{"id":4099,"date":"2020-02-08T08:17:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T07:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=4099"},"modified":"2021-12-14T06:54:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T05:54:29","slug":"curtain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/curtain\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I don’t like curtains in our home just for the sake of curtains. They need a purpose \u2013 to keep light out or for privacy. My husband suggested we get a curtain for the front door, to keep the draft out. That is definitely a purpose and I agreed. I suggested I would weave it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is part four of a stashbuster series. The first post was about Rya knots<\/a>, the second about weaving bands<\/a> and in the third I made a blanket out of pin loom squares<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A loosely woven fabric in natural white and dark grey wool singles and commercial flax.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Weaving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I came up with the idea to weave Dan’s draft curtain I saw before me a loosely woven fabric that would be a perfect curtain. “Is a loose weave really the perfect draft stopper?” you say. Hold your horses, I’ll get back to that in a bit, all things in due time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulky singles and sleek flax<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I love spinning bulky, low twist singles on my Navajo style floor supported spindle<\/a>. I use them as weft in weaving projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the years I have spun quite a lot of bulky singles on my Navajo spindle and I haven’t used all the skeins that I have spun. When I took inventory in my bursting stash I found quite a lot of skeins of bulky singles in natural white and dark grey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bulky singles from my stash for the weft.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I decided to use them in the curtain, there were more than enough skeins for a curtain. I also had a whole cone of commercial flax yarn that would be perfect as warp \u2013 strong, sleek and with that shine only flax can give you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double width \u2013 double the fun?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My loom is only 60 cm wide so I warped for a double width weave. I know from previous experience that flax yarn is a challenge to weave with and that proved to be accurate in this project as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Double layered curtain weave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The double weave in combination with the loose fabric gave me an extra challenge. The top layer stayed reasonably taut while the bottom layer sagged and fussed. Trying to pass the shuttle through the bottom shed was a fight every time and really tough on my eyes, trying to identify the home of each warp thread. I was afraid that the left and right sides of the curtain would look different, but I kept weaving. I was really quite frustrated at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The cutting down of the curtain warp will reveal all the secret of the fold and the second layer of the double width.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That is the beauty of weaving with handspun, though \u2013 so many things can go wrong and I can’t allow myself to give up. So much love, skill and time have been invested in the project and I just have to finish it. If there are problems along the way I need to fix them. End of story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cut<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I cut down the warp the weave actually looked good! It was a bit loose in the fold, but better too loose than too tight, right? A wave of joy rushed through me when I realized that I could actually make something with this cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The curtain weave was a bit loose in the fold but looked otherwise surprisingly good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sewing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the fabric was so loosely woven there was no way I would be able to sew the curtain on a sewing machine. Instead I settled down with waxed flax thread and started hand stitching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing I did was to secure the raw edges with a simple whip stitch so that the ends wouldn’t fray. When they were all secured I stitched hems on both ends after having soaked the cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loops<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A hand woven band of Shetland wool for curtain loops. You can see a second curtain behind my woven curtain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At first I had planned to make a channel for the curtain rod to go through, but as I was having my band weaving frenzy<\/a> I realized I could make loops of the band to hang the curtain in. It probably has a fancy curtain name that I don’t even know in Swedish. Anyway, I cut half of the band in six peaces, whip stitched the edges and backstitched them onto the upper hem. I saved the other half of the band for a simple tieback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A simple hand forged curtain rod and rod holder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The curtain was finished. But at the same time it didn’t feel finished. There was something missing. It was loose and transparent and didn’t look curtainy enough. I remembered that we had an undyed linen sheet in the cloth stash. It had got a rip and we saved it to use for mending. Perhaps I could make a background curtain to give the whole assembly a more curtainy look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A parachute accident<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I found the sheet. As I unfolded it I tried to remember where the rip had been and hoped that it wouldn’t be a problem for my project. After all, a sheet is a lot larger than a front door, and the rip might be placed outside of my measurement needs. This thought lasted for a millisecond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the sheet was fully unfolded I saw it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A circular hole, the size of a human head.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larger than a human head.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the middle of the sheet.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my darling little raspberry pies had had a parachute period a few years ago \u2013 he made parachutes for his toy figures and threw them up in the air to let them quietly fall down. My sweet little crafter. While I am proud that he instinctively started to make a parachute himself instead of asking for a store-bought parachute, I clearly remember having taught him how to cut fabric long before the parachute accident. In the middle of the sheet!<\/em> When I muttered about fabric cutting etiquette my now almost seventeen-year-old said that the chance to blame anyone had expired a long time ago and that he didn’t have any guilt in it anymore. He was probably right. But still. A hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A picture of the hole would have been appropriate here. But the wound is too fresh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mending<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I really wanted to make this curtain with stashed, up-cycled and reused materials only. So I had to find a way to fill the parachute hole instead of buying a new back curtain material. My initial idea was to take the leftover sheet cloth and make a visible mending with embroidery around the join. This seemed like a big project, though, so I decided to procrastinate for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a while I remembered that I had bought some lace ribbon at a flea market last summer. What if I could make a join with the lace? That would mend the hole and make a pretty detail on the back curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A lace mended parachute accident.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I hand-stitched the raw edges of the sheet, hemmed it and added the lace where the parachute section had been. This really made the sheet turn into a real curtain instead of just an emergency solution. The back curtain looked lovely. I sewed snap fasteners on the front and back curtains so that I could detach them for washing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also went through the curtain and evened out any uneven shuttlings with a tapestry needle. The fold looks a lot better and hardly shows at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last thing I added was curtain weights in the bottom hems of both curtains. This was the only item I bought. That and the curtain rod. It is hand forged locally, though and quite sustainably produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A real curtain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A finished handwoven curtain from spindle spun weft and commercial flax warp. Handspun, handwoven bands for rod loops and tieback and a back curtain made of a recycled linen sheet and a vintage lace ribbon. All seams are hand sewn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wanted the simplicity of the loosely spun wool with the shine of the flax. The loose weave shows off the wool and gives the weave an impression of being both bulky and delicate at the same time. The loosely spun singles with the loose weave gives the curtain an almost raw look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The finished curtain keeps the draft out (especially if you close the door).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Together with the back curtain and the weights in the bottom hems the whole assembly has a lovely drape. It even looks pretty and finished from the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The back of the curtain with the linen sheet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I am so happy with the result. It turned out better than I had imagined and it feels very grown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billowing lace that is just the right amount of not too lacey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A slow curtain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This curtain took time to make and assemble. The slowness of the weaving and hand stitching gave me time to think and make decisions that I wouldn’t have made had it been a faster process. I have said it before and I certainly say it now: Slow is a superpower that allows us to think and make grounded decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A slow curtain made by hand and heart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every time I walk through the door my heart sings when I pass the curtain. So much love, care and creativity was put into this project. The fact that I managed to turn it into something that we use every day makes it even more precious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can follow me in several social media:<\/p>\n\n\n\n