Having a Ball Preparing Weft Strips for Weaving Rugs

There's a lot of preparation before you can get to the fun part of making cloth.
There's preparing the warp and dressing the loom, threading heddles and reed slits, tying on ...

There's also the work of preparing the weft strips.  In this case, I'm using the premium merino selvage strips from Pendleton Woolen Mill in Oregon.  These are fantastically soft merino wool strips.  This time I ordered 7 pounds to give me a total of 9-10 pounds.  I should have enough to make some nice rugs now.

For this process, I am sewing the strips together with tapered edges, and trimming some of the excess, so there won't be a bump with extra fabric where the strips come together.  Then I wind them into a ball with the amount I think might fit on one of my ski shuttles -- where they will sit until I am ready to use them in weaving cloth.  Doesn't have to be perfect, as these will be pounded down into a rug.  The object is to remove some of the bulk where the fabric joins together.
     > On the right, you see where I've stitched the ends together with a diagonal sewing line.
     > On the left, I've trimmed away the excess, which is reversed on the backside.

I also have some denim and some velvet from that old curtain from the local Grand Opera House theater.  I purchased the 2 lighter denim balls from Rugs in the Woods on Etsy.  So nice to have all the work of making the rags done already!  It's nice soft, worn denim, too.  The darker denim balls are newer denim fabric that I purchased on sale.  It's not as soft and worn as the true denim rags. 


The velvet is old, from hanging in the theatre for so long.  It tears easily -- as if it was made for this very thing at this stage in it's life!   I tear the strips about 3/4-inch wide, and sew the ends together.  It all takes much longer than you think it will ...

Here's a close-up of one of the velvet balls.  The entire process creates a lot of pills -- little flecks of the fabric that fall off and get everywhere.  I rip the strips outside, and do the sewing of strips on the porch, where it's easier to vacuum up the bits.  By the time they are in ball form, they are pretty clean

I may also use some fabric strips, too.  After that, there may be warp left to use up some yarn, or other materials I have in the stash.