Remnants

Making something new from the leftovers of old projects has real appeal to me. I can see materials I've carefully chosen for one purpose combined in new ways, and, in the case of fabric, this yields interesting color, pattern, and even texture juxtapositions. Because I often sew gifts, the combinations also bring together thoughts about the people for whom the fabric was originally purchased. So, there is a many-layered weave going on.

In the case of my current project, a set of rag placemats, I actually needed to start by making the loom. And, for this too, I began with "remnants," in that I used lumber, screw and nails we had on hand.

The dimensions of this simple box loom are 19 X 15 3/4 inches, and it is made from ordinary interior grade 2 X 4. The nails are 2 1/2 inch finish nails, though you could use nails that are somewhat shorter or longer. I pre-drilled the holes so as to avoid splitting the wood, and I did not nail in a straight line for the same reason.

The next step is to string the warp, and here again, I used string I had on hand. It doesn't have to be fancy string, but you want to use something about as strong as a good kite string. You start from the upper left corner with a slip knot and wind the string up and down around the nails. The warp layout map shown below is from an old rug-making book I got from my mother, who was a rug braider.

Once you have the warp ready, all you need is your fabric and a yard stick or wide tooth comb for battening the rows. About the fabric: this is the perfect project for the remnants from pant making. The reason is that you need to work with strips that are about 1 1/2 inch wide.

The author of my little book, Kathryn Andrews Marinoff, assumes I'm working with wool, but I don't have wool remnants, because I really don't sew with wool. And this project is all about using what I have on hand. So, I'm thinking of this is as a kind of experiment in weaving with cotton "rags." I like how it looks and feels so far, but it may all come apart the first time I wash the place mats!

Before closing, I want to put in a plug for a couple of great resources for those of you who do not have a lot of "remnants" of various kinds laying around your house or garage waiting to be remade. The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse and Urban Ore are both treasure troves. The Depot has more of the interior kinds of things (paper, fabric, paints, and on and on and on). Urban Ore has massive amounts of construction materials, furniture, hardware, and on and on and on.

I've left out some details here, so if you want more information, please do post a question. I'd also love to hear about your projects along these lines.