Showing posts with label Textile Instruction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Textile Instruction. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Construct a Cardboard Box Loom for A Child

The box construction allows small arms, hands, and fingers to manipulate yarn in
  and out of the warp twine in an easy fashion. When I was very young, perhaps in
 first grade, my teacher gave us box looms to practice weaving with. Because
weaving projects with yarn are now taught in 5th grade and paper weaving in first
 grade, teachers no longer construct box looms for young ones to practice
with in public school.

Brief Description: Teach your little one how to weave with a cardboard box loom. They can play with it and weave soft, colorful yarns in and out of the sturdy twine, over and over. This is a wonderful way to develop their small motor skills. This loom is used for teaching only, so it is not necessary to tie off the yarns or dismantle the warp twine threads, therefore I tie the warp all the way around the box (a sturdy wrap). The child will also need to unwrap the weave in order to start again and this is good. Unweaving is just as important as the weaving because it trains the child's fingers. Make and unmake over and over, just as you would do when practicing with sewing cards.

Supply List:
  • a very sturdy, shallow cardboard box
  • box cutter
  • sturdy twine
  • many colors and textures of yarn
Directions:
  1. Measure and notch with consistency, the narrow end of a sturdy shallow box for your warp twine. 
  2. Wrap the twine, using even tension all the way around the box through each notch to create your warp threads. Tie it off at the back of the box.
  3. Now a little person can practice their weaving using some soft, thick yarn. After they have finished practicing, have them remove the yarn from the warp, roll it into a ball and store it inside the box loom behind the warp threads.  
Additional Tips: Resist eliminating the steps when teaching little ones an activity. It is very important for children to learn processes in art. This trains their thinking, their perseverance and their hands. What may seem like busy work on the surface is actually a necessary part of their development. Just as it takes hours, days, weeks and years for an athlete to learn how to play at sports, so does it take the same industry to learn how to accomplish great things in art.
      Children today definitely lack the patience and fortitude that they once had in the countless generations of students born prior to our century. In part this has much to do with the immediate gratification people experience through modern conveniences. However, if you persist in teaching your children patience and dedication to quite activities such as these: their abilities to self sooth, wait with a quiet and calm spirit, and create with understanding and genuine curiosity will improve
.

Left, I'm prepping a sturdy piece of wood on the left for notching. You can make a loom like a
 cardboard one in the video below out of thin plywood. Right, you can see that here I have
 notched a stiff piece of card board and wrapped my warp threads to the front of the loom
 only. This is because I intend to remove and use the weave.

       When your child is ready to weave something worthy of keeping, you will need to construct a cardboard loom and wrap the warp around the notches to the front. You can learn how to make a cardboard loom by watching the video below. This loom will enable the young weaver to remove and keep their work.
      Advanced loom weavers graduate to working with a loom built out of wood and nails. Professionals then may purchase a loom for perfect results!

More Related Content:

Weave The Ojo De Dios

The traditional Ojo De Dios craft. Left, backside of the weaving,
Right front side of the weaving.

Brief Description: A god's eye is a yarn weaving and a spiritual object. The Ojo de Dios (Eye of God in Spanish) is woven with yarn and wood, often with several colors. The weaving of an Ojo de Dios is an ancient contemplative and spiritual practice for many indigenous peoples in the Americas, and beliefs surrounding them vary with location and history. Some people believe they were originally part of the religion of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Read more...
      This is a popular, inexpensive Native American craft. It is often taught at summer camps, scout meetings and sometimes in schools. 

Supply List: Students will need yarn of any color, scissors, 2 sticks of equal length and masking tape to make this vintage craft.

Step-by-Step Directions:

  1. Tape the center of two sticks together in both directions to secure your twigs into an X shape.
  2. Tie the end of your yarn piece off at the center of your crossing sticks.
  3. Wrap yarn over and under between each stick, working your way around and around until the god's eye is finished to the size you want. 
  4. Add tassels if you like by wrapping yarn around a piece of cardboard many times. Remove the card and tie off the strands together twice. Clip the ends to form the tassel. Watch video here.
Look at the weave steps up close.


For more classroom friendly videos
 visit SophiesWorldVideo.

Monday, June 16, 2014

"plain & fancy: american women and their needlework, 1700-1850"

Plain & Fancy cover art.
Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850 by Susan Burrows Swan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

       This comprehensive survey of American needlework written by Susan Burrows Swan is a very entertaining read for those of you who love to learn about Early American art history. Although some of her writing is weak in the area of understanding how religious history influenced the kinds of topics that women pursued, her overall coverage of the genre is certainly appropriate within the arena of textile methods and women's social history.
       I acquired the book from a library discard shelf and as usual, it was a valuable teaching resource that should never have been classified as "discard material." These kinds of books are needed for research and education of our young people. Ms. Swan writes in a style that teens can read easily and with some degree of patience. Because of this, her work is a valuable treasure for teachers who integrate both literacy and art.
       This being said, however, it is obvious that she writes about religious topics from a disposition of one who does not have any true connection with those who practice religion, an unfortunate circumstance often plaguing those authors who have written about the history of art in our museums for the past fifty years. It is difficult to write about religion from an agnostic or atheistic point of view. It's like writing a book about war without ever having had to live through one, if you know what I mean.
       Art history is a difficult subject to write about if one does not share deeper connections with the artists that go beyond the surface study of an object or museum collection. So much of what inspires religious topics in art comes from deeply rooted belief and this belief should be explored with the same depth of study that one gives to the art object itself. For what is art if it does not reflect life? Where does it's true value come from? Art is not merely object, it is also reflection of human experience.

The needlework collections are from the Winterthur Museum, Delaware.

View all my reviews

Friday, January 31, 2014

add texture to your textiles

Above is one of many teacher “samples” I have created to instruct students in the textile arts.

Textile pieces don’t need to be assembled like traditional quilts. Students can add
 pockets, pleats, layers, beads and blanket stitching wherever they prefer
 in order to create unusual designs.

I have sewn a clipped and ruffled center to this fabric flower from felt. In the flower above,
I have used several embroidery stitches to accentuate the design in a alternative way.
A variety of applications and methods may be used to incorporate texture
 into textile artworks.

Some of my fabrics are purchased from a store and others are hand-dyed or painted
 during my classes. I teach students a wide variety of methods so that they may
choose those techniques that appeal to their own creative interests.

In this photo, you can see that I am starting to add even more visual and tactile information
to my small banner with the introduction of bright yarns and threads. It is important to
teach students that they do not need to rely on machines to produce elaborate work.
Very few young people have the income or materials to produce artworks apart
from what they can manipulate by hand on their laps. They must be taught independence
and ingenuity apart from their financial means in order to survive as artists.

I chose to back my textile piece with this lavender leaf patterned fabric. Finishing artworks
 on both sides is professional. Art teachers instruct students to be professional in order
for them to achieve excellent results.
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upcycling pre-teen trash

Every spring my daughters and I collect from their closets clothing and other items that they have either
outgrown or no longer need

These items are then donated to charity.

However, given the fact that I am very sentimental about my children, it often makes me sad to see them
throw away those things that I have associated fond childhood memories with. Of course, you can
not keep everything.

This sample banner, I think, helps me to demonstrate just how my students may use some of the old
garments and novelty toys they might label as “toss offs.”

This image of a young teen is from a marvelous book. I will find it in my bookcase
sometime today and link to the author/artist here.

Students may even include text in their samplers; here I have used a permanent ink
marker to write a story directly onto the fabric.

Here I have demonstrated that students don’t need to follow stricter rules used by quilters when they are thinking
 about their designs. I’ve used both the reverse and the front of this fabric within the same design.

The batting here is used as though it were fabric and some of the edges of fabric are
left raw and frayed. Small plastic toys from my children’s old toy bins are also
 sandwiched between layers of material.

Even a silk flower from one of my younger child’s old costumes finds it’s way into the mix!

Finally, I have backed my textile sample with fabric from a skirt once worn by my youngest.
More Related Content:

textured, blue textile banner

My first textured, textile banner completed for a college credit course. Missouri art teachers are now expected to take some textile credits for a k-12 art education certification. I dyed the blue fabrics in a class for an assignment. We were then asked to integrate our fabrics into some sort of a banner.

I added pulled threads and one other machine knotted, metallic fabric to this project.

The butterfly was made by hand as well; I used embroidery threads, copper wire and beads to create this blue butterfly. The banner is backed with a wool felt that was once used as packing material for one of my family’s many cross country moves.

About half way through the project, I decided the banner needed a few additional colors; I chose yellow and pale pink.

I finished many of the edges off with a decorative blanket stitch.
More Related Links:

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

resources for weaving

From a carpet-weaving in Hamadan. Tabriz and Isfahan,
as well as in many villages, even in the dark nomad tents
and mud huts, are headed by women and girls, the cheapest
 labor, the famous Persian rugs made. For desert dwellers,
 and nomads are the ornaments of their colorful carpet a
 symbol of paradise, and a replacement for the garden
with real flowers.
      Weaving is a textile craft in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a fabric or cloth. The threads which run lengthways are called the warp and the threads which run across from side to side are the weft or filling.
      Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven". A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.
      The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat.
      Though traditional handweaving and spinning remain popular crafts, nowadays the majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, with its Jacquard weaving process, makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.
      In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft (older woof). The warp threads are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle that carries the weft thread through the shed.
      The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures:
  • plain weave,
  • twill weave,
  • satin weave, and
  • complex computer-generated interlacings
      Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warp faced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by placing various colors of weft only in certain warp areas, rather than across the entire warp width. (Wikipedia)
Weaving Lesson Plans:
  1. Paper Weaving Lesson Plan  
  2. Weaving With Foil Tooled Accents
  3. Magazine Weaving
  4. Weaving in Circles
  5. Weave Drawing
  6. Paper Plate Weaving

four sample doll challenges to develop lesson plans with

four doll challenges
      Because I am an art educator, I have a different point of view when it comes to “doll challenges.” Add just a few more steps plus an assessment form and “presto chango,” you’ve got a lesson plan! I will include my “doll challenges” here in the near future along with links to those web “doll enthusiasts” who are busy pursuing new challenges of their own. My “Challenges” are written in a lesson plan format suitable for adaptations by both middle school and high school art educators, however, teachers will need to add additional information about State and National Standards. Doll challenges present a wide variety of methods and applications that can be included in textile art classes, sewing classes and/or art clubs.
      If you are a doll artist and would like to submit photos of a completed doll for one or all of  these challenges, I will review your project and post it under the category for others to appreciate and learn from. Include the information listed at the bottom of each challenge under the label description along with several nice jpgs. Web participants should also identify the name of a pattern he or she uses and where other readers may find it if they should choose not to design their own patterns for the project. Email your entry to pickandprintgallery@yahoo.com Remember that students visit this web journal often and I will not include work that could be considered “inappropriate” for young children. (I have taught drawing and painting anatomy courses but do not include ‘nude’ content on my education web pages because of Missouri state rules and regulations concerning classroom content.) I can also give your web journal a backlink if you’d like. There are no ‘awards’ or monetary prizes for participation, sorry.
Challenges From Across The Internet: All Dolled Up * Denver Doll ArtisansCloth Doll Artistry * Designs by Kat Lees * Doll Street Dreamers Challenges * FOCD Challenges * Joggles Challenges * Cloth Doll Challenge * Cloth, Paper, Scissors Challenges * Western Dollmaker * Cloth Baby Community Challenges * Couture Doll Design Challenges * Moonbeam World * Creative Doll Artists * TSG Paper Doll Challenge *
Traditional Lesson Plans About Dolls for Art Educators: Kokeshi DollsSeminole Doll Making * Native American Dolls *

Monday, October 31, 2011

resources for basketry

Basket made from reeds and sweetgrass.
      Basket weaving (also basketry, basket making, or basketmaking) is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.
      Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape. Examples include pine straw, stems, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, and wood.

Basketry Comes in Four Types:
  • "Coiled" basketry - using grasses and rushes
  • "Plaiting" basketry - using materials that are wide and ribbon-like, such as palms, yucca or New Zealand flax
  • "Twining" basketry - using materials from roots and tree bark. Twining actually refers to a weaving technique where two or more flexible weaving elements ("weavers") cross each other as they weave through the stiffer radial spokes.
  • "Wicker" and "Splint" basketry - using reed, cane, willow, oak, and ash
More About Basketry:
Video About Basketry:
Basketry Lesson Plans: 
  1. Basket making by Sue Stewart
  2. Weaving with plastic cups by Susan Holland
  3. Basket Weaving from Craft Revival
  4. Fiber Arts Curriculum from Basketweaving.com
  5. Reeds and Rainwater Make Baskets
  6. Lesson on basket coiling
  7. Choctaw Baskets: Weaving the Past and Present
  8. Telephone wire basket
  9. Fiber Coiled Baskets

resources for rug hooking

"Four Sisters" designed by Christian
Corbet (2008), hooked by Joan Foster.
      Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through the backing material by using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. In contrast latch-hooking uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.
      Wool strips ranging in size from 3/32 to 10/32 of an inch (2 to 8 mm) in width are often used to create hooked rugs or wall hangings. These precision strips are usually cut using a mechanical cloth slitter; however, the strips can also be hand-cut or torn. When using the hand-torn technique the rugs are usually done in a primitive motif.
      Designs for the rugs are often commercially produced and can be as complex as flowers or animals to as simple as geometrics. Rug-hooking has been popular in North America for at least the past 200 years.
      The author William Winthrop Kent believed that the earliest forebears of hooked rugs were the floor mats made in Yorkshire, England during the early part of the 19th century. Workers in weaving mills were allowed to collect thrums, pieces of yarn that ran 9 inches (23 cm) long. These by-products were useless to the mill, and the weavers took them home and pulled the thrums through a backing. The origins of the word thrum are ancient, as Mr. Kent pointed out a reference in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. However in the publication "Rag Rug Making" by Jenni Stuart-Anderson, Stuart-Anderson states that the most recent research indicates "...the technique of hooking woolen loops through a base fabric was used by the Vikings, whose families probably brought it to Scotland." To add to this there are sound examples at the Folk Museum in Guernsey, Channel Islands that early rag rugs made in the same manner where produced here off the coast of France as well.
      Rug hooking as we know it today may have developed in North America, specifically along the Eastern Seaboard in New England in the United States, the Canadian Maritimes, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In its earliest years, rug hooking was a craft of poverty. The vogue for floor coverings in the United States came about after 1830 when factories produced machine-made carpets for the rich. Poor women began looking through their scrap bags for materials to employ in creating their own home-made floor coverings. Women employed whatever materials they had available. Girls from wealthy families were sent to school to learn embroidery and quilting; fashioning floor rugs and mats was never part of the curriculum. Another sign that hooking was the pastime of the poor is the fact that popular ladies magazines in the 19th century never wrote about rug hooking. It was considered a country craft in the days when the word country, used in this context, was derogatory. Today rug hooking or mat making as it is sometimes referred to has been labeled in Canada as a fine art.
      Since hooking was a craft of poverty, rug makers put to use whatever materials were available. Antique hooked rugs were created on burlap after 1850 because burlap was free as long as one used old grain and feed bags. Every and any scrap of fiber that was no longer usable as clothing was put into rugs. In the United States, yarn was not a fiber of choice if one did not have access to thrums. Yarn was too precious, and had to be saved for knitting and weaving. Instead the tradition of using scraps of fabric evolved. Yarns and other creatively used materials have always been used for hooked rugs in the Canadian Maritimes. The well-known Cheticamp hooked rugs used finely spun yarns and the highly collectible Grenfell mats were meticulously hooked with recycled jerseys. Everything from cotton t-shirts to nylon stockings were cut and used.
      The modern preference for using only cut wool strips in hooked rugs originated with Pearl McGown in the 1930s, and may have saved the craft from disappearing in the United States. Mrs. McGown popularized strict guidelines for rug hooking and formalized its study. However the Grenfell Mission had previously and as early as 1916 established the same strict guidelines as structured by Lady Anne Grenfell wife of Sir Wilfred Grenfell as indicated in Paula Laverty's book "Silk Stocking Mats."
      In more recent decades hookers have followed quilters in exploring new materials and new techniques. This experimentation, combined with knowledge and respect for the past, will allow rug hooking to evolve and grow in the 21st century. Rug hooking today has evolved into two genres, which primarily fall into groups based upon the width of the wool strip employed to create a rug: fine hooking and primitive hooking. Fine hooking, in general, uses strips of wool measuring 1/32 to 5/32 of an inch wide. Designs of the fine-cut hooking genre use more fine shading accomplished by overdyeing wool in gradated color swatches. Primitive (or wide-cut) hooking uses wool strips measuring 6/32 up to 1/2-inch wide. The wide-cut hooking accomplishes shading and highlights using textures in wool, such as plaids, checks, herringbones, etc. Wide-cut designs are generally less detailed and mimic the naivety of rug hookers of the past (pre-McGown designs.) There are many well-known designers of commercial rug patterns and each exhibit their own distinct style and techniques. Some designers specialize in animals or whimsical subjects, others use specific and identifiable dyeing techniques, while others adapt antique rugs for today's rug hookers or employ various tools to achieve their chosen subject matter within their designs. You can find examples of each: Animals and Whimsy Bev Conway; Overdyeing techniques to achieve a signature look Karen Kahle; Special tools and techniques to create fine landscapes in wool Anne-Marie Littenberg; Adaptations of antique hooked rugs Sally Van Nuys; Interpreting Fraktur designs Susan Feller; Specializing in people in her rugs Rachelle LeBlanc. You can learn basic rug hooking techniques at Cindi Gay Rug Hooking. Other well-known rug hookers of today are Davey DeGraff, and Christian Corbet. In addition to the many commercially available patterns, many rug hookers are creating their own design patterns. (Wikipedia)
 
Associations and Guilds for rug hookers.
Schools for rug hookers
Magazines for rug hookers
Designs, Kits and Hand-Dyed Wool
Museums
Canadian & American Rug Hooking Fiber Artists
Directories connected with rug hooking.
Rug Hookers Talk Shop:

resources for needlework

My favorite needlework,
sewing basket is from Mexico.
      Needlework is a broad term for the handicrafts of decorative sewing and textile arts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. The definition may expand to include related textile crafts such as a crochet hook or tatting shuttles.
      Similar abilities often transfer well between different varieties of needlework, such as fine motor skill and a knowledge of textile fibers. Some of the same tools may be used in several different varieties of needlework. For instance, a needle threader is useful in nearly all needlecrafts.

1. Needle lace (also known as needlelace or needle-made lace) is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself.
      In its purest form the only equipment and materials used are a needle, thread and scissors. This form of lace making originated in Armenia where there is evidence of a lace making tradition dating back to the pre-Christian era. Turkish needlelace is also very popular around the world. This form however arose separately from what is usually termed needlelace and is generally referred to as knotted lace. Such lace is very durable and will not unravel if one or more loops are broken.
      Beginning in the 17th century in Italy, a variety of styles developed where the work is started by securing heavier guiding threads onto a stiff background (such as thick paper) with stitches that can later be removed. The work is then built up using a variety of stitches - the most basic being a variety of buttonhole or blanket stitch. When the entire area is covered with the stitching, the stay-stitches are released and the lace comes away from the paper. See reticella.
      Needle lace is also used to create the fillings or insertions in cutwork.
2. Quilting is a sewing method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material. A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting. Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing machine, or by a specialist longarm quilting system.
      The process of quilting uses a needle and thread to join two or more layers of material to make a quilt. Typical quilting is done with three layers: the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material and backing material. The quilter's hand or sewing machine passes the needle and thread through all layers and then brings the needle back up. The process is repeated across the entire piece where quilting is wanted. A rocking, straight or running stitch is commonly used and these stitches can be purely functional or decorative and elaborate. Quilting is done to create bed spreads, art quilt wall hangings, clothing, and a variety of textile products. Quilting can make a project thick, or with dense quilting, can raise one area so that another stands out.
      Quilt stores often sell fabric, thread, patterns and other goods that are used for quilting. They often have group sewing and quilting classes, where one can learn how to sew or quilt and work with others to exchange skills. Quilt stores often have quilting machines that can be rented out for use, or customers can drop off their quilts and have them professionally quilted.
3. In its broadest sense, an appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration. The term is borrowed from French and, in this context, means "applied" or "thing that has been applied."
      Appliqué was first discovered when clothes ripped and needed fixing so they used to sew over the top of the rip patches of different material otherwise known as patch work.
      In the context of sewing, appliqué refers to a needlework technique in which pieces of fabric, embroidery, or other materials are sewn onto another piece of fabric to create designs, patterns or pictures. It is particularly suitable for work which is to be seen from a distance, such as in banner-making. A famous example of appliqué is the Hastings Embroidery.
      Appliquéd cloth is an important art form in Benin, West Africa, particularly in the area around Abomey, where it has been a tradition since the 18th century and the kingdom of Danhomè.
      Appliqué is used extensively in quilting. "Dresden Plate" and "Sunbonnet Sue" are two examples of traditional American quilt blocks that are constructed with both patchwork and appliqué. Baltimore album quilts, Broderie perse, Hawaiian quilts, Amish quilts and the ralli quilts of India and Pakistan also use appliqué.
4. Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins.
      A characteristic of embroidery is that the basic techniques or stitches of the earliest work—chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, cross stitch—remain the fundamental techniques of hand embroidery today.
      Machine embroidery, arising in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, mimics hand embroidery, especially in the use of chain stitches, but the "satin stitch" and hemming stitches of machine work rely on the use of multiple threads and resemble hand work in their appearance, not their construction.
5. Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by artisans. Crocheting, like knitting, consists of pulling loops through other loops, but additionally incorporates wrapping the working material around the hook one or more times. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one stitch is active at one time (exceptions being Tunisian crochet and Broomstick lace), stitches made with the same diameter of yarn are comparably taller, and a single crochet hook is used instead of two knitting needles. Additionally, crochet has its own system of symbols to represent stitch types.
6. Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them. This process eventually results in a final product, often a garment.
      Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. There exist numerous styles and methods of hand knitting.
      Different yarns and knitting needles may be used to achieve different end products by giving the final piece a different color, texture, weight, and/or integrity. Using needles of varying sharpness and thickness as well as different varieties of yarn can also change the effect.
7. Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch, or half-hitch knots, called double stitches (ds), over a core thread. Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect.
      Tatting dates to the early 19th century. The term for tatting in most European languages is derived from French frivolité, which refers to the purely decorative nature of the textiles produced by this technique. The technique was developed to imitate point lace.
8. A lucet is a tool used in cordmaking or braiding which is believed to date back to the Viking and Medieval periods, when it was utilized to create cords that were used on clothing, or to hang useful items from the belt. Lucet cord is square, strong, and slightly springy. It closely resembles knitted I-cord or the cord produced on a knitting spool. Lucet cord is formed by a series of loops, and will therefore unravel if cut. Unlike other braiding techniques such as kumihimo, finger-loop braiding or plaiting, where the threads are of a finite length, lucetted braids can be created without pre-measuring threads and so it is a technique suited for very long cords.
      Archaeological finds and a literary description of lucets strongly suggest that its use declined after the 12th century, but was revived in the 17th century. Its use waned again in the early 19th century.
      A modern lucet fork, like that pictured, is normally made of wood, with two prongs at one end and a handle on the other. It may also have a hole through which the cord can be pulled. Medieval lucets, in contrast, appear to be double-pronged, straight-sided implements, often made of bone. Some were shaped from hollowed bones, left tubular, presumably so that the cord could be drawn through the centre hole.
9. A braid (also called plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair. Compared to the process of weaving a wide sheet of cloth from two separate, perpendicular groups of strands (warp and weft), a braid is usually long and narrow, with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others.
      The simplest possible braid is a flat, solid, three-strand structure in some countries/cases called a plait. More complex braids can be constructed from an arbitrary (but usually odd) number of strands to create a wider range of structures: wider ribbon-like bands, hollow or solid cylindrical cords, or broad mats which resemble a rudimentary perpendicular weave.
      Braids are commonly used to make rope, decorative objects, and hairstyles (also see pigtails, French braid). Complex braids have been used to create hanging fibre artworks.
      Braiding is also used to prepare horses' manes and tails for showing, polo and polocrosse.
10. A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. It is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe.
11. Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length (called the warp) and those parallel to the width (called the weft); the warp threads are set up under tension on a loom, and the weft thread is passed back and forth across part or all of the warps. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth weaving where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each colored weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colors worked over portions of the warp to form the design.
      Most weavers use a naturally based warp thread such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives. (Wikipedia)

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