Continuous Strand Weaving

I have started weaving on my square loom. I love it. The weaving area is about 12" by 12" of course the loom area is bigger. Here are the first two squares..,already joined. I used cascade yarns 128 from yarn.com.

My throw is finally complete.  I used 15 squares or 30 triangles.  To get a bigger throw you might want to use 20 squares.   My throw is 3 squares by 5.     I figure I can always add an extra row. A 4 square by 5 square(20) is a really nice size.     It is actually relatively fast to do.   My goal was to weave at least 1 square a day.    Even with my crazy schedule I was able to do that.    The nice thing about this craft is you can pick it up for 5 minutes then come back to it an hour later and know exactly where you are.. so it is easy to progress even with a crazy life.

I am thinking of trying to weave on a square loom, less ends to weave in and probably a little faster than 2 triangles.   Here is a video of the technique.   I am hoping to use a bigger loom, something the size of my triangle loom but square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWNdSYAbXLs&feature=player_embedded   

I have a bunch of woven squares and was trying to figure out what to do with them. I have decided to combine them into a scrappy throw. I was not sure what would be the best way to join the squares. I tried two different ways..one was sort of a grafting..using a yarn needle and yarn. If the areas are the same yarn and you are using matching yarn this works fine. The other way is to use a crochet hook to sort of do a cast off between the loops. With two loops on the hook move the lower loop over the higher loop then add another loop and repeat. I liked this method the best... Especially since I have a variety of yarns and colors.        

This is my loom. It is an 18 inch triangular loom. It was made by Fred Anderson. The nails on the hypotenuse have 3/8 inch spacing between them... This does not include the width(diameter) of the nail. I hope to get a bigger loom in the future.    

This is a swatch I did earlier this week. It is my attempt at using two strands of cotton yarn and twisting it as I went. I had a hard time with it. It is the Baby Bee cotton yarn from hobby lobby..which I have a ton of in my stash.       This is a swatch that I made today. I was so excited about this yarn that I had to play with it. The yarn is a 51/49 silk wool Blend from Noro .. Kogarashi   This my swatch draped over a soda can.     The Noro yarn is beautiful and has the best drape. It is on what I consider the border of density. I like the cotton yarn Sprout better. Just a little more density. Still I might try to do a shawl with this.

Since I am a beginner I have been trying different yarns with my small loom. So far I have used wool and cotton yarns. I find that I really like the look of bulky yarns on the loom. The end result of the fabric is a lot lighter than if you knitted it. When selecting these yarns I find that it works better if the bulky is closer to very bulky. Here are some of my attempts This is a cotton yarn from hobby lobby...Baby Bee Hushabye Solid. It says size 10 knitting needles... But I do not think this works well on its own for continuous loop weaving. If you double it will work ok.     This is a yarn by Brown sheep... Lambs Pride Bulky. It is a wool and mohair blend. I love working with this yarn. I also think it creates nice texture and fabric. If only my weaving skills were better.     This yarn is by Classic Elite Yarns and is cotton. The name of the yarn is Sprout and it is part of the Verde Collection. It is a very soft yarn. So far this is the best cotton yarn I