Rigid Heddle Weaving (Badly!)

Well, I picked up my rigid heddle weaving again for the first time since May. Who knew you could actually get worse at something than you were when you first started?! I'd like to blame the fact that I'm getting over a lingering case of walking pneumonia, but I honestly think it is just tiredness that is causing the errors. Even when I first started practicing, I noticed that I started to make mistakes after the first inch or so. So much for a speedy way of making trim! Oh well, I will keep plodding along...

Trim Bargains from Sign of the Lambtree

Today I got some trim bargains from my friend and trim supplier Anwyn of 'Sign of the Lambtree'. Choosing is hard, but deciding what to use them on is even harder!

 

She has a great range of trim at bargain prices as well as games and medieval artifacts -

 

http://www.lambtree.com.au/

 



Trim dyeing

Recently I had another try at pot-dyeing. After the last time, my second-hand dye pot sprung a leak (while filled with dye, which was inconvenient to say the least) and I had to search around for a replacement. I found a nice one at a thrift shop at an excellent price.

I had some pink bobble trim which I wanted to turn black, and some ribbon trim that I just wanted to take the 'sharpness' off.

The bobble trim pre-dye

The ribbon trim pre-dye

This time I used some dry powder dye that I found in my stash.

The ribbon and trim bubbling away

The finished ribbon trim. A subtle difference, but an improvement.

The finished bobble trim. Perfect for neo-Victorian costuming.

The next step is untangling the mass of ribbon and trim that came out of the pot!

Trim dyeing

This week I decided to try and dye some trim that I had in my stash.

I wasn't sure of the fibre content of the trim; I suspected a poly-cotton blend.

I realised that I was not likely to use it in it's pink form, so I pot dyed it with some Rit cold water dye (brown), salt and a little laundry detergent.

I stirred for 30 minutes while the dye liquid simmered. I rinsed, following the dye packet instructions, and waited anxiously to see how it would turn out when dry.

And I was delighted with the result! Now I have too many fabrics that I can use it on!

New Trim Arrival

I love it when nice things arrive in the mail! Look at this beautiful trim that I ordered from Celtic Trims!

Some new lace

For many years I have wanted to learn how to make bobbin lace. I confess that the idea intimidates me a bit, (plus I have so many embroidery projects on the go,) so I have never got around to it. Over the last month I managed to find these laces on various sites. I plan to use them  to trim Elizabethan partlets and smocks.