r/weaving • u/OGKhaleesi • Mar 08 '26
Help Overshot sample, looking for feedback!
Hi folks, I posted a few backs looking to get some feedback during the weaving process and I got some amazing tips. Well I finished the sample (hooray!) but accidentally hemmed it the wrong way bc I was rushing š¤¦š»āāļø the sett ended up being alright but my selvedges need a ton of work if anyone has any tips there. Also anyone has tips on getting a straight hem line? I would like to not buy any more equipment, so no temple for the time being. This was my first project outside of an intro class and im hoping to make some hand towels in this pattern for friends and family.
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u/blueberryFiend Mar 08 '26
I like Tom Knisely's tip to double a pick at the hem fold locations to make them easier to identify. Found in the following article under "Rolled-Hem Hints"
https://handwovenmagazine.com/notes-from-the-fell-finishing-tips/
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u/OGKhaleesi Mar 09 '26
Thank you for this, there are some very good tips in there. Do you also finish your hems by hand? I am beginning to think I may want to do that.
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u/blueberryFiend Mar 09 '26
I do for most of the things I make. Iāve done some on the sewing machine, busy most are hand sewn.
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u/popcorn_waffle Mar 12 '26
I find I have more control when I sew by hand; my hems turn out much neater. In our local guild we have a weaver who is an absolute master at sewing her hems with a machine--I'm years away from being able to do that with any consistency.
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u/weaverlorelei Mar 08 '26
My home guild did a "friendship" round Robin project many years back. Each participant warp their loom for a specific historic overshot pattern. Each weaver got to weave with their own colors on each warped loom. The End project was supposed to be a pieced coverlet for each participant with their squares. I still have my squares, some actually finished a coverlet, and some looked outside the box and made teddy bears, table runners, etc. Yours looks great
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u/Buttercupia Mar 08 '26
You should be doing plain weave for your hems.
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u/OGKhaleesi Mar 08 '26
Thank you! Will do that for the real thing
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u/Buttercupia Mar 08 '26
Really good job on the pattern though. Thatās a tough one and all of your squares are square, if you know what I mean. Beautiful weaving!
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u/geneaweaver7 Mar 08 '26
The primary thing that helps with selvedges is practice and consistent weft arcing or bubbling through the whole project.
Love how this turned out, thanks for sharing.
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u/mao369 Mar 08 '26
For the next one, just do 'tabby' (aka plain weave, no pattern threads) for your hem, then start the pattern. Write down how many picks you do for the hem so you can do the same for the other side of the cloth. You can even, if you have sewing thread or some other thread a similar color to your tabby threads but a smaller grist/size, use that for the hem portion then switch to your normal tabby thread. That will make the hem thinner and easier to fold up. I've seen people recommend one pick of a different color right where you want the hem to be, especially if it's a smooth enough thread to pull out after weaving and leave some 'space' for the hem to fold at. As for selvedges, just keep weaving. My best selvedges come when I get into a rhythm and stop paying attention to each pick.
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u/OGKhaleesi Mar 08 '26
Thanks so much for the tips! I will definitely try that out next time. Using sewing thread is so smart!
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u/kminola Mar 09 '26
In terms of squaring- you need to test your center squares. Theoretically each square inside those should be square AND the larger squares should be square. Theyāre a little squished atm. This means that, before you weave another you should actually test how many throws it takes to make it square and change your treadling accordingly. Squaring is important because everyone is using different pattern wefts and maybe mine is thicker and only needs three throws but yours needs five.
Personally I prioritize the larger over-all squares as square over the small ones, and of the small ones, the corner squares over the tiny middles.
Your corner blocks look great so donāt change them!
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u/OGKhaleesi Mar 09 '26
Ah thanks so much for this! I didnāt even know this was a concept, it will be a fun experiment for the next round.
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u/Threedogs_nm Mar 08 '26
Wow! Well done. And as someone else said, with time your selvedges will get better.
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u/Adventurous_Egg_6887 Mar 09 '26
This is absolutely gorgeous and so impressive, especially since you didnāt use a temple! I really wouldnāt worry about the selvedges ā they look great and any mistakes you might notice will not be scrutinized, least of all by non-weavers. Practice makes perfect and this is an amazing start!!
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u/sweetannie52 Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
It looks great, not like a sample at all! I do find it helpful to use a temple because I tend to draw in along the selvedges no matter what I do. They are pricey, though. I did see someone online using these elastics with suspender-like grippers on the ends. She wound the elastic around the side bracket over the loom and hooked the latches on the selvedges. When I asked what they were, she said that they are sold to keep fitted sheets on your mattress. I thought the idea ingenious. Plus, they are under ten dollars on Amazon. I thought that if I ever needed a different size temple, I would try them.
Throwing your shuttle just right might help. Leaving a bubble, slant or hill in your weft thread also seems to help. A lot of it is practice and feel. Iām out of practice on both myself.
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u/OGKhaleesi Mar 09 '26
Yeah a temple would be really nice, but Iāve spent so much on this hobby already. And Iām running out of space š I will look for that on Amazon though, thatās clever thank you!
And Iāll keep practicing! Canāt quite figure out the angle haha
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u/kea1981 Mar 09 '26
I know nothing about weaving (just here for the awesome work y'all make!), and all I can say is if I saw this when trippin' I may not move for a few hours.
It's beautiful!
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u/PennysGran Mar 11 '26
I saw a YouTube video (kellykasanova, I think) on using fishing line on the right side to strengthen your edge while you're weaving. You run it parallel to the rightmost warp and tie it to the beam. When you move up, you simply cut it, pull it out and tie a new one. I haven't tried it, but it seems to work great. Do you run some fabric strips through your sheds before you start? You can get a really nice even bottom edge, which you should hem before you roll it down. There are some good hemming tutorials out there. Beautiful work! Overshot isn't easy, and you did a great job!
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u/drindrun Mar 13 '26
leeās surrender, i know it well! first undulating overshot i tried. you got it pretty darn close to balanced.
for selvedges if i want to be able to move a little faster, sometimes i put a cheater yarn of something strong on the outside edges and make those quite a bit tighter than the rest of the warp so i can throw the shuttle without pinching or adjusting the turn of the the weft. only good for a short length (like this), weird things would happen trying to have an extra taut warp yarn over the course of yards. itās filed under my bad weaving behaviours. otherwise itās just practice of knowing exactly how much slack to give in the thrown weft and how snugly to pull it against the edge. does get faster.
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u/badchandelier Mar 08 '26
My only feedback is "omg this is so pretty," which is probably not particularly helpful to you. Still, though.