Hearts On The Bonker Loom

Day 18: Now that the October Weave-along is over and both my waffle-weave projects are complete, my thoughts returned to the Bonker Loom, otherwise known as a Swedish band loom. Mine was made by Glimakra, one of very few companies offering this type of loom for sale. Why "Bonker?" Well, the warp threads run from right to left (east-west), as opposed to being strung vertically (north-south) from the weaver's perspective. The weft-bearing shuttle is passed away or toward the weaver's body rather than back and forth. On a regular loom, a beater of some sort would pack the throws against the fell, but in the case of the Bonker Loom, the thread is "bonked" into place with a band knife (wood or metal) using the hand not employed with running the shuttle. It was a little disconcerting at first, and my early bands had rather wobbly selvedges, but muscle memory and a sense for the tension of the weft came with practice. These little hearts are one of my favourite patterns. They are worked over five doubled warps (i.e., the pattern threads) and can be flanked with any number of variations depending on the desired width. The pattern warps could also be singles of a heavier thread. The idea is to have enough bulk that they appear embossed against the plain background weave. Some one of you is bound to remark, "But they're PINK!" and you'd be close to right. The colour is actually called Very Berry, and it's a light magenta. Besides, I didn't say this band was going on anything for personal use! I may not approve of their colour preferences, but some of my friends like it.

Rollin' Right Along

Day 71: Compared to an inkle loom which can only be warped to the length governed by its pegs, the "bonker loom" (Swedish band loom) can hold a much longer warp. The maximum length I can weave on my inkle is roughly nine yards. Here, I have almost fifteen yards of completed band on the cloth beam of the bonker. It would easily hold double or even triple that amount, were I possessed of masochistic tendencies. Admittedly, weaving on the bonker is much faster than weaving on an inkle loom. I only started this piece shortly before Thanksgiving and will be taking it off some time in the next few days. That said, weaving the same pattern gets old, and unless I have a pressing need for an unbroken length of decorative band, I think I'll stick to shorter projects from here on out.

Christmas-Present-To-Self

Day 359: Every year since I have lived alone, I have celebrated the holidays with what I refer to as a "Christmas-present-to-self." Sometimes, it's purchased out of season (a kayak, for example), but usually, I try to have it arrive as close to December 25th as is reasonable. This year, I rather expected that it would have to be shipped from Sweden to a US supplier and then to me, so when I placed my order, I was anticipating an arrival date some time in late November. It showed up on my doorstep four days later! It took an hour and a half to assemble and an equal amount of time to sort out the warping system, but by evening, I was weaving my first ribbon tape on a Glimakra treadle band loom. By the end of the next day, the two-yard warp was fully consumed, and I pulled it off the loom. That first band was no thing of great beauty. Far from it! The selvedges were rough, it widened and narrowed where I hadn't kept even tension on the weft, but I could see a decided improvement from the start of the band to its terminus. A bit braver, I tried a second warping method which required some engineering and a few innovations in order to put a longer warp on the reels, and in short order, I was again weaving, this time on a wider tape. The piece still has a few foibles which reveal my inexperience with this type of loom, although they are levelling out (literally) as my work progresses. The unusual thing about this style loom is that the warp runs crossways to the weaver's position rather than lengthwise. The shuttle/quill/bobbin is controlled by the left hand while the right runs a beater. Since my band knife (the beater) is taking a little longer to get here, I am for the moment using a table knife, beating the weft into place with the blunt side of the blade. The treadles are on a pulley, raising and lowering the sheds as they are depressed by the weaver's feet. The whole process is much faster than band-weaving on an inkle loom, and the reels can hold a much longer warp. Plus, it's just plain fun to do!