Shuttle Tamer

Like any other weaver I have shuttles, lots of shuttles, long and short. Until today I had them in a basket but always worried they would get damaged. I wanted them hanging and handy. I wove one in double weave from Handwoven magazine but did not like it, the shuttles go in sideways and the width is fixed to whatever you set the warp to.
I wanted something that would hold all the shuttles I have and those that might come. A shoe hanger came to mind but finding one long enough for sky shuttles and pickup sticks was not going to happen. What's a girl to do? Make one right?



I used a corduroy fabric I bought at the upholstery fabric store for the back (double) and a thick cotton (almost but not quite, canvas thick fabric for the pockets) also from the upholstery fabric store. I had bought the fabric for a bag I had in mind with lots of pockets. Both were remnants and quite large pieces. I drew the pattern during a meeting this week at work :). I measured the back so it would fit the inside frame of the door and not interfere with the lock. The pockets were carefully eyeballed (precise measurement....) but making sure I would have one row of long pockets for the long shuttles and that the smaller pockets would fit a regular boat shuttle. The smaller ones are completely covered but my hand fits and they are easy to get out.


I cut the two pieces for the back, then hemmed the top and bottom for the pockets. Folded the fabric in half and divided by three on each side. Each pocket is 25 centimeters on the front and 10 cms in the back. Sewed the vertical seams and then folded the fabric to make the pleats at the bottom. Then.....sandwiched the two back parts and used the serger including the three hanging bands. Reinforced the outer seams with the sewing machine because in the places I had the tree layers of fabric the serger slipped a bit. Flipped the whole thing over and closed it shut at the bottom. It is huge but fits all the shuttles and I have plenty of spare pockets.
The colors are not exactly pretty but they match and it is dark enough so that it will not have to be washed very often, I did prewash the fabric so I know I will not have unpleasant surprises.

There it is, hanging from the back of the door in my studio.

Next up: a backpack for the weaving bench. Stay tuned!

ETA: I just looked at the enlarged picture...ignore the chalk marks......I am not a seamstress!