Saturday with Gutenberg

HAND-LOOM WEAVING
A Manual for School and Home
By
Mattie Phipps Todd
Of the Motley School, Minneapolis, Minn.
With an Introduction by
Alice W. Cooley
Formerly Supervisor of Primary Schools, Minneapolis, Minn.
With Fifty-seven Illustrations

1902

Weaving on a Hand Loom
Showing the necessary positions. The rug the little girl is weaving is made of heavy carpet wool. The body of the rug is golden brown, with stripes of deep blue and green, separated by narrow stripes of white


A woven mat of raffia, from a kindergarten pattern
in green and the natural color of the raffia .

And look, I used the same pattern (basket weave) for towels, many years ago!

Bed shoes of all sizes are easily woven, and make a useful holiday gift. They are made without soles and are intended to be drawn up around the ankle like a high moccasin. Use the soft double Germantown wool. White, fastened together with pink or blue, or white striped with a color, may be used, and are attractive. The socks in the illustration are of white wool with a pink seam up the instep and pink scallops around the top. One sock is shown on a last, and the other as it appears off the foot. The stripes in the knitting can be shown in the weaving by using a color. The full size of the loom makes a shoe of medium size. String a close warp with white wool. If the shoe is to be all white, weave with the same, leaving the color for the finishing. If it is to be striped, weave perhaps eight or ten times across with color and then with white; when the weaving is finished you will have a mat 9 × 12 inches. Double one of the short edges and sew over and over on the wrong side with white wool. This is the toe. The two long edges now lie together. They may be crocheted, or knitted, with colored wool by holding them close and fulling in, or by puckering a little. If this is done in color, it makes a pretty seam on the top of the foot and front of the ankle. The top may be finished by crocheting a beading and scallops of the colored wool. Run a ribbon or worsted cord through the beading. If desired, the long edges may be laced together with ribbon one-half inch wide. Baby shoes are made in the same way. To ascertain what length to adjust the loom, measure the sole, then up, back of the heel, to a point above the ankle. For the width, measure around the foot. Finish the cord with tassels or balls.

This was one of today's find at Gutenberg. It also have suggestions for songs and games.

The following weaving song in the Walker and Jenks book can be sung during the weaving. To be sure it is not really "over and under" when you think of them as children. Remember that they represent a mat, and they are for the time the strips and border.

(Sung to the tune of "Nellie Bly.") Anybody knows this tune?

Over one, under one,
Over one again.
Under one, over one,
Then we do the same.
Hi, weavers! Ho, weavers!
Come and weave with me!
You'll rarely find, go where you will,
A happier band than we!

Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. Riggs) in her "Republic of Childhood" describes the game in this way:
Explanation of the game
"First choose a row of children for threads of the warp, standing at such a distance from each other that a child may pass easily between them. Second, choose a child, or children, for thread of woof. After passing through the warp, each child takes his place at the end and other children are chosen." In this way more children can take part than if a tape were used. Some teachers play it in a different way, using the desks with the seats turned up for the warp and the whole number of children for the woof, winding in and out all over the room. This is very delightful, indeed, if there is enough space for the children to pass easily without tripping on the iron supports of the desks. This is a good game for a rainy day, when there is no outdoor recess.

If you want to see how far spring has advanced around my house, head over to my Swedish blog.