That didn't go like I thought it would. . . .

My mug rug failures

Three things:

1. I wanted to make mug rugs. Because they’re cute and I can use them.

2. I wanted to try a diamond twill. Because it looks neat and seemed like a reasonable next step in my weaving education. I used this series of videos. (1 2 3 4 5 6) The videos are very good, very detailed. Foolproof, one might say.

3. I wanted to do both of these things together. Because mug rugs are small and would provide near instant gratification. (As instant as anything can be with yarn hobbies.)

In my head, I was about to weave a cute set of mug rugs with diamonds both sides. Then I would place them about my house and everyone who saw them would be impressed. It would become a quick, go-to gift for people to add to my list of fingerless mitts, hats, and coffee cup sleeves.

Reader, it didn’t go like I thought it would.

Do these look like diamonds to you??

Honestly, I’m not sure where I went wrong. Perhaps I threaded the heddles incorrectly? Or chose the wrong yarn? The rugs are very dense, since I used two 10 dent heddles when I think I should have used two 8 dent heddles—but I don’t have two of those—so it could be the density squished out the pattern? Or perhaps the diamonds are in there (somewhere) and the yarn simply doesn’t contrast enough for me to see them?

Maybe I’ll figure it out eventually, but I’m still new enough at this that I have only guesses.

I mean, I did realize pretty quickly that it wasn’t right. A few picks (rows) in, I wasn’t seeing the diamonds form. So I thought perhaps it was the way that the floats were overlapping the yarns below them. But when I dug them out and put them the right spots . . . nope. It still didn’t look like diamonds.

I kept weaving anyway. I finished a set of seven. Then I took them off the loom, washed them, and cut them apart. (I actually waited to cut them apart until I went to the store and bought one of those fabric pizza cutter things. I immediately cut my thumb on it. Next project should be kevlar gloves, I guess.)

Well. They’re done, anyway.

Here are some other things wrong with these mug rugs:

1. They’re not . . . square. The pattern had 14 picks (rows) in a repeat, so I did that twice. It wasn’t quiiiite enough to make them square, but that was okay. By the time I realized this, I already understood this wasn’t going the way I’d planned. Still, there were one or two that appeared to need an extra few picks to be at least as tall as one of my coasters, so I added them. I think I should have added them to all the mug rugs.

2. I think they are too dense, but I’d rather have too dense than not dense enough. I don’t want condensation or sloshed liquid leaking between the yarns. But wooow was it a challenge to get the yarns to move past each other on the heddles, especially in the places where the pattern called for two or three ends to go through one slot.

3. I probably should have chosen something with more contrast for the pattern.

In spite of all that, I still like them. I made them. I learned from them. And by golly I’m going to use them.

And at some point, I’ll try the pattern again. After something easier.