll house making then this would be a perfect addition to one of the rooms. However I really don’t need another craft so instead I will add all my weaving samples to one of my Keepsake Fabric Books (another obsession of mine!).
Meanwhile I will continue to explore the many different mini looms that can be made with this book and experiment with my favourite Wool 12wt thread!
ABOUT JO
Website: stitchgathering.co.uk
Instagram: @joaverystitch
Blog: joavery.co.uk
Online Classes: academy.thethreadhouse.co.uk
That looks like great fun!