Calm Waters: Birth of 3 Baby Wraps

2/1/2017

My niece (and goddaughter), expecting her first baby, requested that I weave a handwoven baby wrap for her. Favorite color: turquoise. Style request: "grown up". I knew she grew up around the water and teaches yoga so I immediately was thinking of something soft, peaceful, organic with colors flowing from one to another. We discussed using shades of turquoise and grays and samples went on the loom.

I sent her two sets of samples: one woven on a traditional point twill threading and one woven on a modified point twill threading (for the weavers out there, I merged patterns from Strickler # 328 & 330). The warp was a 10/2 pearl cotton warp in 2 shades of turquoise (a deep turq and an aqua) and 2 shades of gray. I wove with several shades of pearl cotton and a fine white cottolin.

She preferred the "feathery look of the modified point twill on the far right, so that is what we went with.

Samples: Plain weave and point twill on the left, zigzag twills and modified point twill on the right.

I would weave 3 sister wraps so I measured the warp: 6 chains, each 20 1/4 yards long. A total of 1000 ends of 10/2 pearl cotton in random stripes of 4 colors: light gray, medium gray, light turquoise/aqua and deep turquoise, to be sett at 30 ends per inch. I "ombred" the transitions from one color to the next so that the colors flowed smoothly from one to the next across the warp - all color changes being made on the warping mill.

6 warp chains weighted and on the loom. Ready to be wound on.

Warp wound onto the back beam

View from the front of the loom

Calm Waters I: woven with white cottolin weft in progress

Middle marker applied (a tiny "LOL" label: Lamb on the Loom, Laugh out Loud, or Love Our Littles: take your pick.

The Sister Wraps

Calm Waters I: white cottolin weft. Given to my goddaughter

Calm Waters II: woven with deep turquoise pearl cotton weft. Given to my eldest niece

Calm Waters III: Woven with a light turquoise/aqua pearl cotton weft.
The wrap is a size 6, 100% cotton, and measures approximately 28 ½” x 186”. Both ends of the wrap are hemmed.
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3 Comments

Ettenna

9/30/2019 05:38:24 pm

Is there a way to subscribe to your blog/ website?

Jean

9/19/2021 01:54:59 pm

I have a question about the Calm on the Water baby wraps. You measured the warp at 20.25 yards and wove off three wraps. But if each one was 186 inches seems like that leaves a lot of warp on the loom. Does this account for the two samples for your niece and then fringe for the completed ones? Sorry if this seems a rather stupid question. I’m just learning and reading as much as I can on how other weavers plan projects.
Thank you and cheers

Pattie Lamb

9/19/2021 02:10:53 pm

Hi Jean,
I wove 3 wraps, finished at 186”. On loom they were 219” to allow for 2” for hems on each end and 15% draw-in and shrinkage. So I needed about 18 1/2 yds just for the wraps. Add to that 40” for loom waste and some samples. That’s why the warp was so long..
P.

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