Tablet Weaving

Day 70: I've been drawing on old skills to keep boredom at bay as I shelter in place during the pandemic, and in most cases, that just means digging into the back of the cupboard for equipment I already own. That said, I knew I had thrown out my old cardboard tablet-weaving cards at least a decade ago because they had deteriorated to such a point as to be unusable, so I ordered a set of 25 plastic ones to replace them. Having not touched tablet weaving in ages, I was pleased to see the art benefiting from technological advances. Forty years ago, plastic cards weren't available. I started with a simple pattern "to prime the pump" (as it were): a single diamond which, worked with thrums from weaving gave me a sample piece about half an inch wide and five inches long. For my second project (shown here), I dug out two skeins of space-dyed #5 perle cotton which I had originally intended for hardanger, cut each in such a manner that I could best utilize the entire length, and doubled the pattern so that it would yield two diamonds instead of one. The space-dyed thread gives a shimmery effect to the weaving. Tablet weaving (also known as card weaving) is an excellent introduction into the art of creating textiles by manipulating warp and weft. Although I've used plastic cards here, you can make your own from materials you probably already have on hand. You'll need some stiff, thin carboard and a hole punch. Cut out 2.5" or 3" squares , punch a hole in each corner and round them so they won't catch on your threads. Then all you need is some yarn or thread (beginners should use smooth fibers, not yarn) and you're on you way to a weaving adventure.