Razzmatazz moves along

Here is Razzmatazz as it appeared on the loom last week.  And, below, is the video of Razzmatazz I & II moving on.  Well, moving off actually.

And now the finishing process begins.  Anything hand woven needs to be inspected carefully when it comes off the loom.  We correct any small errors like skipped stitches, repaired threads, and other minor flaws.  All these things can be fixed with some needle weaving and careful inspection.  We work very hard to make every baby wrap that is sold by Lotsaknots Studio perfectly woven when it leaves here.

Once all the repairs are made, rails are hemmed (if needed for safety) and ends are also hemmed by machine.  The wrap is then washed, inspected and, if need be, small repairs are made and the wrap is shipped to its new home.

I'll continue to post as the process moves along.  Once repairs are made, the initial measurements are taken before the wrap is hemmed and washed.  It will be measured again following hemming and washing so stay tuned there is more to come for Razzmatazz.

The beginning? the end? Both.

Razzmatazz I

Our baby wraps are all plain weave so what's with the twill line?  It's the hem for the wrap I just finished.  The twill hem is a Lotsaknots trademark.  It also draws the weaving in a bit so sewing the hem without it showing at the edges is easier. When I have worked on something all week, it feels good to complete it on Friday.  

Razzmatazz aerial view

We now have a business page on Google+ for Lotsaknots.  You can find it here:   http://goo.gl/DUlXHU

I'm learning more about how to use this new option.  Any help with Google+ business pages is greatly appreciated.  Feel free to leave a comment after this post or on our Facebook page.  

Weaving Odds and Ends

This is the current view from the loom.  

When I am weaving a baby wrap or anything, for that matter, I get wrapped up in the process and forget about everything else.  Especially the computer.  Weaving is a type of meditation for me.  I enjoy every step and tune our the world.  I watch the shuttle move from edge to edge and enjoy seeing the fabric grow.   Sometimes, I listen to a book on disc and find several minutes have passed and I haven't heard a word.

The warp currently being wound 

This is the warp for the next baby wraps being woven.  Janet is busy at the warping reel winding this warp.  She does it in 4 bouts or sections of over 200 threads each.  Then, they are wound onto the back beam of the loom and threaded into the heddles to prepare for weaving.  We're still a few weeks away from that.

Tropical Delight, the sister wrap to Tropical Breezes, is available for purchase in our Easy shop.  It's 3.5 meters long and 27" wide.  It's a soft, sturdy, light and lovely wrap awaiting a home.  It's brand new, never wrapped, never worn.  It could be yours!

Tropical Delights

Tropical Delights is a brand new, hot off the loom baby wrap ready for wrapping.  Available now in our Etsy shop, this wrap is all cotton with a 10/2 mercerized cotton warp and an 8/2 cotton weft.  It's hand woven in plain weave except the hems which are our signature twill.
It measures 29" wide and 3.5 meters (136.5") long.

Created using a combination of 6 colors with 4 main background colors, this wrap is as unique and wonderful as its name suggests.  Tropical Delights has a tactile, heart-shaped, hand stitched middle marker.  

Those are all the details and the important part is it wraps like a dream.  Sturdy, soft, supple, and definitely toddler worthy.  Designed to wrap a child from 8 to 35 pounds and provide maximum strength and comfort for both mother and child.  

Feel free to contact us with any questions st lotsaknots [at] msn [dot] com.  

We've gone tropical

Tiffany and babe.  She's wearing Dark Shadows, a Lotsaknots hand woven wrap and she reports it is wonderful.  It looks like we sprinkled this one with sleepy dust.  Actually, we have several pictures of mama wearing our wraps with  babes napping inside.  This is the newest and one of my favorites.

I working on finishing Tropical Breezes, a custom wrap, and Tropical Delight which will be for sale in the Lotsaknots Etsy store soon .  Our waiting list friends will receive an email when it;s posted in Etsy.  If it doesn't sell in a few hours, I will post about it on the Lotsaknots Facebook page.  

Enjoy a video of the Tropical wraps coming off the loom!

Weaving Along

Currently on the loom, Tropical Breezes baby wrap!

Here are a couple of close up photos of the wrap in progress:

July was a very busy month!  We had a nice vacation in New England and I bought a new loom!  It arrives the end of September and has 16 shafts!  This will be quite a learning curve.  It is also a computer controlled loom and I will be using Weave Point software to create drafts and control the loom.
The computer controlled part is that the computer tells the loom which shafts to raise and lower for each pick as I weave.  I create the drafts and still warp and thread the loom like any other 16 shaft loom.  Here's a picture of the Toika Eeva computer controlled loom

Now, it's time to return to weaving on my lovely 4 shaft Glimakra Standard.

More news soon and in the meantime, happy weaving.

Stormageddon and Dark Shadows All Done

Stormageddon middle marker

I enjoy taking of video of the wraps coming off the loom when they are done.  Here is the most recent custom wrap and a sister as they exit the loom.

As I say in the video, this has become tradition for me.  The weaving is done, the loom is empty.  Now, on to the finishing touches.

Happy weaving!