Art of the outside world. IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts: Virtual Exhibitions.
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Bag from upcycled baling twine
October 2026
Monica Newman Moore is one of those folks who I will listen to or take a class from whenever the opportunity presents itself. Talking with Moore at this year’s Moundville Native American Festival inspired me to dig out my twining loom – bought from Moore – finish what was on there & see what I could do with baling twine. It is after all both plentiful and colorful.
The pattern & color variations are from her demo this year.
Technical Notes
Verdict – Method
Success. Enjoy. Should do more.
My hands ached. Not surprising, given my tendency to tighten & hold. But my wrist didn’t hurt, despite this being a new move. [From Cursewords! to Soft Progress]
Verdict – Form
I have questions.
I dislike the tube method of bag production. The security of the contents relies on my ability to sew the bottom. I think I would prefer to weave the front, bottom, and sides, then fold the bag, then sew the sides.
I could use this loom create to flat, narrow panels the width of the loom, much as I did for completing the flap.
Verdict – Material
Not suitable for this application.
Baling twine is stiff, unravels, and is hard to finish off. The final product does not fold easily. The knots either have to be dealt with, or be considered part of the decor. For the truly organized, you could cut the baling twine off the bale at the knot. Not likely to happen.
In an ideal world, the warp & weft would be different colors. I swapped them once or twice. Nothing that was hard to sort out, but two colors would be less confusing.
For the right use, this could be a nice fabric. The result is sturdy yet flexible, and more colorful than I anticipated. Mats would be a piece of cake, but to what purpose? Perhaps suitable for some sort of openwork basket?
Links
YouTube: Virtual Moundville Native American Festival – Twining (Monica Newman Moore)
UWA: Monica Newman Moore brings Black Belt history to life
Onwards!
Katherine
