Day 70: More weeks ago than I care to admit, a friend asked me if I could weave a strap for her mandolin. I was more than willing because it gave me an excuse to try weaving a wider band on my "bonker" loom (Glimakra band loom). Unfortunately, the colour scheme in the first warp I hung didn't live up to my expectations, but since it was on the loom and I didn't want to waste the thread, I went ahead and finished it. It's attractive, but just not what I wanted for Elaine's mandolin strap. Having overcome that setback, I hung a new warp in different colours and knew within a few throws that I was going to be pleased with the results. I still have a few inches to weave, but here you see the improved version. It's two inches wide, and has two sets of five pattern threads (the hearts) separated by design stripes which require no pickup. Overall, it's fairly easy to weave, although I found the black background threads hard to distinguish, and had to be extra careful not to pick them up along with the pattern threads. Meanwhile, I've been making matching cords using a variety of techniques, unsure what size will work best for attaching to the button at the base of the mandolin. The finished band will be backed with cloth and will have grommeted ends for cord attachment.
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