Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

I'm #weaving fabric for another tote bag using the krokbragd technique. What I like about this technique is that it allows for a level of improvisation you typically don't get with most weaving.

For instance, I decided this pattern in brown tones will be a bit too bland for the full side of the tote, so I'm going to improvise a banded purple diamond pattern around the middle of the tote to spice things up.

I just got a (free!) ⁨#knitting⁩ machine! This is a KnitKing model 93 with a ribbing attachment, stand, accessories and some yarn. It can even be programmed with punch cards and came with a giant envelope full of them. I can't wait to try it out once I get caught up on ⁨#weaving⁩.

Time for an #introduction. I've been involved in #FOSS and #Linux since the late `90s. My career started as a sysadmin, pivoting to security. I'm the President of @purism and work on hardware and software to protect #privacy, #security and freedom.

I've written a number of books (https://kylerank.in/writing.html) and was a long-time columnist for Linux Journal magazine.

I have many hobbies including #weaving, refurbishing mechanical #calculators, #3dprinting, #brewing, and many other things.

These fast ⁨#weaving⁩ projects are a nice departure from the more involved ones. Here's a merino wool scarf I wove this weekend on my rigid heddle loom (my floor loom is still dressed for a different project).

I also have started adding ⁨#sewing⁩ into my ⁨#weaving⁩ projects. My first attempt was sewing simple seams to make a pillow with a krokbragd pattern, and most recently I took on a pretty major project of sewing a tote bag. In the future I plan to try making garments too.

It's been about a year since I took up ⁨#weaving⁩ as a hobby! This thread will look back at my projects and progress over the past year.

First let's talk looms. I started as many weavers do on a rigid heddle loom. I opted for the widest Kromski loom they make so I had the most flexibility. Then about a month in, I lucked into a *free* floor loom and since then most of my projects have been on that.

My wife's tote is complete! This is my first ⁨#weaving⁩ project with significant ⁨#sewing⁩. First I came up with the design and wove it on my loom. Then I sewed it into a tote, reinforced it with interfacing, sewed a liner, added straps and sewed it into the hem. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

This weekend I sewed my handwoven fabric into a tote and added fusible interfacing to give it structure. I woke up early this morning and so I decided to stitch on the leather straps. Once I add the lining, hem the top and turn it out it's done! ⁨#weaving⁩ ⁨#sewing⁩

It's time to sew my handwoven fabric into a tote! I'll be using a combination of hand sewing and my ⁨#antique⁩ 1890s Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine. ⁨#weaving

A ⁨#vintage⁩ ⁨#weaving⁩ book find at Powell's! The author of The Romance of French Weaving started work after the Great War documenting the history of the French weaving tradition, weighing the inevitable march of mechanization and mass-production against craft. Quantity vs quality. The conversation continues today.

I've almost completed half of the fabric for the tote. This picture shows all three stripes and gives a decent idea of what the tote will look like from the side. It will be narrower as I will make pattern-matched shoulder straps from each side. ⁨#weaving⁩

After two false starts from trying out a temple for the first time, I'm making progress on fabric I'm going to sew into a tote. ⁨#weaving⁩

The wool scarf is done! This is a surprise present for a male family member (who doesn't read my social media feed). It took about 7.5 hours start to finish and I'm pleased with how it turned out. ⁨#weaving

Well that was fast. I just finished ⁨#weaving⁩ the scarf. Now I just need to take it off the loom, tie the fringe, and wash/full it.

My next ⁨#weaving⁩ project is a simple twill scarf using single-ply, natural color worsted-weight wool raised locally. Doing something this simple is a nice change of pace from my previous projects.

At lunch I visited a local fiber art exhibit and coincidentally one of the weavers in the exhibit was there and explaining her work to a friend. Got to chat about her work and weaving in general! #lucky #weaving

My rug is done! Here it is in its natural habitat. It took me a bit over 55 hours to make it in total. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and learned a lot about Rep ⁨#weaving⁩ in the process.

Halfway through tying the fringe on the rug. I'm using a double Damascus edge which takes about 6 hours per side. ⁨#weaving⁩

My rug is almost ready to take off the loom. The ⁨#weaving⁩ went quickly compared to the set up, but at the end here I'm struggling because I've run out of warp! I've had to pull many tricks out of my bag to finish this, but I think the final product will still be great.

I decided to measure my rug and remaining warp and I'm glad I did! This technique draws up much more warp than I was expecting so this 3'x5' rug will now be 3'x4'. Thankfully I caught it in time to adjust the pattern so it will still be symmetrical. ⁨#weaving⁩