This question popped up on a thread about Hudson Bay blankets. How difficult is it to weave your own cloth or make your own blankets? How does the homemade compare to the Hudson Bay or Pendleton. I'm interested in the utilitarian aspects.
Weaving your own cloth/blanket
- Thread starter Bo T
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I have never woven a blanket, but know a little about it.
In the 18th century, right up to the AWI, most homemade blankets had to be made from sewing two long pieces together. This because home looms were almost never wide enough to make blankets in one piece.
I don't mean to be a smart aleck, but one thing you really need for blankets are sheep for the wool. On the frontier, having sheep may not have been possible, in the earlier periods. However, early Settlers in then Western Virginia and Kentucky found that weaving Buffalo hair made excellent socks/stockings and blankets.
The important thing for a blanket is to make sure the weave is tight enough not to allow air to pass through easily. One can do that by hand on a home loom, but you have to consciously figure on it as you are weaving.
Hopefully others may provide more details.
Gus
In the 18th century, right up to the AWI, most homemade blankets had to be made from sewing two long pieces together. This because home looms were almost never wide enough to make blankets in one piece.
I don't mean to be a smart aleck, but one thing you really need for blankets are sheep for the wool. On the frontier, having sheep may not have been possible, in the earlier periods. However, early Settlers in then Western Virginia and Kentucky found that weaving Buffalo hair made excellent socks/stockings and blankets.
The important thing for a blanket is to make sure the weave is tight enough not to allow air to pass through easily. One can do that by hand on a home loom, but you have to consciously figure on it as you are weaving.
Hopefully others may provide more details.
Gus
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Its totally do-able if you have the right tools and materials to do it.
Commercially spun wool yarn is readily available for purchase in a huge variety of colors and weights.
Or you can spin your own. You will need 2-3 full fleeces, for both warp and weft, and depending on the size you want to make. Combs or cards to process your clean wool, and a drop spindle or wheel to spin it all on. Plus months of continuous spinning to make enough yarn to weave it. I suggest a minimum of a 2 ply yarn for this project, 3-ply will hold up better and be slightly warmer though.
If you want the points woven in, you will have to find some natural color wool or dye some so you can weave your stripes in.
You will need a loom. A Hudson Bay blanked is a simple over/under weave structure. So you need a two harness or even a rigid heddle loom to do that weave. Based on how tight Hudson Bay blankets are woven (i'm looking at a modern one, not a "home" woven one) you will need something with a metal reed in it so you can beat it tightly. A plastic reed, such as what they use on modern rigid heddle looms, I suspect wont stand up to that kind of use.
As noted above, 18th C blankets were two woven panels stitched together to make a blanket wide enough to be usable. Looms were much smaller in weaving width to accommodate smaller houses.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have!
Commercially spun wool yarn is readily available for purchase in a huge variety of colors and weights.
Or you can spin your own. You will need 2-3 full fleeces, for both warp and weft, and depending on the size you want to make. Combs or cards to process your clean wool, and a drop spindle or wheel to spin it all on. Plus months of continuous spinning to make enough yarn to weave it. I suggest a minimum of a 2 ply yarn for this project, 3-ply will hold up better and be slightly warmer though.
If you want the points woven in, you will have to find some natural color wool or dye some so you can weave your stripes in.
You will need a loom. A Hudson Bay blanked is a simple over/under weave structure. So you need a two harness or even a rigid heddle loom to do that weave. Based on how tight Hudson Bay blankets are woven (i'm looking at a modern one, not a "home" woven one) you will need something with a metal reed in it so you can beat it tightly. A plastic reed, such as what they use on modern rigid heddle looms, I suspect wont stand up to that kind of use.
As noted above, 18th C blankets were two woven panels stitched together to make a blanket wide enough to be usable. Looms were much smaller in weaving width to accommodate smaller houses.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have!
Their are many instructions on making your own Loom. The main thing is it takes time, popular hobby for many people.
I opted to buy by the yard
http://www.militaryheritage.com/wool.htm
https://youtu.be/sKpveXgZMok
I opted to buy by the yard
http://www.militaryheritage.com/wool.htmhttps://youtu.be/sKpveXgZMok
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I've been prowling CL and about the least expensive heddle loom I saw was @ $250. There was a table top loom for $160.
But it looks like the weaving might be the easy part as getting everything set up looks to be hard part? I might contact the local club to see if I can go in and observe the process.
But it looks like the weaving might be the easy part as getting everything set up looks to be hard part? I might contact the local club to see if I can go in and observe the process.
Black Hand
Cannon
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Buy wool cloth - easier...Bo T said:
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