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Fiber arts update!

I've been spinning a bunch, but usually only tiny-ass projects or big boring shit, whoops.

First of all, new spindle!

It's from Scheepjes; didn't even know they made spindles. Pretty cheap for how pretty it is, too. Would make for a great beginner spindle (inasmuch as I'd recommend any top-whorl spindle for a beginner. Bottom whorls are less fragile, is all I'm saying) -- it's got a nice, mid-range speed and weight and is pretty un-fussy. Doesn't have a notch, but I think they're overrated anyway.

Then: finished 200g of bright fuck-off red merino:

(it's for a 4-ply, the extra single is a couple grams that got separated out due to weighing discrepancies)

The 2nd from the right single also has a bunch of sari silk bits spun into it by means of fauxlags.

And this, folks, is how you 4-ply on a budget:

Lightweight storage bobbins: Ashford shuttle bobbins with cardboard circles taped on (about 15€ for a ten-pack). Lazy Kate: simple shipping box (free) with some metal BBQ skewers (also free because I... borrowed... them from my dad) and some foldback paperclips (free; historical artifacts from the depth of my desk drawer) to serve as buffer between bobbin and cardboard. I'm sure an appropriately-sized washer would also work. The lazy kate also holds a big rock (free) so it doesn't tip over.

Thread one single through each space between your fingers, apply very gentle friction to smooth out any pigtailing, and off you go!

(yes I was spinning in the doorway. don't worry about it)

Finished pretty harshly (fulled by hot-cold shocking and then thwacked hard enough to count as a workout) and dried:

And my phone camera ate the quality for lunch but it's now turning into a hat:

Will also include some neon stripes with reflective tape:

(these are samples (from Ashford) that I spun up on a drop spindle and cabled. Easier for small bits than doing a proper 4-ply on a wheel)

I'm working on a fine, smooth, pitch-black merino 3-ply for a weaving project now (300g; plus 60ish of the same thing in red), which is even more ass to photograph than the fire-engine red stuff... ah well!

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Dress

c. 1886

Hallwylska museet

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Dress

c. 1911

London Museum

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Glamorous champagne-coloured evening dress from the 1950s. Designed by legendary London couturier Norman Hartnell, this show stopping gown sees lustrous Duchesse satin richly embroidered with gold and silver sequins, pearls, and white paste stones in an elaborate floral beadwork design.

Fashion Museum Bath

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Dress, 1890. Emile Pingat.

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Dress

c. 1893

silk, wool, velvet, lace

The John Bright Collection

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dress

about 1892

silk taffeta, silk velvet, chenille silk, pearl, metal sequins, glass beads

Mme. De Latour

Newfields

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Cooking! That’s what day 4 is all about. I don’t cook on encampment. I’m not much of a chef in my day-to-day life and I have a healthy phobia of open fires, so suffice to say I don’t stop by the hearth much. But I do love our cooks, immensely and unconditionally for the immense amount of work they do to keep us all fed.

One of the big misconceptions we work to battle is that everyone in the Middle Ages ate flavourless gruel. There is porridge in the morning, but that comes with salt, honey, summer berries. There’s plenty of bacon and sausage- pork was the favoured meat for most of the population compared to chicken or beef, who provided much needed eggs and milk. And they certainly weren’t afraid of using the spices available to them. A particular favourite of everyone whenever it shows up is the gingerbread. Made by combining honey, breadcrumbs and enough cloves, ginger, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon to blow your tits off, I am told it’s delightful. Alas, my own pitiful spice tolerance cannot take it, as tempting as it always looks.

Medieval Gingerbread Recipe, courtesy of one of our cooks. As you can tell, it isn’t really an exact science.

- Make fresh breadcrumbs (easiest in food processor)

- Boil a couple of jars of honey (scale to amount of gingerbread you want)

- Skim off scum from honey

- Add an amount of breadcrumbs until it's breadcrumby but still liquidy

- Add ground ginger, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and black pepper until it tastes too strong

- Add more breadcrumbs until it becomes stiff

- Wrap portions in baking parchment

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Patterns for riding gowns, late 16th (or early 17th) century As people still go crazy about the beautiful riding gown from Saxony I posted some time ago, I decided to share some period patterns for similar garments. These patterns are from a later copy of the Schwabach pattern book and were most likely used for training and testing the members of the Schwabach tailor´s guild. While these patterns are not to scale, they can still serve as a starting point if you want to make your own 16th century riding gown. Schwabach pattern book: https://digishelf.de/objekt/77488794X/19/ Top photo: Riding gown exhibited at the SKD Dresden, Germany

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i just invented a cathedral rose window granny square pattern and i feel insane now

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this messed up vintage cat sewing pattern has tormented me since i saw it & like some other folks have done in that post - i tried my hand at tweaking the pattern to resemble the illustration (and my personal tastes) a little more. i've ended up with this. i bestow it upon you nice folks now 👐

(update 2, added instructions & it's also on my Kofi!)

go forth and make weird little beanbag kittens! pls show me if you do!

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Hey i’m a fashion design student so i have tons and tons of pdfs and docs with basic sewing techniques, pattern how-tos, and resources for fabric and trims. I’ve compiled it all into a shareable folder for anyone who wants to look into sewing and making their own clothing. I’ll be adding to this folder whenever i come across new resources

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16uhmMb8kE4P_vOSycr6XSa9zpmDijZSd?usp=sharing

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YESSS! LETS GOOOOOO!!! THEY'RE BACK IN BUSINESS!

I’m so hype you have no idea

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There is a lot of information out there about weaving, crocheting and knitting, but relatively little about spinning.

Which is a shame, since spinning is really where the "resource provided by the earth" tangibly becomes "object with a use."

Aspects of spinning, such as the amount of twist and the length of the fibers, are impactful upon the thread or yarn created, but lots of fiber crafters don't get to directly play with those variables...

It is so strange how textile production is so utterly dominated by very few fibers, when so many are possible. Industry keeps coming up with new ways to transform bamboo or something into fibers, which is all well and good, but we have yet to run out of easily usable natural fibers that have worked for thousands of years.

Dogbane—Apocyonum cannabinum—was called "Indian hemp" because it was used by Native Americans for ropes, cords and textiles. It's incredibly strong, soft, and easy to collect large amounts of it. But hardly anybody uses it.

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smolweaving resources

a masterpost of resources to complement that post going around the other day with a glossary of several different kinds of small weaving. design your own potholder loom squares: https://friendlyloom.com/pages/potholder-design-wizard

make a pin loom: https://windsweptmind.com/2016/07/04/adventures-in-pin-loom-making-and-so-can-you/

warp a pin loom the regular way: https://adventuresinpinloomweaving.com/2018/09/21/choose-your-warping-method/

the diagonal way: https://howdidyoumakethis.com/square-pin-loom-speed-weaving/

fingerweaving

how-to: https://www.metismuseum.ca/fingerweaving/

another how-to: https://nativetech.org/finger/beltinstr.html

additional resources: https://jumaka.com/2019/03/finger-weaving/

tablet weaving

how-to: https://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/TW01/TW01.htm

another how-to: https://jumaka.com/2019/02/card-weaving/

personal favorite site for designing tablet weaving drafts: https://twistedthreads.org/

backstrap rigid heddle weaving

how-to: https://spinoffmagazine.com/backstrap-rigid-heddle-basics-get-weaving-handspun-bands/

3D printed rigid heddle backstrap loom parts:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6141824

3D printed rigid heddles for band weaving:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3999858

inkle loom weaving

how to build a loom from pvc and get started: https://littlelooms.com/a-free-guide-to-inkle-weaving/

inkle loom/rigid heddle backstrap pattern design: https://carolingianrealm.blog/PatternGenerator.php

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but if the phrase "self care" doesn't resonate with you, try calling it "system maintenance" and see if that clicks.