Sharpie dyed inkle project

When Wood and I went on a trip recently, one of our stops was Solvang, California. It’s a cute town with a history of Danish settlers, but also includes a Spanish mission on the outskirts. While we were there we went to the Village Spinning & Weaving store. The owners are retiring, which we hadn’t known beforehand. (Currently only an online presence at: villagespinweave.com).

Since they were reducing their inventory, Wood said to buy what I wanted. I felt like a kid in a candy store. One of the items we purchased was an inkle loom. For those who do not know, inkles are narrow woven bands. The predominant threads in the inkles are usually the warp, or long, threads.

Looms to weave inkles have changed over time. A monograph by Mary Meigs Atwater shows two of the more current styles of inkle looms. I purchased the only inkle loom that the store had left.

Since bringing home the loom I have made some experiments in the little time I’ve had to myself. I started this project with some white cotton crochet yarn (Sugar ‘n Cream). I placed it on my older umbrella swift and got out my Sharpie markers (I get nothing for the mention). I used the older swift because I figured I might mark the swift accidently. I did, but it was minor.

After the marker ink dried I warped the inkle loom with white “laceweight” cotton yarn (278 m / 50 gm) and blue 8/4 cotton rug yarn. For the warp I used the dyed yarn. When I finis

hed weaving the dye color was easily visible at the selvedges. The color was more like a shadow under the white warp threads.

Time to finish the dye job. I got out a disposable

container, rubbing alcohol, a brush, and the inkle. I brushed on the alcohol. I was not surprised to see that the darker blue bled more visibly than the turquoise color. They had done the same with previous projects.

What do you think of my first inkle loom project?