Weaving Hale Akala

When we agree to weave a custom wrap, we work closely with our client(s) to create a wrap from a photo or painting or idea they want to see in cloth.  We have been working with a mama in Hawaii and she chose these two inspiration photos

This is a photo of the Hawaiian sunrise.  It's a favorite from our client and she wanted us to use the color scheme in this photo along with...








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This one which is from a painting she purchased while in Africa.  The first mock up expressed what Janet saw when combining the two photos. The mama indicated she wanted a graduated color scheme using yellow, pink, salmon and purple.  So, Janet did another mock up which our customer liked and we wound the warp.

Last week, I showed a short video of threading the loom with the warp our client named Hale Akala( house of the sun in Hawaiian).

This week I have a video of the first foot of weaving I have completed using a light gray weft.  Prior to beginning the weaving, I sampled 6 different weft colors including natural, black, light and dark gray.  Our customer chose the one she liked best and off we go.

The first wrap to be woven is the custom wrap which is 4.6 meters long.  I plan to weave 182 inches which will allow for take up in the weaving and shrinkage after wet finishing.  I checked my calculations by measuring the sample off the loom before and after wet finishing and found I needed to beat less firmly.  My ppi (picks per inch) were greater than my epi (ends per inch).  Plain weave structure requires an equal number of each or the web or cloth will be either weft or warp faced if you  have too few or too many picks.

Here's the video:

I'll be back with the middle marker early next week.  Back to the loom for now!

Introducing Hale Akala

Here is a short video after beaming Hale Akala (Hawaiian for house of the sun)

Once beamed, the threading begins.  From there, it's sley the reed and start the weaving!  This is the first warp we have done that is totally Brassard yarns.  The beaming went beautifully and the threading is going very quickly.  I'm looking forward to weaving this warp and trying a couple of different color wefts to show off the gradient.
The name Hale Akala mean house of the sun in Hawaiian and is pronounced "holly ah kah la".  It was named by our customer who lives in Hawaii and provided this photo as the inspiraiton for the wrap

I could stare at this photo all day and dream about how warm and lovely it must be in Hawaii right in this photo.  Certainly beats the 12" of snow we got this week.  Hmmm.

It's a blessing!

I enjoy weaving baby wraps and feel lucky we have a waiting list of mamas who want custom wraps from Lotsaknots.  We have worked out our own little "production line".  Janet, who has an amazing innate sense for color, does the initial design and works on a mock up of the wrap.  The mama chooses a photo or picture for inspiration and Janet works with her on the warp design.  Here is an example of a mock up and the final wrap.

Janet winds the warp and together we beam it onto the loom.  

I take over and thread the warp, weave a sample and consult with the mama on the weft color.  I do the weaving and the finishing.  Janet jumps in at the end to correct any weaving errors such as a skipped thread, and I do the wet finishing and ironing.  We have it worked out and it's going well.

I was recently asked to add blessing threads to the wrap that is currently on the loom.  It's the sister wrap to the Wizard of Oz Competition of Weavers wrap.  This one is called "Follow the Yellow Brick Road".  Here's a video of the wrap and the blessing threads.

See you soon,

Claudia and Janet

The Lotsaknots Team