Learning

I finished weaving my double weave bag project yesterday. I still have all the finishing to do. First step is hemming the raw edges and I prefer to do that while it's still on the loom. Here's how it looks now that I've cut it off. At the moment I'm trying to get my head around all the things I'm disappointed about.--at the same time, trying to be nice to myself and remind myself how inexperienced I really am as a weaver, and how nice the bag will be despite the things I don't like about how I've made it.

My major learning is about beat--the tabby layer which will form the lining is not beaten firmly enough, so it's weak. I can solve that problem with some iron-on stabiliser. The tabby layer was the underside while I was weaving it. Using a mirror would have let me check on how it was going. I didn't use a mirror!

My frustration is also about tension. The tension was very uneven at the beginning and the end of my warp. I don't know why and so I don't know how to avoid the problem next time. I didn't have trouble with tension on either of my samples. I'll have to consult about that one. The process of weaving the two layers for the lining and flap of the bag: one in twill, the other in tabby made the tension troubles worse, especially because I didn't pack the tabby down firmly enough. The result was that the bottom layer kept getting looser relative to the top layer.

OK, writing that down helped. I'm not kicking myself as hard as I was when I sat down at the computer. Now, to tackle the challenges and make the bag look good. I think I'll make a page of learnings and questions to include with my folio.