Sunday, January 31, 2016

Lotsaknots Etsy Shop




Here is a view of our Lotsaknots Etsy shop.  We have a wide variety of both towel and scarf kits currently available.  It's so exciting to see the front page of the shop nearly full.

Our kits are very different from most weaving kits available online.  We offer pre-wound warps, with a threading cross and weft on bobbins ready for the nearest boat shuttle.  We strive to make weaving easier regardless of your skill level, expert to beginner.  We offer kits to make 2 towels or 2 napkins or fabric for a table runner.  In addition, we offer a variety of kits for making attractive fashion scarves.

New weavers are faced with lots of decisions about how to invest their weaving dollars.  Along with the loom, comes the need for lots of additional equipment.  We ease that financial burden by winding the warp and weft for you.  No need for a warping board or mill, no need for a bobbin winder.  These additional items can get expensive and often cause lots of undue stress.

When I began weaving, I recall being asked which I preferred a warping board or a warping mill.  The board was less expensive so I bought it.  Later, I learned how much easier and often faster winding a warp on a warping mill can be.  It's also more expensive, whether new or used.

Bobbin winders come in a wide variety and, I later learned, the Swedish version is more reliable and much more expensive than the belt or band driven winders.

The equipment I now have, after over 12 years of weaving, is not the equipment I began with.  I now own a Toika 3 meter warping mill and a Swedish hand winder.  Both tools serve me well and are work horses.  Sure, there are lots of choices but these are the tools I prefer and they have lasted a long time with easy maintenance.  Both are a far cry from the warping board, missing some essential pegs, and band driven bobbin winder with an impossible crank operation that I first owned.

We now ofter a wide variety of scarf kits.  Warps are, as always, pre-wound, ready for threading on a rigid heddle, table or floor loom.  Bobbins are wound and ready for a boat shuttle or can be used with a stick shuttle by winding them off the pirn and onto your shuttle of choice.

Here are a few photos of our first scarf kit:

Many other warp and weft combinations now available in Lotsaknots Etsy Shop

Happy weaving!