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Knit sleeve jacket

It’s done. The knit sleeve jacket I have been working on since I started spinning the sleeve yarn four years ago. This is one of my biggest projects. It includes five different textile techniques, and I am glad to share it with you today. It’s really done.

It started with sweet locks of dalapäls wool and a dream of a knit sleeve jacket. This project has been with me for such a long time and I can’t believe it’s finished.

The making

Creating this knit sleeve jacket has been such a joy. I have had this project in my hands in one way or another on and off since 2019. The sleeves have been with me on many train rides and vacations. Lately also on coffe breaks and meetings at work.

In 2023 I have worked on the sleeves more focused and finished them, and since mid-April I have sewn and embroidered almost every evening. I have felt the soft and safe wool in my hands over and over again.

A five-technique project is finished and I am very proud of it.

Sometimes when I craft I watch a series or listen to an audiobook. But for this project, I have mostly just enjoyed being in the materials and in my hands, letting my thoughts come and go like the wool between my hands, the stitches from needle to needle, the thread up and down the cloth and my breath in and out.

The model

This jacket has elements that are traditional in the County of Dalarna. I am not from Dalarna, but I am intrigued by the techniques and the rich textile heritage of the area. The techniques are sometimes used together, but probably not the way I have put them together. So, while to an untrained eye (like mine) the jacket may look like something of a folk costume jacket, it is not. It is just the result of my exploration and celebration of various techniques and designs.

The lining is almost in place, just the front opening left to stitch.

Five textile techniques

So, in this project I have used five textile techniques:

  • I spun the yarn on a supported spindle. The wool comes from the longest locks of several dalapäls sheep.
  • I two-end knitted the sleeves with my spindle spun yarn
  • I bought the broadcloth and hand sewed the bodice with waxed linen thread (commercial). I ebayed the lining and machine sewed it together and hand stitched it onto the broadcloth
  • I wove the band with a commercial linen yarn
  • I embroidered the greenery with påsöm technique and commercial yarn.

I will walk you through the techniques and my journey with them.

Supported spindle spinning the yarn

I started this project in 2019, spinning the yarn from locks of dalapäls wool on a supported spindle. This has of course taken a lot of time, but I have loved every spinning second. Dalapäls wool is very shiny and has strong outercoat fibers and fine undercoat fibers.

I have spun the sleeve yarn on supported Björn Peck spindles from teased locks of dalapäls wool.

I opened up and lightly teased each staple and spun from the cut ends. This was to make sure I got both undercoat and outercoat fibers evenly in the yarn.

Since I wanted to two-end knit the sleeves I spun the yarn counter-clockwise and plied clockwise. This way the yarn looks its very best for this particular technique.

Two-end knitting the yarn

Tvåändsstickning, or two-end knitting is a technique that has an old history in Sweden, and particularly in Dalarna. The knitter alternates two yarn ends, usually the inner and outer ends from the same ball, and wrap them around each other at the back between the stitches. Tvåändsstickning means two-end knitting. A common translation is twined knitting. This translation came about since someone decided it was more commercially pleasing than two-end knitting. I prefer the latter.

From lock to sleeve through teasing, spinning, plying, skeining and hand winding a centerpull ball.

After some adventures with running out of yarn, finding a suitable substitute sheep, frogging and reknitting I finally knit up to the armholes this spring. In April this year Karin Kahnlund, master knitter with two-end knitting as her specialty, helped me calculate how to decrease for the sleeve caps. I knit the caps in the round and cut the steeks when I was happy. All of a sudden I was done! And very happy.

The finished sleeves. Right side out (top) and wrong side out (bottom). The twisted stitches create horizontal ridges on the wrong side, making the fabric very sturdy and wind proof.

The sleeves weigh approximately 250 grams each, without the embroideries. Here are some resources about spinning and knitting the sleeves:

Hand sewing the bodice

Karin Kahnlund also helped me find a pattern for the bodice, a model called Gertrud. This also happened to be from the County of Dalarna. I had been thinking about having a professional seamstress sew the bodice for me, but Karin cheered me on to do it myself. And I am glad I did, I got to spend some lovely time with high quality broadcloth and waxed linen thread in hand.

I made a tuile out of an old sheet and felt very grown up.

The bodice pattern is quite simple. Two back panels and one front panel with two vertical darts on each panel. The front opening is also shaping the garment. I made a tuile out of a sheet first to make sure the fit was right. The bottom hem was originally straight, but I added some shape to it.

Gertrud the bodice, in fine broadcloth.

Years ago I had an itch for ebayed textiles. In one Ebay raid I found a piece of printed cotton cloth that I immediately knew would serve as the lining for the bodice. However, the piece was too small, so I paired it up with a similar fabric from the same raid. I did machine sew it, but stitched it to the bodice by hand.

A woven band

You know when you get an itch to weave a linen band in candy store colours? Well, I did, and I happened to find colours that would perfectly match the jacket lining, in Kerstin Neumüller’s web shop. Initially I had planned to do something with the band on the lining, but as I saw one version of the bodice pattern with woven bands along the front openings, I knew that was where they should be.

A woven linen band in candystore colours, perfectly matching the ebayed cotton lining. Clasps from DiviniCouture. Right photo by Nora Waltin.

I wove the band on a backstrap loom, using just a bundle of hand carved sticks. Here is a blog post poem I wrote while weaving the band on a train ride back in February.

Påsöm embroidery

Påsöm is also a technique that is traditional in Dalarna. Bulky, almost paw print like flowers stitched with 4-ply, airy yarn in scrumptious colours. Who wouldn’t want that on their two-end knitted sleeves? As it turns out, the dense quality of two-end knitted fabric works perfectly for påsöm embroidery. A tradition in Dala-Floda, where the påsöm technique has been mostly used, is to stitch påsöm patterns on two-end knitted mittens. I decided to fill parts of my sleeves with the bombastic flower arrangements, with commercial yarn from Flodaros. I wouldn’t dream of spinning this yarn myself, let alone dye it.

The finished sleeves, Left underarm and right upper arm. To the right are some traditional two-end knitted sleeves. On some of them the pattern is larger the closer to the shoulder they get.

In some older knit sleeve jackets with knit patterns, the shapes are larger the higher up on the sleeves they are placed. I wanted to do something similar with my embroidery. On the right upper arm the top flower is larger than the middle and the bottom one and the arrangement also narrowes downward. On the left underarm the pansies are the same size, but the greenery gets larger towards the elbow.

You can read more about påsöm embroidery here. And here are some of my other påsöm projects: A hat, a pocket and a spindle case.

If you are a patron (or want to become one) you can see some of the påsöm embroidery on the sleeves in the May 2023 video postcard.

Embroidering on two-end knitting

Påsöm embroidery has been traditional on two-end knitted textiles. Because of the technique with the tight knitting, the twisting on the wrong side and the fine needles, the fabric is quite dense and inelastic. In this sense, it behaves more like woven fabric than knitted. I can stitch my embroidery without using an embroidery hoop and without running the risk of the sleeve getting bubbly or the embroidery pulled together.

Two-end knitting is a lovely textile to embroider on.

Still, it’s different than embroidering on broadcloth and it was a delight to get to know the cooperation between the påsöm embroidery and the two-end knitted material.

Wearing the knit sleeve jacket

As I put the jacket on I suddenly wear all those hours of making – spinning, knitting, sewing, weaving and embroidering. I know every nook and cranny of this jacket and I am proud of every corner of it, including the wonky stitches. Perhaps especially the wonky stitches. This jacket has been made with such love, dedication and curiosity.

The sweetest linen shift, from the Berta’s flax project (video screen shots).

The other day I picked up a parcel from my friend Christiane of the Berta’s flax project. She had sent me the most beautiful handspun, handwoven 120-ish year old shift that was just perfect to wear underneath the knit sleeve jacket. It was likely worn by an Austrian woman named Josefine.

Wearing this jacket is such a joy!

I had no idea of the finished result when I started spinning the yarn. All I knew was that I wanted to make a knit sleeve jacket. It’s here now and I love it.

The early summer light

There is a spot near our house that turns magic for around fifteen minutes every evening during just a couple of weeks in June. The evening sun shines through the trees onto the light green and fresh grass. The light is truly magic. It’s there for such a short time (provided the sky is clear), yet I giggle at the thought of the limits. I can’t get everything the way I want it. Nature decides, just as it should.

Greenery in the early summer light. Photo by Nora Waltin.

Yesterday I went to the spot for a photo shoot. I was back at the time and the spot where I, three years ago, shot a video of me spinning the yarn for the sleeves, catch the light. I brought my tripod and my daughter to the spot and shot a series of photos and a video with the finished jacket A special feeling indeed. Pop over to my Instagram account to see a reel from the photo session.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
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Sleeves

In 2019 I started spinning yarn for a pair of two-end knitted sleeves. I have worked on and off on them since then, but now they are finally finished!

You can see videos where I spin the yarn here and where I knit the sleeves here. You can read more about two-end (twined) knitting here and about the project here.

It started with some sweet locks of dalapäls wool I got from a shepherdess, Carina. She had collected the longest locks from several of her sheep and I got to buy them. I had been keen to knit a pair of two-end knitted sleeves and when I saw the locks I knew they would be the perfect candiates for the yarn.

Two-end knitting

Two-end knitting is a very old Scandinavian knitting technique where you use two strands of yarn and twist them around each other on the wrong side. This creates horisontal twisted ridges on the wrong side and makes the fabric very sturdy and wind-proof. You knit quite tightly with small circumference needles.

The right side to the left and and the wrong side to the right.

I choose to have the right side facing, which is traditional in Sweden. In Norway it seems to be more common with the wrong side facing, often for workwear garments and accessories.

It takes time

I have worked on these sleeves for a very long time. With long pauses obviously, but spinning the 430 grams of yarn that the sleeves required on a spindle does take time. I spun the yarn on a supported spindle from the tip end of lightly teased locks. Mainly in bed in the evenings before I went to sleep. It was the loveliest way to end the day.

Here is the whole process – lock, teased lock, singles, plied yarn, skein, ball and the two-end knitted sleeve.

The knitting technique in itself is slow too, and add to that 2 millimeter needles and a tight gauge. As always, I have knitted the sleeves parallel. I do not want to risk either a second sleeve syndrome or different sized sleeves due to different tensions.

Many a journey

The sleeves have accompanied me on many train journeys, to the farthest north in Sweden and down south to Austria. The journeys and my experiences are now forever knitted into the sleeves.

The sleeves have accompanied me to many places.

I cast on for the sleeves just before I went to a teaching gig at Sätergläntan back in 2019. Two-end knitting is the perfect train craft – it usually dosen’t take up very much space and the knitting is slow and mindful. As the yarn gets too twisten I hold it up and let the ball untwist the yarn. I remember a lady watching me on the train, smiling. When I readied myself to get off she approached me and asked if I was going to Sätergläntan and if I was two-end knitting. She said she was nearly blind, but she had recognized the motion I had made to untwist the yarn. She was of course a knitter too and had taken many courses at Sätergläntan herself.

Frogging and finding sheep

I had calculated the increasing of stitches, but as I approached the upper arms I realized the sleeves were a bit on the slim side. On the 2020 wool journey I asked the teacher Karin Kahnlund for advice and she said I should frog a large part of the sleeves and make more increases. For a long while I didn’t knit at all, the project didn’t sing to me at the time.

Spinning away.

Eventually I did pick up the project and started the long journey to the upper arms, now with frogged yarn. It went quite well, until I realized I didn’t have enough yarn. I needed to find another sheep with the same staple length. I put the project aside again. Six months ago I did find my fleece – a lovely one from my dalapäls shepherd friend Lena’s ewe Nehne. I started spinning again. This time my heart sang. I had found a sweet spinning rhythm that moved me from winter to spring in a mindful flow.

Sleeve caps

I have been knitting on most of the coffee breaks at work since January, spinning at home on the couch. And suddenly, a couple of weeks ago I had reached the armholes. I wasn’t comfortable calculating the decreases for the sleeve caps on my own, so I looked for help. Luckily, Karin Kahnlund, one of the most skilled two-end knitters and knitting teachers in Sweden has her studio just a couple of kilometers from my house and she offers tuition twice a month.

I went to Karin’s place and found myself in the midst of five ladies and their two-end knitting projects and Karin walking between all of us and guiding us. She helped me calculate the decreases and gave me lots of feedback on my plans for the sleeves (which will be another post).

Cut the steeks

Two-end knitting is almost always done in the round. It is a lot easier than working back and forth. The back and forth method also results in stitches tilting in different directions. So her advice for me was to knit the sleeve cap decreases in the round and then cut the steeks.

Cutting the steeks is always scary, but it turned out lovely!

I know cutting steeks works perfectly fine, but still, it’s totally nerve wrecking! I did finish the decreases and I did manage to cut the steeks without either fainting or ruining the sleeves. The shape of the sleeve caps looks really nice. All is as it should be.

Fulling and fluffing

To make the steeks a little more reliable I decided to full them slightly. I also wanted to make the wrong sides a little fluffier against my skin. So I dusted off my sweet waulking board, turned the sleeves inside out and worked them against the board. As a bonus the soap and the hot water helped clean the sleeves too. They were a bit dirty from all their adventures through the last four years.

I fulled the wrong sides of the sleeves slightly to make them softer and fluffier.

I do have plans for a bodice to attach the sleeves to. I’m just not ready to share that yet. But I can tell you that it will be splendid! To be continued when it’s finished.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Rose hip vest

It’s always a mixture of joy and sorrow to finish a project. Joy for the garment I can now wear and enjoy. Sorrow for the process that has come to an end. Still, the process is literally woven into the garment, keeping me warm and cozy. Today I present my finished Rose hip vest.

Last week I showed you the finished twill weave from my handspun singles yarns. Today I invite you to the rest of the journey of making the Rose hip vest. The name comes from the finull lamb Nypon (Rose hip), whose fleece become the weft in the project.

The Rose hip vest is finished!

The model

A while ago I stumbled upon an Instagram ad showing a vesty/shawly sort of garment. It was made out of three identical panels, two for the front and one for the back. There were holes in the side seams for the arms and the garment was reversible both inside out and upside down. I really liked the idea of the reversibility as well as the very simple model. And drape has always fascinated me. The construction of just three panels would be excellent for a hand woven cloth with minimum waste. This would be the perfect model for the weaving project I was planning.

Dimensions

As I calculated the width and length of the weave I had to consider of course the measurements I wanted for the garment, but also the reality of the meterage I had spun. My basis was the width of my shoulders and the length I wanted in both directions – waist length and knee-ish length. I had to fiddle a bit and compromize to fit the model into the meterage I had, but I worked it out good enough in the end. A little narrower than I had planned, but it would hopefully still work.

A simple construction of three identical panels, sewn together with a figure 8 stitch, and holes for the arms.

I decided to weave all the three panels in one length. The warp was nearly five meters long, longer than I had ever warped before. But with just a minor disaster it all worked out.

Minimum waste, maximum cloth

The construction with the three panels was a perfect way to minimize the waste, I didn’t need to cut any pieces off, just sew them together. Since I wanted the vest to be reversible I needed to finish it without a designated front or back, with seams that were neat and tidy.

A buttonhole stitch makes a neat edging.

The assembling would also have to be on a very strict cloth budget. Because of the measurements I had to sew it together with no hemming. I fringed the warp ends – perfect for a reversible garment – and used a figure 8 stitch for the side seams (which had double selvedge warp threads).

Seams

I used two seams in this garment: A figure 8 stitch for joining the panels together and a buttonhole stitch for front edges, armholes and side slits. All seams are sewn with thrums.

I joined the panels with a figure 8 stitch right at the edges of the selvedges. A buttonhole stitch finished the armholes. Weft dominated side facing.

I really liked joining the panels with the figure 8 stitch. There is something simple about it, just up through one side, down in the middle and up again through the other side. No hemming, just stitching right at the outermost warp threads of the selvedges. And it presents such a nice seam. It also hid some of my less fashionable weft edge loops.

Fringes, buttonhole stitch and figure 8 stitch. Warp dominated side facing.

I hadn’t planned on doing anything in particular with the raw edges, but I realized they would look more finished with some seam love. A buttonhole stitch with no ambition whatsoever to look neat or even. Just a simple edging to match the rather loose weave.

Reversible

With the unhemmed, unfolded seams and the fringe there is no right or wrong side on this garment. One side is warp-faced with the darker, shiny outercoat warp yarn dominating. The other weft-faced with the lighter, soft undercoat weft yarn dominating. I will probably wear it weft side in and warp side out, but I could wear it the other way. When the inside of the collar folds outward no wrong side shows.

Warp and weft sides of the finished fabric.

I had planned to be able to wear it as a waist-length vest too, with a longer collar, as was shown in the vest I was inspired by in the first place. This didn’t look very good with my fabric, though. Due to the limited meterage I had to play with, my panels were narrower than the one I had been inspired by, and the long collar didn’t drape the way I wanted it to. Therefore I let that idea go and added the side slits in what I decided to be the bottom to accommodate for the narrow panels.

Welcome to the show!

More than a garment

I love the way the vest came out. My friend Cecilia burst out ”Wow!! How deliciously raw!” And yes, I do like that raw look of it. It has a soft drape that still feels very elegant. I feel embraced rather than suffocated and the vest isn’t too warm. I keep all the sides together and in order with a shawl pin underneath the collar.

I’m feeling very cozy in my Rose hip vesty-shawly garment.

So much time, skill and love is literally woven into this garment. It is so much more than a vest now. The fibers have gone through my hands hundreds of times through wool preparation, spinning, weaving and sewing. The process is in the garment, as are the thoughts that have gone through my mind during the process, all the podcasts I have listened to while weaving and all the mistakes I have made. Eventhough I may miss the process of making, all I have learned through the process keeps me warm when I wrap myself in the Rose hip vest.

And oh, the mittens are my own pattern, Heartwarming mitts, published in Spin-Off magazine fall 2019. The pattern seems to be free if you are a subscriber.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Twill weave

Last week I finally finished a weave that I have been working on since Christmas – weaving twill on a rigid heddle loom does take time. Today I present my newly cut down twill weave.

If you are a patron (or want to become one) you can see more of my twill weave and the cutting of the warp in my January and March 2023 video postcards.

Two medalists in the 2020 Swedish fleece championships are the foundation in this weaving project. Both the shepherdesses have received numerous medals in the championships over the years.

A seduction warp

The fleece I used for the warp yarn is a Swedish leicester/finull/Gotland mixbreed. It got the Wool guru’s seduction medal with the motivation from the founder of the prize, Alan Waller:

”I am seduced as if a fantasy drawing had become reality. A wool type of its own – that a fleece with such fine and soft fibers can exist in this enormous length! This kind of wool simply doesn’t exist […]. My spindle watches it with its single eye, wondering, longing, dreaming – what may become of this?” [my translation]

A white fleece with very long and silky staples.
Long and soft staples of Swedish leicester/finull/Gotland lamb combed into bird’s nests.

The staples are indeed long – 18 centimeters – and the fibers unusually soft for such a length. The shine is remarkable and I couldn’t really stay away from the sweet locks when I got them in my hands.

I combed the locks, which was quite a task considering their length, and spun worsted into a singles warp yarn. Look at those bird’s nests, aiming for the sky like newly piped cream buns.

Nypon/Rose hip

The other fleece was a Swedish finull lamb’s fleece that won a silver medal in the finull category. The lamb is named Nypon, which means Rose hip. A sweet shine and playful crimp, the softest of soft fibers.

A white fleece with fine, crimpy staples.
Soft and crimpy finull wool, teased and carded into rolags.

Finull was the first fleece I ever spun, so the sweet and crimpy staples feel like home to me. I teased the wool with a combing station, carded rolags and spun with an English longdraw into a woolen singles weft yarn.

In the dye pot

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am not a good dyer. Yet it doesn’t stop me from dyeing. I like warm colours, so usually I start by mixing equal parts blue, red and yellow to create a brown base. After that I add the colour I want. For the past few years I have had a teal period and I still do. I added a mix of three parts blue and one part yellow to the brown base and ended up with a colour I liked. I then dyed one warp bath with almost full colour saturation and one weft bath with a lot less, ending up with two shades of the same colour. Eventhough I had aimed for a slightly bluer shade and a higher contrast I still like the result.

Newly dyed balls of weaving yarn.

I had chained my skeins together to keep them in order in the dye bath, but forgot to loosen up the knots, so there are some spots with almost undyed yarn. This annoyed me of course, but looking at the finished weave I do like the perfectly imperfect colour variegation.

Singles

While almost almost all of my weaving projects with my handspun yarn has had singles weft yarn I have never woven with a singles warp, let alone a singles handspun warp yarn. With the very long fibers in the fleece I chose for the project I figured I might as well challenge myself to weave my very first singles warp. I knew it was a risk, but since I was going to weave a twill fabric I figured the setup would lead to less friction on the warp ends than a tabbe weave.

Warping my twill weave. You can see how the warp yarn still has energy.

To prepare the yarns, especially the warp, for a life in a weave I wound them rather tightly around pebbles. I learned this from a video with Andean spinning and weaving. This method helps removing some of the energy in the singles. While it did help some, there was still enough energy left to get me into some trouble. When I dressed my loom the warp ends wound themselves around each other which gave me work to do every time I advanced the warp. I had to manually detangle every warp thread to be able to make the advance.

Twill weave

A rigid heddle loom can, in its original execution, only weave tabby. I have an addition that makes it possible to weave with a second heddle. With this I can weave things like double weave and two separate layers that are folded in one or two ends. With the two heddles, a heddle stick and an extra warp stick I can create the four shafts I need for a 3/1 twill. I have done this a couple of times before.

The homemade four shafts: Two rigid heddles, one warp stick and one heddle stick (screenshot from patron video).

While it does take time I love the method and, what’s more important, I understand it. A regular loom is way too complicated for me with all its possibilities. I do the other way around and start with a very simple loom and add on when I feel I have the skill to and/or deserve it. The fact that it is even possible to make a four shaft weave in a simple loom is just lovely!

Two sides

Now, back to the yarns I spun – one shiny and strong, the other soft and warm. With a 3/1 twill I can weave a fabric with one side that is warp dominated and the other weft dominated. This means that the warp dominated side is shiny, strong and weather resistant, just like the tips of a double coated fleece protecting the sheep against the rain. The weft dominated side in turn, is soft and warm similarly to how the undercoat protects the sheep against cold. I created a fabric that is for me what the fleeces once were to the sheep.

Weaving my twill weave in the local weaving room.

Since I dyed the weft and warp yarns in different shades, the weft facing side is slightly lighter than the warp facing side.

A finished fabric

After nearly hyper ventilating I managed to cut down the warp. And I really loved the result. The fabric has just the drape I was looking for and I love the difference in the warp and weft faced sides. There were lots of broken warp threads along the way, which I had anticipated. As always, my mistakes create a map of what I have learned, a map that is especially clear in a weaving project.

The warp is cut and teh weave released into the wild (screenshots from patron video).

Every inch of the yarn has been used. Just a couple of meters were left of the warp yarn after warping. I used those to rescue and join broken warp threads during the weaving. I used all the weft yarn down to the last centimeter. All that is left are the thrums. And I will find good use for them too.

The twill weave got even softer after washing, especially on the weft facing side, of course. A garment is finished and I will tell you all about it in an upcoming blog post.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Vävstuga

Whenever I want to weave something bigger than a band I take my rigid heddle loom down to the local vävstuga. A vävstuga is a local weaving room, but also so much more.

If you are a patron (or want to become one) you can see more of the vävstuga where I weave in my March 2022, June 2022 and January 2023 video postcards.

Vävstuga – the local weaving room

Väv means weave and stuga means cottage. A vävstuga is a space, not necessarily a cottage, where members can come and weave, sort of a local a weaving room. Back when people were weaving for their household needs or for textile manufacturers many homes had their own looms. With the Industrial Revolution moving weaving to the textile industries, private looms were less common. Local weaving rooms started emerging in Sweden in the 1950’s.

A vävstuga with six floor looms and lots of tools and material. My rigid heddle loom to the left.

It’s difficult to tell how many weaving rooms there are in Sweden, but in a bachelor’s thesis about the vävstuga I read that there there are at least 900 throughout Sweden, probably a lot more.

My local vävstuga

In my area of around 1000 households in six housing associations there are two weaving rooms, both equipped with five or six floor looms plus weaving tools and material. The weaving rooms were planned when the area was built in the mid -80’s and the looms were paid for by the housing associations. I pay an annual fee of around $40 plus any material I use (which I don’t since I use my handspun yarns only). This is where I went when I first wanted to learn to weave.

The 2023 spring weaving has begun in my local vävstuga.

Every season the members come together to plan what to weave on each loom. Everyone gets a slot in the weaving queue for their desired project. I started out like that too, but quite quickly realized that the system didn’t work for me. Since basically all members are senior citizens they weave during the day and get quite a lot done. I only have a couple of hours on the weekend. Also, I wanted to weave my handspun yarns. So I bought a rigid heddle loom. Whenever I have a weaving project I bring it to the vävstuga.

You can see a previous project I wove in the vävstuga here.

A whisper from way back when

My vävstuga is screaming of the -80’s, in every wall colour, flooring, interior decoration and the looms. Even the weaving patterns the members use are from the -80’s.

A narrower floor loom where I once wove a towel or two.

Before we moved to our town house we lived in a flat just like the vävstuga. The preschool where our children went half a lifetime ago lies in the vävstuga building. About eight years ago, when my then twelve year old son came in to the vävstuga for the first time he stopped the second he passed the threshold. In a single breath he relived all the smells of the apartment where he had lived the first six years of his life and of the preschool. He decided to treat the vävstuga as sort of a sacred place, where he didn’t allow himself to use his mobile phone. He wanted to savour the air and the memories that came rushing over him.

A twill thrill

My current project is a twill weave in my handspun yarn. “Twill?”, you may say. “On a rigid heddle loom?”. Yes, twill on a rigid heddle loom. A rigid heddle loom is originally a two shaft loom, but with a double heddle, a shed stick and a heddle stick I am able to create a four shaft weave. It is quite fiddly and takes a lot of time, but it works. I have always been a bit intimidated by large floor looms with numerous possibilities that I will never understand. My rigid heddle loom is simple enough for me to get a grip of and expand when I need to. So fiddly and time consuming twill it is.

It’s a slow process and takes both patience and hair spray, but I’m in no hurry.

I’m weaving with handspun singles in both warp and weft. It’s definitely a thriller, the warp gets very fuzzy. After having consulted my weaving friend Maria I spray it with hair spray after every advance. It works surprisingly well.

A map of what I have learned

Just a few warp threads have broken so far and I know by now how to fix them, almost without panicking. I remember one of my first weaves where about 30 warp threads broke. I did panic, but I also realized that I just had to fix them. Until then I had spent so much time, love and dedication on spindle spinning all the yarn and I just couldn’t just let it go to waste.

A map of what I have learned.

This is my approach to every weaving experiment I tangle myself into. As I say to my students: My mistakes are a map of what I have learned. And it’s quite evident in my weaving. It is the bumpiest, prettiest and most endearing map.

I’m almost half-way on my weave and there is a whole spectrum of challenges and potential disasters ahead. But I will finish and all will be well. I’ll write a separate post when I’m done, telling you all about the wool, the spinning, weaving and finished project.

Hello Weavy!

When I skip down to the weaving room and open the door I say “Hej Vävis!” (roughly translated to “Hello Weavy!”), my heart tingling with weaving anticipation. The vävstuga is a place where I get to spend time with my weave and see it grow centimeter by centimeter, a place where I get to create with no other projects or tasks calling for my attention, a place where I get to learn.

I’m weaving twill in the vävstuga on my sweet rigid heddle loom.

Time does seem to have stopped in the vävstuga. Yet, all I can hear is the sound of the beater adding row after row to the fell and the ticking of the wall clock. Usually I get to the vävstuga in the morning before the other members come. I relish in the silence, the liberating lack of clutter, things to be done. In the vävstuga I allow my thoughts to come and go, like the shuttle stick moving through the sheds. Like a breath moving between my inner and outer worlds.

When I turn the light off I pet my weave, thank it and take my leave with a “Hejdå Vävis!”. The weave and the weaving vibrate in my heart and hands as I walk back home.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Auld acquaintance

A few years ago started spinning and two-end knitting a pair of jacket sleeves. I have been working on them more off than on through the years and almost forgot about them. Recently my auld acquaintance was brought back to mind.

Back in early 2019 I had recently finished a pattern for a pair of two-end knitted mittens in Spin-Off magazine. Tvåändsstickning, or two-end knitting, is a time-consuming but very rewarding knitting technique, resulting in a sturdy and wind-proof material. The structure is dense and inelastic and in that sense more like woven than knitted fabric. When I finish a two-end knitted project there are lots of hours invested in it, but somehow it’s hard to let go of. The technique may be slow, but such a joy to dance my hands and mind in.

Jacket sleeves in tradition

A century or so ago two-end knitted jacket sleeves were common in county Dalarna in Sweden. I have been itching to knit myself a pair of jacket sleeves, but as I realized they would take a very long time to knit due to a slow knitting method and two millimeter needles, I hesitated.

Two-end knitted jacket sleeves from Karin Kahnlund’s impressive collection. The sleeves were generally knitted in natural white and black and then dyed red. Every village in the area had their own significant pattern.

However, back in 2018, when a shepherdess asked me if I wanted to buy some singled out very long locks of her flock of dalapäls sheep, I thought of my imagined jacket sleeves and I couldn’t resist the offer. Dalapäls wool is very fine and has a remarkable sheen. Since both the tradition of two-end knitted jacket sleeves and the breed Dalapäls sheep originate from county Dalarna there is a possibility that Dalapäls wool has been the traditional wool for the sleeves. When I got the locks they were the spark for my jacket sleeve project.

Long, white and wavy wool locks.
Long and silky locks of Dalapäls sheep. The locks come from different sheep.

I mean, who could resist knitting jacket sleeves with yarn from locks like these, despite the overwhelm a project like that could bring?

Two-end knitting

Tvåändsstickning, or two-end knitting is an old technique mostly found in Scandinavia. The oldest finding of a twined knitting textile dates back to around the mid 16th century to the early 17th century in county Dalarna in Sweden. There are many garments and accessories left in County Dalarna – mittens, socks and jackets. Usually the sleeves only were knit in two-end knitting while the torso was sewn of broadcloth.

Two-end knitted jacket sleeves in the making. The twisting of the yarn ends at the back of the project also puts a twist in the yarn ends coming from the skein. To untwist the two-end knitter regularly lets the yarn ball hang to untwist itself.

As the name of the technique suggests you use two strands of yarn in two-end knitting. The passive strand is carried at the back of the project. You knit with the strand furthest from the active stitch. This means that after one stitch is made the two yarns are twisted around each other at the back of the work. This also means that even though two-end knitting is done with fine needles, the twisting of the yarn ends makes the fabric strong, sturdy and windproof. It will last for generations. You can read more about two-end knitting in this blog post.

A common English translation for tvåändsstickning is twined knitting. Read in Knit (Spin) Sweden! (second edition) about why two-end knitting is a more fitting translation.

From the cut end

For my jacket sleeves I spun the Dalapäls yarn – S spun and Z plied as is the tradition for two-end knitting – on a supported spindle. I chose to lightly open up staple by staple with a flicker and spin from the cut ends. You can see a glimpse of it in my video Catch the light, where I dwell in the sweet midsummer light, right at the opposite end of the year from when I am writing this.

I open up staple by staple with a flicker.

After having teased with the flicker I tease it more with my hands, draft it out sideways like an accordion and roll it into a burrito and spin from the cut end. I used to only open up the staple with the flicker, but lately I have added the hand teasing, sideways opening and burrito roll. I think it paves the way for a more thorough preparation while still keeping some of the integrity of the original staple. You can read more about this technique here.

After having opened up the staple with the flicker I tease it again, by hand. I spread the loose staple accordion sideways and roll it into a burrito and spin from the cut ends. Hence, an accordion burrito.

Spinning from such a light preparation can be a challenge, but it is also deeply satisfying to be able to create a yarn from such light a preparation. The staple is still nearly recognizable and the opened up fibers fall into the twist next to each other pretty much in the same order they were in the staple.

Cast on and on

Back to the spinning of my z-plied two-end knitting yarn. Eight skeins and a few months later I cast on for my jacket sleeves. Since the technique is very slow the sleeves have accompanied me on many occasions – in the shadow at the allotment, on trains and on a trip to Gotland. And, of course, in a video that I made in Visby, Gotland back in 2019.

A woman knitting in a ruin. There is no roof in the ruin.
Jacket sleeve two-end knitting in St Clemens’ ruin in Visby, Gotland, 2019.

As I reached above the elbow I realized I needed to rip a substantial part up to alter the size, which was moderately fun. For some reason I forgot about the sleeves for quite a while. When I reconnected with them again I needed to alter them back. Just recently I caught up to the clean and un-frogged yarn and I realized that I needed to spin some more yarn.

During this recent autumn the sleeves have been a solid friend on office meetings and conferences. Several colleagues have whispered to me how calm they have felt by just watching me knit.

A cup of kindness

As I paid my dalapäls sheepheredess friend Lena a visit a while ago I bought a bag of newly shorn wool from her ewe Nehne, who had the right length of staples for my two-end knitting yarn.

Raw locks from Lena’s dalapäls sheep Nehne.

Lena is a strong and kind woman, doing all she can for her sheep and for others. She knows all of her sheep by name and by fleece. Dalapäls sheep is a heritage breed. As such usually has a wide spectrum of wool types and wool qualities over the breed, within a flock and even over the body of a single sheep. As I asked Lena for the kind of staples I was looking for, she immediately replied “Well, that would be Nehne or Ninni”. And she was right. Nehne’s fleece had long staples with very soft undercoat fibers and strong outercoat fibers, and with that very special Dalapäls shine. A perfect candidate for my jacket sleeves. Lena wouldn’t even charge for the fleece.

The fleece of the Dalapäls sheep Nehne is drying in front of the fireplace after washing.

That evening Lena and I talked for hours over a sweet dinner she had prepared for us while the fire mumbled quietly in the background. I picked up my jacket sleeves and started knitting. The paper bag with Nehne’s fleece stood on the floor by the fireplace.

Bringing back to mind

I washed the fleece as I got home and started spinning. I used the same technique I had used back in 2018. Within seconds it all came back to me – the joy of spinning on a supported spindle. It’s funny, supported spindle spinning may be the technique that others most associate me with, and yet I haven’t spun on a supported spindle for anything but teaching for the past few years. As I started spinning Nehne’s wool I immediately fell back in love with the technique.

Auld and new acquaintance

I have a long fleece queue and I try my best to spin the oldest first. This means that the bag I pick up to prepare has been compressed in the bag in my storage for a while. Even if I have picked all staples prior to the storage, they can be a little flat and the fibers catching on to their neighbours.

Spinning Nehne’s Dalapäls wool on a supported spindle by Björn Peck. The mini heddle around my neck was carved by Kerstin Neumüller (and the band woven by me, with the mini heddle).

With this project, however, I wanted to finish my sleeves, so Nehne’s fleece very rudely cut in line in the fleece queue. Spinning this very fresh wool was (is) such a joy. The wool had just been lightly placed in a paper bag, never put in the storage. The staples were bold and bouncy and with such a sweet shine. Since I make the preparation directly before I start spinning I had the joy of spinning my accordion burritos very freshly prepared. The fibers are so light, so smooth to draft, softly singing their way into the twist like fairies in the early morning mist.

Plying and making a skein of my sweet dalapäls yarn.

Spinning the freshly prepared wool from the newly shorn fleece on a supported spindle reminded me of breathing – the constant changing back and forth between the inner and outer worlds, light as a feather. The rhythm of spinning is not far from the rhythm of life.

New horizons

Even if the spinning of this yarn instantly came back to my spinning muscles and mind, it was still with a new perspective. I have learned so much in the five years that have passed since last I spun this yarn. It was a true joy to bring these new horizons into the familiar spinning landscape. I’m so glad I revisited my auld acquaintance.

Staple to sleeve via teasing, spinning and plying. Supported spindles by Björn Peck.

During the holidays I have been spinning a lot on this project – I have already finished two skeins. Even though spindle spinning is a sweetly slow process it doesn’t take that long to fill a spindle and then a second. Alternating between spinning and teasing keeps a sweet rhythm and change in perspectives.

Two finished skeins of Z-plied Dalapäls wool, spun from lightly teased locks of Dalapäls wool on a supported spindle by Björn Peck.

Have you revisited an old project lately?

On my Instagram page you can watch a series of videos where I work from opening up the lock to knitting the sleeves. At the top of my profile are some highlights. The series is called stapletosleeve (I omitted the spaces between the words because the thing wouldn’t accept too many letters in the title).

Happy new spinning year!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Swim cap

I made me a swim cap! Perhaps not the kind you would expect when you read the words swim cap. This swim cap is made from my spindle spun yarn, nalbound, waulked and embroidered, all to keep me warm during my daily baths through the winter.

When my wool traveling club and I decided to take a course in the påsöm embroidery technique for our 2022 wool journey I started planning projects on which I could play with påsöm. I wanted to try the embroidery on different wool structures. At the same time I longed for another nalbinding project and knew a nalbinding hat would be the perfect candidate. I decided to make the hat a swim cap for my daily cold baths.

I made me the loveliest swim cap for cold baths. It’s not that cold yet, though, 11°C in both air and water this week when I took the picture.

Back and forth

I used wool from Elsa the Gestrike sheep for this yarn. While I wanted to make the hat I also wanted the process to be sweet and grounding. I decided to card, spin and ply one spindleful at a time and nalbind that little ball of yarn until I had to spin another ball. It became sort of an explorative process where I also got the chance to test the quality of the spun yarn in my nalbinding and get instant feedback that I could loop back into the spinning of the next ball of yarn. The approach thus became a dynamic dance back and forth in the steps of the process, an empirical exploration of a new course of action and an evaluation of the yarn. The method was quite satisfying!

Sweet rolags make the foundation of my woolen spun yarn.

You can read more about this method in a previous post about the making of the hat and a pair of mittens, and also in a blog post about the making of my Moroccan snow shoveling pants that were made with the same approach.

Safety hat

During the spring we slowly went back to working at the office after the pandemic. I thrived when working full time from home and was quite stressed about having to go back, even if I would still be able to work fifty percent from home. When going back to the office I knew I needed a coffee break project to breathe myself through the noise and crowdedness at the office.

I have spun this yarn over several months, during both winter and summer. It’s been a treat every time.

Nalbinding was the perfect safety blanket project, or rather safety hat. With nalbinding I always feel very safe – I think it has something to do with the grip of the project. I spun a ball at home and nalbound at work through late winter and spring.

The making of the swim cap has been a dance between carding, spinning, plying, nalbinding and back to carding again, one spindle load at a time. The center picture shows some nalbinding needles I made this spring.

The nalbinding has also been with me on the train to Austria and in the car to my aunt’s funeral. I have bound lots of memories and experiences into this hat.

A hat guide

I tried a new to me stitch for this project, the Oulu stitch. It’s a stitch in the Russian stitch family and quite like the Dalby stitch which I have used for several projects. They both create a structure with yarn in different directions, making the fabric dense and warm.

I used the Olou stitch for the swim cap. To the right you can see the final stitches, where I led the spiral to the back of the brim.

As I have never nalbound a hat before I used the hat guide Mervi Pasanen’s lovely book With one needle to help me with the shape and size.

From the book I also learned a new way to end a project. Nalbinding is usually done in a spiral. I started at the tip of the hat and increased in a certain pattern until I reached the finished size. Usually I try to make the stitches smaller and smaller, thus creating an even-ish edge. But the suggestion in the book was to continue the spiral on the back of the project, creating the tiniest wrap. I am really pleased with this neat solution.

Waulking

While nalbinding in its criss-cross nature is very hard-wearing and wind proof, these characteristics will get a boost from waulking. The material gets denser, warmer and more protecting against the wind and the cold.

The difference between unwaulked and waulked is quite tangible.

Also, any management of a yarn with kemp in it will little by little push the quirky fibers out, making the resulting yarn or fabric warmer (since the escaped kemp fibers leave air pockets) and softer. I saved the kemp fibers that worked their way out of the hat in the waulking and got quite an impressive little ball of kemp. In the before and after pictures above there is a difference in the shade of the grey, which may partly have to do with the difference in kemp.

Mervi Pasanen’s book With one needle to the left, a little ball of waulked out kemp to the right.

Waulking a project is always an adventure. I know by now that nalbinding shrinks mainly widthwise and very little lengthwise. So whenever I nalbind I make the proportions to fit that rule of thumb – a pair of mittens will be a lot wider than my hands but not very much longer. Still, waulking a project takes lots of testing and fine-tuning. I had imagined a steeper tapering of the tip, but I still like the resulting shape of it.

Påsöm embroidery

I planned the flower composition on my påsöm embroidery wool journey earlier this autumn. The most important thing really was to find a way to transfer the flower pattern to the very fuzzy waulked surface. I found a pen that worked okay, but still way better than anything I had tried before.

At my wool journey I planned the flower outline of the cap (and another project) and made the first stitches of the main flower (left). Middle and right you can see the layout of the flower stem.

It was quite interesting to work the pattern in the three dimensional canvas that a hat is. I have always been biased to bias in hats – a biased brim, pattern or shape, just because why not. I decided to go for that with the hat too, in both the placement of the pattern, the direction of the stem and the asymmetry of the hat (or rather the tip hanging to one side).

Left, right and front, lots of rich blossom in all dimensions.

The flower arrangement starts with a center dahlia (with the center on the right side of my head) from which one stem winds out to either side, ending on the left side with a green leaf. Another stem winds upwards and spirals around the tip of the hat with smaller flowers.

A sweet swim cap

Even if it’s not particularly cold in either air or water yet, I have of course tried using my sweet swim cap in my dips in the lake. The hat is very warm and cozy and the tassel keeps dangling just above the water surface. I am really looking forward to colder days with some ice. I think the hat will do an excellent work even at -18°C like we had a couple of times last winter.

The center dahlia is on the right side of my head, with stems winding to the left and right and up the tip.

A hat may be finished, but as always it’s so much more than a hat. It’s a part of a sweet dance, a safety blanket, an explo(ra)tion in colour and design and the result of many hours of just hanging out with wool.

Resources

As I posted a sneak preview of today’s post yesterday a couple of people mentioned having started to learn to nalbind bot never got much further. While this post doesn’t give you much of guidance to nalbinding I have put together a list of nalbinding resources for you.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Tweed pocket

I think it’s time for another tie-on pocket, don’t you? This time I let a men’s jacket in Harris tweed share his abundance of pockets for my tweed pocket visions.

I use the term tie-on pocket in this post to refer to the pocket I’m sewing, not to confuse it with the jacket pockets I’m using for it. Usually I just call the tie-on pocket a pocket, but that would be a bit challenging in this case.

My tweed pocket, made from a tweed pocket.

Diving deeper into the history and traditions of tie-on pockets I’m increasingly fascinated by how much we can learn from them. They can tell us a lot about gender inequality of history and present, but also about women’s empowerment in how they have used tie-on pockets.

Men’s pockets

I read The Pocket – a hidden history of women’s lives by Birgit Burman and Ariane Fennetaux that during the period on which the book focuses (1660–1900) men’s clothing was always equipped with several pockets for items that were considered important and significant to men – pockets for bottles, sandwiches, watches, coins and bank notes. Women’s clothing had no pockets at all, instead they had tie-on pockets. These could contain various objects – needles, herbs, handkerchiefs, coins, bread etc, and could be tied off, unloaded and changed several times a day should the bearer wish to.

A 1940’s army jacket with ten pockets. For men.

I came to think about the brilliant HBO series Gentleman Jack and the series adaptation of the life of Anne Lister, a 19th century lesbian woman who kept a journal in code. The diaries were eventually found but kept hidden to save them from destruction. Anne Lister was also an estate owner and colliery owner. She dressed entirely in black, which was normal for gentlemen at the time. In the series, all the dresses, jackets and waistcoats the character Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones) wears have visible pockets, and lots of them.

While women’s garments do have pockets these days, it still doesn’t seem to be obvious. I usually mutter about skirts and pants with too small, too flimsy or too few pockets or no pockets at all. Count to that the increasing size and weight of smart phones, that can easily tilt trousers or tear ladies’ trouser pockets. I own a men’s wadmal jacket from the Swedish army, made in the 1940’s. It has ten very sturdy pockets.

A vision in tweed

Ever since I started making my first pocket I have been playing with the idea of a pocket in tweed, perfect for the autumn. I decided I wanted my pocket in Harris tweed. For a while I tried to find online stores in Sweden that would sell Harris tweed, but I couldn’t find any. I started looking at web shops in the U.K, but with shipping and import tax it would be quite pricy.

Some shops had fabric samples. Since I had abandoned the import idea I decided to go to the Scottish House in Stockholm, a shop specializing in Scottish clothes and fabrics. I asked for samples, but they didn’t have any. The shop keeper suggested I look for a tweed garment in thrift shops, which was a brilliant idea. That would give me the opportunity to use both the tweed fabric and details in the garment while at the same time upcycling a used item.

Meet Bernie

For a few months I monitored Swedish eBay for tweed vests and jackets, and in August I found what I was looking for – a large brown vintage herringbone men’s jacket in Harris tweed, with side, chest and inner pockets, for $21. I call him Bernie.

Looking at Bernie I count to five pockets, while my own women’s Harris Tweed jacket (also a find from Swedish eBay) has three. Two side pockets and one tiny and ridiculous pocket, way too small for a hand to put something in it, let alone fetch something out of it.

Meet Bernie, a generous jacket with pockets to spare and share.

The pattern seems to repeat itself – while Bernie has been equipped with generous pockets in large amounts, my own tweed jacket pockets are small and fragile. But Bernie is a generous jacket. He knows he has pockets to spare. He also knows that sharing some of his many pockets doesn’t make him less of a jacket. Quite the contrary – by sharing his pocket wealth he will contribute to making the world a better place since more people get access to pockets, people who are just as deserving of pockets as he is.*

And don’t worry, I will use every last piece of fabric from Bernie, so he still has the chance to contribute to lots of other projects.

* I didn’t come up with this myself. I borrowed it from Heather McGhee’s brilliant book The sum of us: What racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together. Read it.

Swedish or British?

So, back to my tie-on pocket project. I needed to make a decision about the model. I wanted to use one of Bernie’s pockets as an opening to my tie-on pocket. Most Swedish tie-on pockets have a horizontal opening (see my embroidered linen pocket and my påsöm pocket). I like them because it is easy to find my way into them. British tie-on pockets, on the other hand, usually have a vertical opening (see my upcycled linen pocket), keeping the shape neat and sturdy. I like that too.

A biased opning for my tweed pocket.

So what would I go for – a swift access to the pocket belly or a sturdy opening? Bernie’s side pockets were horizontal, but made for a large man’s hand. Therefore I feared a horizontal opening might be a little too wide. I could of course flip the jacket sideways and make the opening vertical. But with the tweed fabric being quite bulky in several layers with the welt pocket and the flap, a vertical opening might work against me. So I decided on a compromise – a biased opening. That would limit the wearability to one hip, but I always wear my tie-on pocket on my right hip anyway. Should I need one for my left I still have one of Bernie’s side pocket left.

Swenglish

I cut the pocket from Bernie with the template in Hamblemouse’s pocket pattern. Since Bernie’s pocket opening led to a pocket pouch sandwiched between the tweed and the jacket lining I cut an opening in the lining and sew the edges of the cut onto the edges of the welts so the opening of my tie-on pocket would actually go inside its lined belly.

The inside of the front piece (left) shows the biased pocket opening and where I made an opening in the lining. I used Bernie’s inner pocket for the inside of the back piece (right). It’s a little tilted, but it was the only way I could get the correct size and shape for the lining.

I took advantage of Bernie’s inner pocket and used it for the lining for the back of my tie-on pocket to give it a secret inner pocket. It also harboured the Harris Tweed label, which I kept there as a sweet detail.

Double layers of interfaced tweed, double layers of lining and all that doubled around the edges of the pocket opening. A sturdy tie-on pocket indeed!

Sewing the tie-on pocket together was a little bulky, but I still like the rusticity of it. This pocket will not fold in the autumn storms!

The band

I wove a band for my new tie-on pocket with stashed suspended spindle spun yarn from rya outercoat fibers. I tried to stay as close to the two colours in the herringbone tweed as I could – one brown and one light beige, from the rya flock friends Bertil and Beppelina.

Contrary to what the left image may look like, it’s a very intricate system for rewarping an unsuccessful first try. To the right is the evidence that it worked out just fine in the end.

After having warped and made the heddles for the band I realized that I had made errors in the warping. There was nothing else I could do than unravel the whole warp and start anew.

A backstrap woven band for my tweed pocket. Stashed suspendle spindle spun yarn from outercoat of rya wool.

After the rewarping the weaving was such a joy. I really love weaving little bands. They are so portable and sweet and a perfect opportunity to learn something new on a small surface.

Photo by Dan Waltin
When you find yourself in the two meter deep window alcove of a medieval fortress – weave! Dan took a sweet behind-the-scenes picture, showing my backpack and tripod setup.

Dan and I treated ourself to a weekend away a couple of weeks ago, to Varberg on the Swedish west coat. I wove on the train there, connecting the far end of the band onto the coat hanger on the back of the seat in front of me. I also wove in the medieval Varberg fortress. It felt very special to weave in atmosphere where women most certainly would have both woven bands and worn tie-on pockets.

If you are a patron (or want to become one), I treat you to a bit of our journey to Varberg in my October video postcard.

Flaunting my tweed pocket

I wore the pocket at the office this week. I hadn’t finished the tassel lanyards yet, but wearing the tie-on pocket at work gave me the perfect little crafting project for the coffee breaks.

The pocket fits very well. I equipped it with my mobile phone and a banana and they got along just fine in the belly of the pocket. The pocket works well with most fabrics and styles, like tweed tends to do.

Tweed jacket, meet tweed pocket!

I have the feeling this tie-on pocket can become an everyday favourite. The biased opening is very comfortable and I like that I can wear the flap in or out. The inner pocket isn’t ideal for my mobile phone, though. Even if the phone fits fits in the inner pocket, it’s placed too high for the phone to get into the inner pocket from the main opening. But there are other things I can hide in my secret inner pocket.

Oh, I recently bought a bikini. The bottom piece has pockets.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Little bands

I have several little bands in my project basket that are only half-finished. The other week I decided to actually finish six little bands, in four different techniques.

My problem is that inspiration jumps me from behind and craves all my attention and I jump from one unfinished object to another. On the one hand I like having parallel projects. If I get tired of one I can always work on another and then get the mojo back for the first one. Working in different techniques is also a good way to stay our of strain. But I can also get very stressed knowing I have several unfinished projects in my basket, not to mention all my ideas for unstarted projects. It feels very good to finish some sweet little bands.

Little bands

Once you start weaving bands you realize there is always a need for one. Even if you don’t necessarily know the practical purpose of the band as you create it there will come a time when that very band is the perfect candidate for a job.

Six little bands have been the loveliest companions on inner and outer journeys this summer.

The more obvious purpose of the band is of course the making of it – spending time with a small, often handspun, project, watching it grow into an actual something and enjoying the weaving process without having to drag a loom around. All I need is a couple of sticks and I’m ready to dive into the process.

Parks, trains and automobiles are lovely places for weaving little bands. A nettle band in the car to Gothenburg for my aunt’s funeral and the same band in a park, soaking in the city where my aunt spent all of her life (left and middle). A pick-up technique band on a train to county Dalarna with my wool traveling club (right).

One of the sweet things about little bands is the portability. I weave all my bands with a backstrap loom – just a couple of sticks, a belt of some sort around my waist and something to hook the back end of the warp with and I’m ready to weave. I have spent time weaving in cars, trains, parks and office coffee breaks on both inner and outer journeys.

Braiding a band on a coffee break at work (left) and weaving a pick-up technique band in the September sun on my recent wool journey. There is a band for every occasion.

Recently I have also learned to appreciate my feet as part of my backstrap loom – I simply loop the end over my foot propped on top of my other knee and I weave until the foot falls asleep. Then I just change feet.

Three braids

First up in my collection of finished bands are three braided bands from odd balls of handspun wool yarn. Making braided bands is a technique I wanted to learn, so I tried different amounts of ends, different colours and different patterns.

Three 16-strand braids made of leftover balls of handspun wool yarn.

The first one was a simple grey band, I think I like that one the best. I also did one in blue with white patterning and one green with pink and white patterning. The pattern bands revealed my beginner’s mistakes, though, and they look quite sad. But it was a sweet technique to explore and I’m still happy with all of them.

You can see a lovely video where Sally Pointer braids a twelve-strand braid in linen yarn here. A twelve strand linen belt like Sally’s is on my to-craft list.

Nettle band

In July of last year and February this year I harvested nettles that I processed. There was a lot of waste, but I did manage to spindle spin two balls of nettle yarn, one tiny with the dew retted July nettles and one less tiny with the root retted February nettles. You can read more about the process in this blog post.

I wove my 2-ply spindle-spun nettle yarn into a 6 millimeter band.

Throughout the processing and spinning the two retting techniques showed different colours. Once I had scoured them, though, the colour difference was smaller. Still, I used the dew retted yarn as a stripe down the middle of the warp. You can see it very subtly on the picture above.

Weaving the nettle band was lovely, it felt so good to make a little something out of material most people would frown upon. Weaving from weeds makes me feel rich, it’s sort of empowering to know that I can make something useful with my hands should I need to. And I do need, not of some material necessity but for the sake of making, to feel the making in the hands and the connection between hands and brain.

Scrap nettle yarn lucet cord

When I had finished the nettle band I had one tiny little ball left. I wanted to use as much of it as I could, so I decided upon a lucet cord. This is a very old technique that can be described as a 2-stitch I-cord. You use a fork-like tool called a lucet to hold the stitches. With this technique you can take advantage of all the length of the yarn except for the beginning and end.

A lucet cord made with the last little ball of handspun nettle yarn.

I have made a few lucet cords before, but only with wool yarn, which has some bounce, even in the worsted spun outercoat fiber yarns I have tried. Making it with plant fiber is a totally different story. Pulling the loop over the new yarn is more of a struggle and the yarn is less forgiving when it comes to uneven settling of the loop into the cord, but it was still very interesting. As always, spending some time with a material allows you to get to know it and how to work with its characteristics and its own mind.

Pick-up technique backstrap weaving band

I have a secret project going and for that I needed a band. I realized that it needed some extra sparkle, so I decided to make it with a pick-up technique. This takes a lot of time and is quite fiddly, so it’s not ideal for train rides or coffee breaks at work. But I did that anyway. I wove most of it at home, though, with full focus on the 16-row pattern.

A sweet band in a pick-up technique. The yarn is my handspun on an Andean Pushka.

One of the big perks of working with a pick-up technique is all the time you get to spend with the yarn. The technique is time-consuming, but that doesn’t bother me. Quite the contrary, I relish the moments when I get to dig my hands into the warp and pick the pattern up into the weave with a naturally curved wooden stick (or, I think I used a shawl pin made out of a twig). The natural materials in my hands make my skin sparkle with joy.

I spun the yarn from hand-teased Norwegian NKS wool on an Andean Pushka. You can see the process of spinning the yarn for this band in this video and the pick-up technique (for a different band) in this.

Little band in progress

When you read this I’m on a weekend getaway with Dan. Naturally, I needed a band to weave on the train. I warped, failed and rewarped, but all went well in the end. I used two colours of worsted spun outercoat wool from Swedish rya sheep from the same flock. The dark brown yarn is from the ram Bertil. The light fawn may be from the ewe Beppelina.

Band in progress: A wool band for an upcoming tie-on pocket project.

I will use the band for an upcoming tie-on pocket project I’m working on. I like playing with stripes in bands. There are so many possibilities and no right or wrong.

Weaving bands with handspun

Most of my handspun yarns are spun from Swedish breeds, and most of these breeds are prone to felting. This can make the yarns sticky, even the smoothest worsted spun outercoat yarns. A project that would be almost impossible to weave wide (like my Frida Chanel bag and loom stick wrap) is far less fiddly as a band. I do have to uncling the warp threads one by one for every new shuttling, but it doesn’t bother me at all when there are only 20–30 warp pairs. I’m just happy to see a brand new band take shape, ready to take its band space in the world.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Posted on

Pretty påsöm pocket

On my recent wool journey I started three påsöm projects. Since then I have been working for many hours on the first project, a pretty påsöm pocket. None of this is my handspun.

If you have read my blog posts during the past year you may have seen my growing interest in tie-on pockets. A very old accessory – necessity – to give women the freedom of bringing things with them just like men have, only men’s clothes have been equipped with built-in pockets for specific items. A tie-on pocket can be placed hidden or visible and contain anything the wearer’s heart desires. My previous pockets were made of two kitchen towels and an evening purse.

My pretty påsöm pocket is finished! The patterns for the mittens and the bosom friend are mine and published in Spin-Off magazine.

Pattern outline

On my wool traveling club’s recent påsöm embroidery wool journey we first learned how to sketch the bouquet of påsöm flowers on the surface (broad cloth in this case), play with templates and stencils and transferring the shapes onto the sketch. When we were happy with the design we filled in both inner and outer borders with a permanent marker.

Once I’m happy with the design, I fill in all outer and inner borders with a permanent marker.

I chose a dahlia (at least I think that’s what it is) for the main attraction, flanked with roses and rose buds. All surrounded with greenery. I’m actually not a very flowery person, but the abundance of this technique and tradition appeals to me.

Bold flowers in rich colours flanked with greenery is the foundation of the påsöm embroidery tradition.

Colours

The colour palette is usually very bright, with especially reds and pinks among shades of green for the leaves. An occasional spectrum of blues or oranges can make a visit every now and then, with accent details in white and yellow.

Planning the bouquet

Just like planning a regular bouquet, you need to plan for the påsöm bouquet too. What is the centerpiece and where do the stalks go. I started with the giant dahlia and went on with the smaller flowers and the three flowers on top of the back piece of the pocket. Then I added the greenery, just according to my sketch.

Filling and blinging

Once the main pattern is in place it’s time to fill out the empty spaces with some more greenery and an occasional bud or smaller flower. The key word is abundance. I really enjoyed this part. I needed to watch every angle, see where the stalks went and fill in the gaps in a way that seemed logical in relation to the bouquet.

Once there was no more room to fill out I started the blinging process – extra sparkle to fill out the smallest spaces.

To fill out and add bling I watched the photos from the course carefully, as well as the book I had bought earlier, Påsöm, by Anna-Karin Jobs Arnberg (who was the teacher of our wool journey påsöm course). In the book as well as in the course there were lots of examples of old påsöm items to get inspiration from, as well as Anna-Karin’s new ones. From extra greenery incorporated in the flowers to bright stamens, pistils and unidentified leafy things to create depth and abundance.

Making a pocket

Once I felt finished with the filling and blinging it was time to make a pocket out of the embroidered broadcloth. I used a wild strawberry vintage cotton fabric for lining and inner pocket. A mora band (common in the traditional costume from the town of Mora) made a lovely edge of the pocket opening.

I chose an -80’s wild strawberry fabric for lining and inside pocket. To the left you can see the wrong side of the embroidery. Quite intriguing, don’t you think?

I joined the front plus lining with the back piece by hand with a backstitch, using a waxed linen thread. I like having the inner pocket for my mobile phone in the pocket. It keeps it steady and away from any accidents involving too close encounters with keys.

After I had finished the lining I steam pressed the embroidery. The result was quite astonishing, the stitches landed sweetly together in the flowers and leaves.

Close to the tradition

With the front and back neatly joined and the Mora band for the pocket opening I was getting closer to a finished pocket. But I wasn’t sure how to do the edging and the band. Anna-Karin’s påsöm pockets from Dala-Floda and the examples from the digital museum all had a buckle at the top to fasten in a belt or apron tie. The pockets were most commonly edged with velvet. I didn’t want either buckle or velvet, but I still wanted to stay within some reasonable closeness to the tradition.

Filled, blinged and pressed! The left picture shows the pocket before pressing and the right after.

I asked Anna-Karin for advice and she showed me pockets where mora bands had been sewn onto reindeer leather for the ties. She also showed me other items where reindeer leather had been used as edging and outer back piece.

I really liked the idea with soft reindeer leather for both edging, outer back piece and ties. So I ordered some reindeer leather while I finished the filling and blinging.

Reindeers and tongs

While the reindeer leather was indeed soft and flexible, it was still hard to work through with the needle. My solution was to use tongs to pull the needle through for a sweet waxed linen thread running stitch seam. Using the tongs worked very well, but it also took a lot of time to grab and let go of the tongs for every stitch. Still, in the end very much worth the effort.

I ended up sewing every stitch through the reindeer leather with the help of tongs. Tedious, but efficient. I only broke skin once and a needle once. To the right you can see a join in the reindeer leather.

It took a while to sew the 180 cm band back and forth. Edging the pocket was less complicated than I thought. The friction between the broad cloth and the suede side of the reindeer leather prevented the materials to slide from their position.

I used reindeer leather for the band and as an outer back piece and edging for my pretty påsöm pocket.

Even if the pocket is a mix between traditions from different villages in and around Dala-Floda it still looks reasonably traditional. At least in my beginner’s eyes.

Parting

As with any finished project, I felt a little sad when our journey together was over. Perhaps that is why I am such a project hoarder – I can’t seem to want to let them go. The process is such a sweet time to learn and dig deeper, to be in my hands and in the material. Even if the end product turns out beautifully and shows me a map of what I have learned, I do cherish the time I have spent together with the material, the crafting choreography and the mental process. Lucky me I have more pocket ideas in store.

A pretty påsöm pocket, ready to house sweet treasures.

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.