Our recent break from the Craft Corner was one we would much rather have skipped. It involved a nasty bug of some kind, and still requires us to keep our leg elevated above our heart, which limits the kind of crafting we’re able to do at the moment.
Luckily, we had finished our fabric and paper purses – the projects in last week’s column – before the bug attacked, but this week we will be focusing on a gadget that is perfect for a person who is somewhat incapacitated: the Knifty Knitter straw weaver.
We’ll also give you a review of the Knifty Knitter pompom and tassel maker mentioned a few columns back. We had not included it in our pompom maker comparisons and promised to let our readers know how it worked when we had a chance to try it out.
Let’s begin with the pompom and tassel maker.
As compared with the other pompom makers we tried, it falls somewhere in the middle, as far as ease of use and quality of pompoms. Our favorite is still the Clover tool, because it quite consistently turns out even pompoms that require a minimum of trimming.
The Knifty Knitter is simple enough to use: wrap the yarn around two metal posts, which can be placed at various distances apart to make different size pompoms, tie around the middle and trim. It’s the amount of trimming required that we found difficult. If you decide to purchase this item, be sure to space the metal posts a couple of spaces farther apart than the size of the finished pompom, to allow for trimming.
To make tassels using the same tool, follow the same procedure: wrap the yarn around the posts, tie off and trim. The tool works quite well for tassels. Just be prepared to fuss with the top part of the tassel a bit to keep it evenly rounded.
It was while we were hunting for the pompom maker that we stumbled on the Knifty Knitter straw weaver. This gadget is great for making a variety of items, including belts, headbands, cuffs, straps for bags and purses, dog collars and scarves.
The straw weaver is a set of hollow tubes with plugs at one end of each, held together by a clamp, into which carrier yarns are threaded and around which yarn is wrapped to form a woven band.
To thread the carrier yarns, cut a length of yarn about a foot longer than twice the length you want the finished project to be, thread it through the loop in the plug and hold the ends even. Use the hook included in the weaver package to pull the ends through the tube until the plug settles snugly at one end. Repeat this process for each tube; you decide how many tubes you want to use.
When all the tubes are threaded, wrap yarn in and out of the tubes to form a woven pattern. After you weave several inches, say 4 or so, remove the clamp and slide the weaving down the tubes and onto the carrier yarns. Don’t slide the weaving all the way off (leave a couple of inches each time you slide), but gradually cover the carrier threads until only about 6 inches of fringe remains at the loose end.
Pull the plugs out of the tubes and clip the yarn so that you have about 6 inches of fringe at the plug end as well.
Tie off the fringe at each end to hold the weaving in place, smoothing and playing with the weaving a bit to make an even piece before the final tie-off.
We made several items on the straw weaver.
One was a decorative cuff for a jacket, sweater or sweatshirt. We made a faux cuff by trimming the fringe off of each end of our woven piece, turning the ends under, sewing in place and adding buttons. To make a functional cuff, follow the same procedure but bind off and cut buttonholes so that the cuff buttons and unbuttons.
Our sample headband (yellow with daisies) was made by trimming off the fringes, folding the ends under and stitching in place, then adding a piece of wide elastic between the ends to hold the headband in place. You can also use ribbon at each end of the band and tie it in place if you prefer.
A belt (gray and white with red beads) was made by leaving the fringes on each end of the woven piece long and adding decorative beads. This piece can also be used as a strap for a shoulder bag or purse, with fringe or without.
You should be able to find the straw weaver with other knitting tools in the yarn department at craft stores or online. It’s a pretty good buy at about $3.
Since the tubes are a bit narrow, and we want to try the same procedure with chunkier yarn, we’ve put making our own straw weaver on our to-do list. We’ll let you know how, or if, it turns out in a future column.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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