For bag making, woven fabric is ideal. It’s tough and tight and doesn’t stretch. Weaving is also relatively fast and a decent swatch of fabric can be made in just a few hours.

So, we warp. I’ve got a rigid heddle loom, which is a pretty simple loom that has a few advantages. It’s quick to warp, which is handy, since by the time I get to weaving I’m getting pretty impatient to just be done and have that fabric swatch in my hands. It also can fold up a lot smaller than a shaft loom and doesn’t take up the better part of a room. I’m a fan of simple weaving patterns…plain weave is really regular and pretty, and lets yarn colours and simple stripes be the fabric’s focus instead of a complicated pattern. And did I mention fast? Fast is key at this point.

I decided to put the long gradient yarn as the warp (stretched long through the loom’s heddle), and the repeating gradient yarn as the weft (shorter back and forth across the warp). Since I had already calculated how much warp I needed and how long it should be (way back when in Part 1), I just followed what I set out at the beginning. Now I find the warp always stretches a bit and I’ll have more ends than originally calculated, but that’s ok… it’s art not science ;) Also, weaving has its own language, there are lots of good resources out there if you’re interested in trying it out. I like the Yarnworker. Lots of good videos and tutorials.

Anyway, after a whole bunch of shuttle passes and heddle beating, the fabric is complete! Finally?!? Not yet haha!

There’s yet another step before the fabric is ready for sewing, and that is fulling and lightly felting the cloth. When the fabric is taken off the loom, it’s a bit lumpy and has some spaces in between the strands of yarn. It needs a nice hot bath in some soapy water, along with some rough treatment to full out and allow the yarn strands to settle into place in the fabric. I typically allow the yarn to soak in very hot soapy tap water for 10 min or so then stir it up and smoosh it around on itself. Then I shock the cloth by putting it in cold water, smooshing and swishing. I repeat the hot/cold treatment a few times until the soap is rinsed out, then roll the fabric in a towel, step on it to squish out water, and lay it to dry. All of the temperature changes and smooshing will allow the yarn to bloom and lightly felt, making a fuller and harder wearing fabric that is less likely to form pulls or pills.

Now the cloth is finished and ready for sewing!