Weaving on a hand loom.

I have been preoccupied with my new toy. After buying the March/April 2010 issue of Piecework Magazine, I became fascinated by those Weavette or Weave-It Looms. I did a little research and found a place in Michigan that carried something similar. The vintage ones are ridiculously priced right now on Ebay due to the recent renewed interest. But there are other companies making similar style hand looms. The one I got is called The Arbor Loom. It's a 4x4 inch hand-held triple warp. Handcrafted in the U.S.A. by J.B.'s Custom Woodworking in Red Oak. I got it from The Old Farm Girl in White Cloud, Michigan. The owner, who is the only one who works there, was super helpful and very nice. She shipped it on Monday and I got it by Wednesday morning.My first test was using some superwash sock yarn I had in my stash. The square on the left is using a single strand of the sock yarn. It was a bit loose, but I kept on practicing. The one on the right is using a different technique called, Rigby Weave. For the first 2 warps, the yarn is held doubled and on the 3rd warp, one strand is used for the 3rd warp and the final weaving. It made a much tighter weave. Both of the squares are not washed or blocked.Before I discovered the Rigby Weave, I had already made a bunch of squares. I didn't want to waste them, so I washed and blocked 20 of them. As you can see in the above photo, it does bloom and the weave does get tighter. But it's still a loose weave and it's very light and soft.What did I make with the 20 squares? A Doll Blanket for Melody to put her babies to bed. I seamed up the squares in 4 rows with 5 squares for each row. Then I seamed the 4 strips together.
To make the edging, I single crocheted around the whole blanket and then added a row of crab stitch. The crab stitch gave the light blanket a nice sturdy edge and a cute little decorative detail. The finished doll blanket measures 15" X 19".After playing with a variety of different weights of yarn, my next project is already underway. I am using a Worsted Weight to make a baby blanket. I have a few friends with babies due this year, so I thought I should get started with the baby gifts.