Tri-loom Weaving Adventures - Part 1

I have been truly enjoying my beginning explorations in the realm of tri-loom weaving. Actually what I am enjoying is the technique called 'continuous warp' weaving and it is not limited to weaving triangles. With this technique and the appropriate loom shape, and peg or nail configurations, you can weave squares and rectangles and diamonds as well as triangles, without first warping the loom. The warp and weft are created at the same time.

In any case, though I have a square loom (2 of them) made for continuous warp weaving, I have only been working with the triangles. In Part 2, I will write about the looms themselves. But this post is about What You Can Do With Small Triangles.

I agreed to do a workshop with that theme, to follow the introduction to triangle weaving workshop at RiverWools in January. This is waaaaaay out of my comfort zone, to do a workshop, but I decided to give it my best effort.

And what a fabulous learning experience it proved to be for me! It forced me to focus on a single fiber goal for one thing. My normal attention span for projects and techniques and even colors is..well, a tad longer than an eyeblink. So I start lots of things and do finish a few of them, but often never work on anything long enough to get into that idyllic flow state - that creative, spirit-nourishing state in which perception of time shifts and one connects with the work in an immensely satisfying way. And often creative leaps are made.

So. I set to work to create information to pass on - first how to connect these small triangles that the class will be making on the sample looms. These looms make tri's about 11" across the top (the hypotenuse). I've got about 5-6 ways now to demonstrate in the workshop. My favorite way to connect them is to sew them together in a way that echoes the weaving, and is a little less noticeable than crocheting them together.

I then challenged myself to come up with several projects that used just one triangle. Here are the results of that exercise, two drawstring pouches and two cone-shaped containers:

This pouch was woven with two strands of Plymouth Encore, a variegated and a solid. It has two seams and the opening is edged in crochet, with an eyelet round to thread the drawstring through. The drawstring is a twisted cord made with the variegated Encore.
My original idea with the cone was that it would be a cute project for reviving the old May Day custom of putting a little bouquet of spring flowers on a neighbor's doorknob, and tiptoeing away, leaving the sweet surprise to be discovered later.

This one is made from my multi-colored handspun 2-ply and Crystal Palace Choo-Choo in Kiwi, a mostly rayon ladder yarn. There is one seam and no other finishing fiber technique is required, except some twisting and knotted to make the hanging cord and tassel at the bottom.

I also realized that these cones would also make cute wall pockets or candy holders for Christmas fun. This next was made with Cascade 128 and a multi-colored cotton ribbon yarn for which I can't find the band. I edged the opening with single crochet and went around again with a slip stitch, so it's a bit firmer than the one above.
This pouch seems like a perfect Valentine's Day project.
This was made with the same pink Cascade 128 along with Berroco Zen ribbon yarn. I folded the tri in half and seamed it along the side. Then with #7 dpn I picked up stitches all around the top and knitted for about 2" in stockinette, then did an eyelet round and a picot bind-off. I'm not sure how I made the cord....I don't have the pouch here as it's at Riverwools going into a display for the workshop.

Finally, I made some more little goddess shrines, so now my Peace Mother Goddess has a little company:
I'd like to see how many more things I can dream up for one tri, but I thought I ought to come up with a few projects for using more.

Here's a bag made with four triangles, using two strands of Plymouth Encore for the weaving. I made two squares by sewing/weaving two triangles together. Then I edged the squares in single crochet and sewed them together. The strap was done in crochet - first a chain then back and forth along the chain with slip stitch.
And here's a scarf done with just one ball of Noro Silk Garden 228. It's made of nine triangles. The tri's were sewn together with a green NatureSpun sport weight. I used the same yarn to edge the scarf in single crochet.


Finally, I had to let go and freeform a bit! This scarf/neckpiece was made of triangles of Noro Kujaku 22, joined at odd angles, overlapped and embellished with chain and single crochet in Noro Aurora which has a bit of sparkle.




And there you go! My Forest Floor Shawl needs some attention now and I hope to have that finished within a couple of weeks, certainly by the time of the workshop!