by David Swan, writing as Henry MacQueen
(Originally appeared in Wolftracks, issue #1.1, in October, 1989)
One of the most ubiquitous accessories in these Current Middle Ages is the belt pouch. Most are made of leather or cloth. Here is a way you can weave yourself a distinctive pouch without having to lay out a vast quantity of cash. All you need is a square of cardboard (about 8" by 8"), 35 straight pins and some wool yarn. It is entirely possible that 5 cents is a gross over-estimate of the cost of the loom.
Cut a square of cardboard about 20% larger than you want your finished pouch to be. This will be your loom. Align the cardboard so that the corrugated edges are at the sides and the "solid" edges are at top and bottom.
Stick straight pins in the top edge so that they are evenly spaced and about 1/4 inch apart. j The easiest way to do this without measuring is to place a pin at each extreme corner (angle these outward a little so that there is solid cardboard for them to anchor into). Put a pin halfway between them. Put a pin half way between each of the pins there. Repeat the "divide in half" until the space between pins is about a quarter of an inch. Don't put them closer than this... it's not worth the extra hassle later! Put a pin into each of the lower corners.
Now you are ready to "warp" your loom. (Warp threads are the up & down threads.) Start at the lower left corner. Tie a slip knot in the end of you yarn and put it over the lower left pin and tighten. Run the yarn up to the upper left pin and around it from left to right. Run it down, around the bottom edge, up the back and around the same pin from left to right but from the other side. Run the yarn down the back, around the bottom and up to the next pin. Repeat this process until all the top pins have been loaded and tie your yarn off to the lower right pin (see fig 1). Your loom is now warped.
(Hint: if you plan to do a 2/2 twill or a plain tabby weave, then tie off the last run at the top. This will give you an odd number of warp threads and the offset between rows will be taken care of automatically.)
Now comes the weaving. The idea is to pass the weft (back and forth) threads over and under the warp threads while moving in a counter-clockwise (as seen from the bottom) spiral from lower right to the top, working right to left (for right handed people). Reverse this if you are left-handed by starting at lower left and working left to right in a clockwise spiral.
Usually, a loom has a mechanism that opens up a shed (hole between layers of warp threads) to pass a shuttle (carrier for weft yarn) through. On this loom you have to pass the weft between the warp yarns individually. Traditionally, this was done with a flat, pointed stick which the weaver would use to pick up the threads and when inserted would twist 90 degrees to open up the shed through which a shuttle or small bundle of yarn would then be passed. To make this job easier, you may wish to use a fisherman's netting needle which combines the flat,pointed stick with the shuttle. Towards the end of the weave, there is not enough room for the netting needle, so you will have to use a large yarn needle. Each load of yarn is tied to the end of the last piece, keeping all knots on the "outside". When completed, you will be turning the piece inside-out, hiding all the messy stuff.
Now comes about two hours of undemanding, but repetitive, work. The easiest pattern is the simple tabby weave, consisting of over-under-over-under-... until finished (see fig 2). A slightly more difficult weave (but much more beautiful) is a twill, the most common form of which is the 2/2 twill, consisting of over-over-under-under-over-over-under-under-... and offsetting by one warp thread for each row (see fig 3). This produces a diagonal pattern and a softer, more supple cloth. If you change the direction of the diagonal in a regular fashion you produce a "herring bone" pattern which is called a Herringbone Twill.
After you lay each row of weft, move it down with your fingernails until it is about as far from its neighboring weft as the warps are from each other. When weaving is complete, tie off the ends, run a piece of stout cord (the drawstring) into the loops that are around the pins at the top and remove the pins. Slide the cardboard out of the pouch and "finish" it.
The finishing step is crucial. If left as-is, the threads of your pouch will shift about and the gaps will become uneven. In no time at all it will look quite ratty. What you wish to do is "full" the wool, that is, to cause the wool fibers on the surface of the yarns to link up with the fibers on the surface of the neighboring yarns. Fulling will also shrink the work (by 10% to 20%), thus tightening up the weave. The easiest way to full a small object like your new pouch is to place hot water (100 to 120 degrees F.) in a large jar. Add a squirt of dish-washing detergent, add pouch, put the lid on and shake it for about 5-10 minutes. Take the pouch out and scrub it gently by hand for a few moments to lock the fibers together then rinse the soap out. If you use COLD water to rinse, you will get more shrinkage (and a tighter weave) than if you used hot. Wring the water out, squeeze until damp between towels and then take a hot steam iron to the surface. Allow to dry overnight. Enjoy!
"Phantom Checks"