Three Easy Woven Brooklyn Tweed Projects Perfect for This Fall

 

Earlier this year, We e-mailed the team at Brooklyn Tweed to see if they wanted to participate in one of our collaborations for 2016. I was thrilled when I heard that Jared Flood, Founder and Creative Director of Brooklyn Tweed, wanted to see what we could do. Not only were they game for a collaboration, they mentioned that they were releasing a new yarn in the fall that would be ideal for weaving.

Be still my beating heart.

I have been following Brooklyn Tweed since before they carried yarn, when they were primarily a knitting pattern powerhouse, so this opportunity was one I could not pass up. After talking to the team here at Schacht, and the team at Brooklyn Tweed, we decided to do a 3-piece woven collection focusing on their new yarn, Arbor. This series includes a zoom loom hat, a modern poncho, and a lovely fringed pillow. These projects are primarily made out of Arbor, but two of them also utilize Quarry, Brooklyn Tweed’s chunky weight yarn.

Before planning anything, we played around on the Zoom Loom weaving swatches with all of Brooklyn Tweed’s main yarn lines, Loft, Shelter, Quarry, and now Arbor. All of these yarns (except for Quarry) wove up easily on the Zoom Loom, and never was I concerned about the lofty-spun yarns separating. I did find a work-around for Quarry on the Zoom Loom which will be featured in a how-to on weaving bulky yarns on the Zoom Loom in the future.

 

Zoom Loom Plaid Redux Hat – Benjamin Krudwig

 

Difficulty Level:

Easy

Equipment:

Schacht Zoom Loom, weaving needle.

Yarn:

Arbor from Brooklyn Tweed – DK weight in Alizarin – 1 skein 145 yards per skein

Quarry from Brooklyn Tweed – Bulky Weight in Moonstone – 20 yards (200 yards per skein)

Weaving:

Weave 17 squares with Alizarin. While each square is still on the loom, weave 4 supplementary rows in a contrasting yarn, Quarry (bulky weight) in color Moonstone. Weave these accents randomly so there is little repetition from square to square, windowpane fashion. I call this pattern “Plaid Redux”. Use caution when pulling the bulky Quarry yarn through the woven fabric.

Assembly:

Create two strips of 8 squares. Sew the ends of each strip together to create two loops of 8 squares. Offset these two loops by half a square and sew the loops together (see diagram below).

Take the final square and sew each side to every other square along the top of the upper loop (see diagram below). There will be 4 squares on the upper loop that won’t be attached to the crown square, take some excess yarn and weave through the top edge, then cinch it tight to close the holes. Stitch the holes shut if necessary.

Finishing:

heavily full the hat until felted; stop when you reach a good fit for your head.

Optional:

AFTER felting the hat, create a large pompom out of Quarry and sew it to the top using a length of Arbor.

 

Pale Blue Fringed Pillow – Jane Patrick

 

Difficulty Level:

Easy

Equipment:

Schacht 15” Cricket Loom Kit, 1 15” stick shuttle.

Warp Yarn:

Arbor from Brooklyn Tweed DK weight in Treehouse, 2 skeins, 145 yards per skein.

Weft Yarn:

Arbor from Brooklyn Tweed DK weight, 1 skein each of Dorado and Rainier, 145 yards, per skein.

Warp length

: 56” which includes take-up and 18” loom waste.

Width in reed:

15”

E.P.I.:

8

Total warp ends:

118

Total yardage needed:

185 yards

PPI:

8 (1 skein is perfect for this project, if you beat more than 8 ppi or weave longer, you’ll need another skein of Dorado.

Weaving:

Use Dorado for the plain weave. Use Rainier doubled for the ghiordes knots. Weave 1” of plain weave. Tie the first row of ghiordes knots. It is important to begin at the correct place, as this first row of knots sets up the remainder of the rows. Using the key, make a row of knots following pattern A, weave 4 rows of plain weave, and then make a row of knots following pattern B. Weave 4 rows of plain weave and repeat.

Key to ghiordes knots rows.

Note: Alternate rows A and B checking to be sure that the rows of knots alternate and line up. Working right to left, work in this way: count over 9 warps and then tie two ghiordes knots (each ghiordes knot is tied over 2 warps, so 2 knots require 4 warp ends [XXXX] on the diagram), skip 12 warp threads and tie another set of knots, and so on.

Measure weaving off tension until the pattern is square. Weave the backing in plain weave for 20”.

Finishing:

Remove the fabric from the loom and secure the ends. Wash by hand in hot water with mild agitation. If the fabric is not fulled sufficiently, place in hot dryer for a few minutes, watching carefully. Lay flat to dry and then steam press.

Assembly:

Zigzag and straight stitch between all cutting lines. Cut three pieces: the front leaving a ½” seam allowance at either end, cut the two pieces for the back which includes a flap closing–1 piece 8” long and another piece 9” long.

Sew a 1” hem in the longest piece and then attach the hook side of a 2” piece of a hook side of Velcro (the Velcro will stick to the wool fabric) and sew this to the hem on the wrong side. Turn under 1/2″ along the long edge of the other back piece and stitch.

Place the pillow front (fringe) side up (I used lengths of masking tape and temporarily taped the fringe to the inside to make sure it would not interfere with stitching). Place the back pillow piece with the Velcro facing up on top of the pillow front, and finally, overlap the short back flap piece on top of the Velcro piece. Sew around all sides. Press and turn right sides out.

Fill with your own pillow form or make your own with fiberfill and scrap fabric and insert in to your pillow. Enjoy!

 

Windowpane Poncho – Denise Renee Grace

Difficulty Level:

Easy

Equipment:

20” Flip loom with an 8-dent reed, tapestry needle for sewing.

Warp yarn:

Arbor from Brooklyn Tweed DK weight in “Cobbler” 2.8 skeins, 145 yards per skein – 408 yards total.

Weft Yarn:

Arbor from Brooklyn Tweed DK weight in “Cobbler” 1.2 skeins, 145 yards per skein – 174 yards total.

Quarry from Brooklyn Tweed Bulky weight in “Sulphur” 1 skein, 200 yards per skein

Warp length:

92” which includes take-up and loom waste.

Width in reed:

20”

EPI:

8

Total warp ends:

160

PPI:

6-8, this may need adjusting since you are using two weights of yarn.

Weaving:

Hemstitch at the beginning.

Weave plain weave through out. Weave Arbor for 1″ then, alternate between Arbor and Quarry every other pick. Be sure to weave a balanced plain weave so the picks of Quarry look square. Weave to the end of your warp, ending with 1″ of Arbor like in the beginning. Hemstitch at the end.

Assembly:

Lay length of fabric down in a straight line. Bring one end down to a point. Bring the other end to a point overlapping the other end. With a 10 yard length of arbor, sew a square with a whip stitch where these points overlap.

Finishing:

Hand wash, dry flat. Once dry, put in the dryer on medium heat for about 10 minutes until sufficiently fulled, checking often.

We hope you enjoy these fun and versatile projects. We hope you will be inspired to try these great projects and would love to see them. Be sure to tag your social media posts #schachtspindle, and #weavingwithbt so we can see them and share them!