Textile projects

24 June 2026

Cleaning my vintage Harris loom

Having rescued a loom from the skip (see my previous post) I now want to clean and restore it back to working order. First steps are to clean all of the metalwork and remove any rust; clean, lightly sand and wax the wooden frame; and replace the fabric on the rollers as it is in very bad condition.

The loom is a 16-shaft table top loom. On each of the 16 shafts there are about 120 heddles (made of thin wire)…and on at least 4 of the shafts these heddles are very rusty.

Each shaft is made of four metal bars that are held together with screws. Working on one shaft at a time, I undid the screws at one end of the shaft, removed one of the metal bars and then removed the heddles individually.

Heddles removed from the loom, ready to be cleaned

Using a small container, I added warm water and a little bicarbonate of soda and placed the heddles in the solution allowing them to soak for a few minutes.

Taking one heddle at a time, I gently scrubbed it with a scourer, to remove the grime and any rust, and dried it with a paper towel. The wire heddles are quite fragile and bend easily, so I needed to handle them carefully.

Once clean and dry I could slide each one back on to the shaft and screw the metal bar back in place.

Three of the four shafts that I have cleaned so far

I have cleaned four shafts so far and have decided to initially set up the loom as a 4-shaft loom, while I learn how to use it. I’ll clean the remaining 12 shafts later on.

The next job was to replace the fabric on the three rollers. You can see from the image below how worn they are.

I removed the old fabric from the rollers and used it as a template for the replacement pieces. I looked through a small stash of old fabric I have and found an old cotton sheet that had a lovely quality.

Using the old fabric as a template to cut replacement pieces

After cutting out three pieces, I decided to add eyelets to give the fabric more strength where the string is tied.

Eyelets added to the fabric for strength

I chose 5.5mm eyelets in chrome. Using a punch I made seven holes, evenly spaced, along the edge of the fabric. The eyelets come in two parts – I placed the larger piece at the bottom, put the hole in the fabric over it, placed the smaller eyelet piece on top (to make a sandwich) and hammered them in place using the eyelet tool.

Once I’ve replaced the string they’ll be ready to fix on to the loom.

2 May 202621 June 2026

A Harris weaving loom destined for the skip!

During an annual visit to the Prism textile exhibition in Mile End, a conversation was overheard…’I’ve got a loom in my car, do you know anyone who would like it? I’ve rescued it from a college in South London that’s closing down it’s textile weaving course – the loom was heading to the skip!’ Oh!! I spun round to see the woman speaking to the invigilators. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’, I asked her. She said the loom was in the back of her car and that she needed to find a home for it, ideally today. I took a look at it and thought hmm, that’s big, but…could I…should I?!

She said it was a 16 shaft table-top loom (which I have never used before). Many questions were spinning around my head…’Where would I put it? Do I need it? Do I REALLY need it?’ I thought, I may not NEED it but I definately don’t want to see it end up in a skip. She was keen to find it a new home that day, so I said if she could find someone, then great they should have it, but if not I would be very interested.

I spent the next hour wandering around the exhibition while the woman had various conversations with possible takers. She then came over to me and said ‘I think you’re the winner!’

The following weekend I drove to her studio in Manor Park, east London, and collected the loom. It was large and awkward but did just about fit in to the back of my car. It was heavy and the metal shafts and chains were clanking about – a couple of pieces came loose and dropped off.

Once home I was able to assess the condition of the loom and see what repairs and restoration was needed. It looked like it had sat in a corner of a textile room for years, gathering dust, grime and rust, every surface felt grubby to touch.

The fabric on the three rollers was ripped and worn, the wooden frame was dusty, with cup ring marks and paint splashes but otherwise it looked solid. I noticed the reed didn’t look like it belonged to the loom as it had been packed with foam and newspaper, so this is likely to need replacing.

The next step is to take it apart and begin the long cleaning process…

26 September 2025

New products for winter 2025

I’ve had some timeout from craft fairs this year, but I’ve been working hard in the background designing and making new products for the upcoming winter season. Yes, winter is coming! As much as I love summer and the warmth it brings, there is something comforting when the cosy winter layers are needed.

For a while now I’ve been looking at ways in which I can make my business more eco friendly and sustainable. The main product I use is yarn and while it comes in a wide variety of materials, often the more convenient and cost-effecitve options are less kind to the environment. So, this year I’ve been searching and trialling new yarns to use in my crochet, knitting and weaving projects.

The obvious yarn to choose would be sheeps’ wool, which is natural, warm and biodegradable etc. HOWEVER, I find it super prickly. If I wear yarn with a high percentage of sheeps’ wool next to my skin it brings me out in a rash and I don’t enjoy handling it. I’ve heard the same reaction from a number of my clients, which is why I’ve often used premium acrylic yarns.

Two of my favourite types of wool come from Merino sheep and Alpacas (I love alpacas!). They both have amazing properties for keeping in warmth, are hypoallergenic, natural and biodegradable plus they are very soft. Alpaca wool is often handwash only, but it wicks away moisture and dries very quickly, while Merino wool is often machine-washable at 30 degrees.

My wristwarmers (knitted) and fingerless gloves (crocheted with a thumb hole) are now made using either 100% alpaca wool or 100% merino wool. I’ve been wearing my alpaca wristwarmers since last winter and I can personally vouch for their warmth and longevity. I had thought not having a thumb hole might be an issue but they feel more like wearing a jumper with long sleeves. And the cuff fits easily inside a sleeve.

Hand knitted wristwarmers in 100% alpaca wool

I’ve also been making washcloths for the home, and face scrubbies using 100% cotton. While cotton does require plenty of water to grow, it is completely natural, biodegradable and a very practical choice for these products.

Face scrubbies crocheted with 100% cotton

I’ll be at the following craft markets where I’ll be selling these along with some popular favourites. If you’re in the area, pop in and say hello 🙂

Folk & Bespoke – 11 Oct (10am – 3pm), Leigh Community Centre SS9 1SP
Folk & Bespoke – 8 Nov (10am – 3pm), Leigh Community Centre SS9 1SP
Christmas Eco Fair – 15 Nov (10am – 3pm), Leigh Road Baptist Church SS9 1NN

Hope to see you there!

24 February 202425 February 2024

Handmade accessories to keep you warm…

I’m always feeling the cold and over a the past few years this has inspired me to design and make items that primarily keep me warm. I love to crochet and knit, having learned both as a child, and I find the slow processes to be very meditative; I also have a dislike for fast fashion preferring to support small businesses where I can – so it made sense to put these ideas together.

I started by making fingerless gloves – I needed a way to keep my hands warm while still using a computer/phone etc. I soon realised the benefits of keeping the pulse in my wrist covered all the times. Then came the infinity cowl – this is a great way to keep your neck warm without having a long scarf dangling in the way 🙂 And finally on to socks. I’ve been hand knitting them for a while, but I struggled with short row heels and they just took me ages to make. Having invested in a 3d printer just before lockdown my husband has printed me a circular sock knitting machine!! Game changer! It came with a massive learning curve but I have now come out the other side and can happily make a pair of socks in a day rather than in weeks.

I’ve started to expand my product range to make practical items for the home such as my 100% cotton washcloths – suitable for face, kitchen or bathroom, that are easily washed and kind to the environment. Mobile phone covers are great if, like me, you throw your phone in your bag next to keys etc that will scratch the screen. A small wrist or overbody strap can also be added to keep your phone safe.

Over the winter months I’ve been busy making lots of items that will be available for sale at local craft markets (visit my upcoming events page for details). Below is a little taster…

2 October 20232 October 2023

Spinning & weaving alpaca fleece

I’ve been staring at a bag of alpaca fleece for a while, not really knowing what to do with it. I knew I wanted to use it for weaving and that I needed to spin it. A friend suggested I try using a drop spindle and carders, so I bought some…watched a few Youtube videos…had a go…but got completely stuck!

I thought I might have more luck learning in-person and had a look around for a course. I came across a two day spinning and weaving workshop in Norfolk, which looked perfect, so I signed up straight away!

I’d booked it 6 months in advance, so had to wait a while…

Day 1: Learning to spin

The first day was held on an alpaca farm. The textile studio was in a yurt that was alongside the alpaca fields – what’s not to love!

I love alpacas. Their fleece is incredibly soft as it doesn’t contain lanolin, like sheep’s wool, so it doesn’t itch when worn next to the skin (something I struggle with); it’s lighter, warmer and stronger than sheep’s wool; it’s eco-friendly; and also very breathable.

These are a couple of alpacas on the farm whose fleece we were using…

We were given fleece that had already been carded and made into rolags. I loved how the rolags had been made from a mix of fleece colours and the owner knew exactly which alpacas they came from!

Rolags (left), Ashford spinning wheel (right)

To begin with I found learning to spin very tricky. It was a bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy. The spinning wheel needs to rotate clockwise at a consistent pace (you start it off with your hand and use a foot peddle to keep it going) while you twist and feed the fleece onto the bobbin. If the wheel slows down it can start to rotate anti-clockwise and the fleece gets a bit tangled on the bobbin. If the twist isn’t tight enough the fleece will break; if the twist is too tight the fleece will break – ahhhh!!

After a few attempts, the penny dropped and I got in the rhythm of the process: keep the wheel spinning, feed in the right amount of yarn; and give it enough twist. During the session the aim was to fill two bobbins with roughly equal amounts of spun fleece, which could then be plyed together into a skein.

Spinning fleece (left) and twisting the plyed yarn into a skein (right)

Day 2: Weaving a journal cover

The second day was held in a textile studio in Norwich. Our skein from the previous day had been washed, dried and wound into a ball. We could then chose a few other alpaca yarns to work with alongside our own yarn. I opted for a duck egg blue, slate grey, calico and mustard.

My chosen selection of alpaca yarns to weave

The warp had already been set up on a rigid heddle loom for us and we were ready to start weaving.

I began to weave back and forth, making sure not to pull the yarn too tight at the sides when changing direction.

I wanted to weave blocks of colours. I added variety and contrast by weaving a different number of rows in each colour and mixed up the order in which I used them. The piece worked up really quickly.

We were making journal covers for an A6 Seawhite sketchbook, so once the weave was long enough to cover the outside of the book, I cut it off the loom. The inside of the cover was lined with a co-ordinating fabric. I sewed two side pockets into it to hold the journal in place.

The finishing touch was to add an Indian silk bow…

Now I have a better understanding of the spinning process, I’ve started to use my drop spindle again and I’m having much better results. It’s just a lot slower than a spinning wheel. I’m now on the lookout for a secondhand Ashford spinning wheel, I’ve got the bug!