I gave up searching for a pattern and decided to just try a simple plain weave with the three colors that I have in the shop at this time. I'm using a Schact Cricket 10-inch rigid heddle with a size 10 heddle. I warped with stripes of red, purple and golden yellow. I then wove with one color at a time to see how the colors played against each other.
I wove plain weave for the red and golden yellow weaves. With the purple weft I added an extra pick-up stick to vary the weave slightly. I wove a few rows of this and then returned to plain weave. This seemed to add only slightly more texture, so I'm not sure if this is worth the extra work to get this difference. The hemp yarn has a lot of textur e and depth to it and with the bright colors, extra heddles or pick-up sticks don't seem really necessary.
Hemp yarn is from plants and does not feel as soft as cotton or even some wools. I does soften when wet, but returns to a little stiffer feel when dry. It will soften when washed and I'm thinking it will continue to soften the more it is washed.
I used one of the cloths I cut off the loom and hemmed on the sewing machine tonight to wash dishes. It felt very sturdy and did a great job on the hand-washed dishes. If you're planning to use this woven cloth for mug rugs or table runners or small rugs, I would suggest leaving enough between pieces on the loom to have fringe. I hated cutting off the fringe when I was hemming them. The fringe had fluffed up to a pretty size and would be very attractive in a small rug.
For more ideas of what to make with this fascinating yarn, check the listing on www.universalyarn.com. There are patterns there for crochet items. I'll try to write up the pattern I used tomorrow. I'm happy to share it. If you try weaving or crocheting with Java Hemp Yarn, please leave a comment and share your experiences.
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