H ere I’ve used a pick-up band to trim a wool bag that I wove on a rigid heddle loom and then fulled (felted). The band does double duty—first by encasing the raw edge of the top of the bag, which was folded to the outside, and second by providing a decorative finish and focal point for the piece. This leaves the inside of the bag completely smooth, and there’s no need to add a […]
If you’re new to pick-up weaving, you’ll find that the more you understand about pattern charts, the more relaxed and efficient you can be as you weave. Plus, it’s fun to create your own patterns. To illustrate the basics, here are some examples in Type 2 pick-up (mønsterband), which has 2 background ends between pattern ends in the threading. These patterns can be woven on the band heddle (bandgrind) or inkle loom using the finger […]
P ick-up bands make great trim for wool bags or pouches. I’ve designed these so that the trim extends in a loop at the top on each side, forming an easy and elegant closure and handle at the same time. The pouches themselves are knitted-and-fulled (felted). The size (about 10″ wide and 7″ high) is just right for a cute little purse or a tool pouch to hold a band heddle and shuttle. One pouch […]
In the book, I’m wearing the handwoven wool weaving belt shown above. I’d like to share the details of my design with you, for this black and white belt (fixed-length), a rust-colored version (adjustable-length), and a quick-and-easy alternative made from cotton webbing. Design The weaving belt I got in Norway consisted of a length of webbing with short loops of cotton tape sewn to each end. Soon the loops began to fray from the abrasion […]
In an online article in the Norwegian Textile Letter, I talk about what’s in the book and also about how pick-up bands were used in the old days in the Hallingdal valley. I include warp drafts and pattern charts for the two bands I wove to illustrate the article. These bands were modeled after traditional bands—one a hairband and the other trim for a skirt—in Norwegian museum collections, and are shown in progress on the […]
I‘m looking forward to teaching a class in Norwegian Pick-up Bandweaving, September 17-19, 2015, at Vesterheim Folk Art School in Decorah, Iowa. The Vesterheim collection of pick-up bands is featured in my book, so this is an opportunity, not only to learn pick-up bandweaving, but see some of the museum’s bands up close and in person. The class description: Historically, pick-up-woven bands were used in Norway to tie up baskets of food, to swaddle babies, […]
I‘m delighted that my new book, Norwegian Pick-up Bandweaving (Schiffer Publishing, 2014), will soon be available online and in bookstores. It’s a unique book—including both cultural history and instructions for weaving—and it’s chock-full of photos, drawings, and more than 100 charts of patterns from bands in museum collections. Quote from the book jacket Laurann Gilbertson, Chief Curator of Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, wrote: Bands are small in size, but they are large in function, history, and […]
Norwegian Pick-up Bandweaving 