Hello, And A Really Helpful Book.

Q: I live in Canada. I have worked in a bead store and specialize in loom weaving. I wanted to let you know about a really good book. It's called "The Beader's Companion" by 'Judith Durant' and 'Jean Campbell'. It is very descriptive on just about every aspect of beading. I strongly recommend that you look for it.

A: I too live in Canada, and do a lot of loom beading. I recently finished making 'DH' a bookmark, and I don't want to take it off the loom until I know how to propperly secure the ends. The last one I made, it started coming apart at the ends. Any other suggestions for how to propperly secure the ends so that it doesn't fall apart would be greatly appreciated. I'll keep my eyes opened for the book. Unfortunately, just about the only way to finish off loomwork is to sew in all the warp threads, one by one. They have to be woven into the work. The only other thing that might work, but probably takes some practice, is to line the back of it with material. I have done this with several of my bookmarks, but it wasn't until about the 3rd one that I liked it. On the other hand, I am pretty awkward, so you may have better luck. The first bookmark, I lined with felt. It was pretty easy to attach, I just glued it, but the felt tended to absorb the glue, and it buckled a bit. The second one, I glued leather onto the back of. It looked really nice for quite a while, until the glue dried out, and then it came off. The third one, I have attached to suede; it has a nice drape to it, and it feels nice. It also protected the beads a bit from the handling they get. So far, it hasn't dried out, fallen off, or buckled. Maybe I finally got it right! If not, I'm gonna sew the sucker on! I got the suede from a small leather shop near my studio in Toronto, but there are probably places where you can buy a small remnant. You're in Toronto are you? I'm in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Anyway, I think I'll try that material suggestion, and fasten the bookmark to a piece of suede. I'm sure I can get that material from my local Wal-Mart. I'll have to ask 'DH' if he would like it that way. Awkward? Are you kidding? I'm as awkward as a person can get when it comes to beadwork. I have to redo a lot of my work just to get it just right. I'm fussy, what can I say? :-) You can pull the threads through. This is a little tricky, but can be done with small loomed pieces. Just make sure that you use a single thread for your warp and that you use a fine thread and DON'T pierce your warp threads with your needle. This technique is listed in "The Loom" by 'Delinda V. Amura', and in the Japanese loomwork book "Bead Looming NHK".

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