First Tablet & Inkle Woven Trim

During 2020-2021, when I knew I was interested in the SCA but there wasn't much for me to do about it, I was looking around online for projects to try. I really liked the Etsy starter cross stitch and embroidery kits I had used as intros to a new craft, so when I saw a tablet weaving kit from Celles Kit I ordered it! It ended up sitting around unopened for months as I worked on other projects like Gunnolf's Embroidered Belt Favor.

Then Gunnolf unexpectedly surprised me with an inkle loom as an anniversary present around New Years 2022. I was delighted, because I had really enjoyed getting to use an inkle loom years earlier. My high school art teacher was a fiber artist, and we got to make inkle loom belts in class one semester (I think my belt is still at my mom's, I'll try and get a picture as soon as I can! He said inkle looms were great for tablet weaving & not just traditional inkle loom weaving, and I realized I had everything I already needed to get started.

Getting the kit re-threaded through the cards and onto the loom took a little while, but I think there is no way around that! It just takes awhile. Here's my loom with threading in process. The cards from the kit are plastic with little bumps to denote A, B, C, and D corners, but I really liked Elewys' cards with the corners marked, so I broke out the label maker and added my own letters to the cards.

With the kit-aided first trim done, it was time to explore the space on my own (with more of Lady Elewys' help). I know Hobby Lobby is evil, but I found out they had small 100% mercerized crochet cotton sampler kits with lots of colors, so went and got one so I'd see what colors I might want to get in larger amounts. I decided my next trim would be for Gunnolf, in his colors grey & red.

I asked Gunnolf which he liked better. He picked the S/Z pattern, and I stitched the trim that side out onto the neck and sleeves of a plain black tunic of his. To stitch it on I used a red thread that matched the red in the trim, and then used a kind of large whip stitch to fix the trim to the tunic every inch or two. The rationale behind the loose stitching is that if the trim gets snagged, it will rip off easily without damaging the trim or the tunic.

I will likely attach the Celles Kit trim to a cornflower blue dress I hope to make in the next couple of months. Current weaving plans include an inkle woven belt and some more tablet woven trim for future projects! I've been quite distracted with sewing lately, as you can see, but I'd love to make my own belt for my Roman Garb!