Soumak Colour Pop Weave
Let your colourful yarns shine with this fun soumak colour
pop beginner’s weave
Materials
- Rico Small Weaving Loom - I got mine from Hobbycraft
- YARN A - Women’s Institute Home Cotton Aran – 100g in White
- YARN B - Selection of super chunky yarns – I used Plump by Mrs Moon
- Warping thread or strong 4ply cotton yarn
- Scissors
Set up your loom
Start by attaching the metal
rods included in the Rico Small Weaving Loom to the outermost slots in the loom
and tightening them. This will stop your weave from pulling in at the sides.
Using your warping thread or
4ply cotton, tie to the bottom or top of the loom, through the first of the
slots, then wrap the thread over and under every other slot, keeping it fairly
taught, until you get to the last slot. Tie off your thread. You should now
have the thread (your warp thread) running vertically up and down the loom – and
you’re ready to start!
Tip: you may want to only warp
up half your loom for a small test weave if it’s your first weave. If you do,
move your metal rod to the desired width and make sure you have an even number
of warp threads.
Using Yarn A, wind off a piece
that is a few arm lengths long. We are now going to tie this in knots to secure
the bottom of the loom. Starting bottom left, tie Yarn A around your first warp
thread. At the second warp thread, take yarn A over the warp, wrap it behind
the same warp, and then bring it underneath to the front between the first and
second warp threads, as shown in the picture. Repeat this process again on the
same warp.
Now move across your loom to the
right, wrapping Yarn A twice around each warp thread until you get to the end,
tie off your yarn.
How to make tassels
If you would like to add tassels
to your weave, here’s how! Wrap Yarn A around your hand (or piece of card if
you would like a longer tassel) several times. I wrapped mine approx. six times
– the more you wrap, the thicker your tassel will be.
Slide the yarn off and cut
through all lengths at the bottom. Holding all the lengths in the middle, lie
the threads over two warp threads. Now pull all the threads on the right-hand
side under one warp thread and through the middle. Repeat with all the threads on
the left-hand side, pulling them under and into the middle, as seen in the
picture.
Now pull your tassel down to the
bottom to secure! You can trim your tassels at the end when the weave is off
the loom. If you are using really chunky yarn, you may want to wrap the tassels over more warp threads.
How to soumak
I made all my soumaks first, so
that I could plan my colours and check I was happy with the layout before I did
the main body of the weaving.
Using Yarn B, start from the
back of the weave and leave a long tail, which you will weave in later. Pull Yarn B from behind your weave, up
and over the top of two warp threads. Loop Yarn B down and under the second
warp thread so that Yarn B comes back out in between the first and second warp
threads. Pass Yarn B over two more warp threads to the right, and repeat the
process. Continue in this way until your soumak is the desired length – I made
mine all around 6-8 warp threads wide.
To
return your soumak and make the row underneath, the next time you wrap over two
warps and bring your yarn underneath and in between them, repeat the above but
wrap Yarn B over and under the warp threads back in the opposite direction, to
the left, as seen in the picture.
When you reach the end, bring
your tail end to the back of the weave and tie to the first Yarn B tail. Weave
these in at the end.
How to tabby weave
Tabby weaving is the most basic
form of weaving, taking the weft thread over and under the warp thread. When you
reach the edge of the loom and work back in the opposite direction, make sure
you are doing the opposite to the row before and weave under and over the warp
threads that you wove over and under previously.
When you get to the edges and
the metal rods, you will want to wrap your yarn around the rods – these will be
removed at the end.
Take a few arm lengths of Yarn A
at a time, and wrap them around the large wooden weft needle supplied with the
loom. If you don’t have a wooden weft needle, try using large tapestry or yarn
needle with an eye wide enough for your yarn.
When you reach the soumaks,
carry the Yarn A you are tabby weaving with underneath the soumak on the back
of the work. Keep an eye on your tension, you will want it taught enough not to
sag behind the soumaks, but not so tight that you are pulling on the metal rods
at the edges.
Continue tabby weaving and
filling in around the Yarn B soumaks using Yarn A until you reach a few
centimetres from the top, or your desired length.
Tip: use the comb included in
the loom to push down your rows very now and again – this will help keep them
neat and uniform.
Finishing
Using a few lengths of Yarn A, tie a series of knots along
the top of your work, as you did at the base. Now gently unscrew and slide out
the metal rods along the side of your work.
You do not need to cut the warp threads at the bottom of the
piece – instead simply slide them off the loom.
At the top of the loom, you may want to use the warp threads
to tie around a length or wood or stick, to hand your loom from. If you do, cut
your warp threads at the top of the loops, and tie two together around your
chosen hanger, until you reach the end.
Weave in any ends, and trim your tassels.
I hope you enjoyed this pattern! Find Lindsey and more free
Lottie & Albert patterns at @lottieandalbert and www.lottieandalbert.blogspot.com
