After my first attempt at a random weave puzzle ball I was determined to try again incorporating what I’d learnt. This time I went for five layers!
The inner three layers were woven from hemp that I bought at the textile market in Belgium. The innermost ball is black, so you can’t see it very well. (Lesson for next time – make the inside ball a light colour!)
The fourth layer was made from paper yarn dyed with onion skins.
And the outer layer was paper yarn dyed with indigo.
With five layers it was even more fiddly to get the inner moulds out, but I got there eventually without destroying the outer layers. I’m not sure I could do any more layers though!
I also had a go at making a random weave cube – this was a harder shape to mould. Because I left open areas it was also harder to photograph, as it’s difficult to distinguish the different surfaces.
Flextiles 
Wow these look like you’ve being doing it all your life, not just for the second time.
Colour wise re the black I agree. Could you graduate the tone (different hues still) from centre light to outer dark?
The cube is good with its randomly placed holes.
They must all have been very fiddly to complete….have your fingers recovered?
Thanks Antje – it certainly felt like I’d been doing it all my life, at around the fourth layer! 😉 Your idea about graduating the tone from inside to out is a good one. Most of the time I use large tapestry needles to do the weaving – less stress on the fingers!
oh wow, these are fantastic! You say you used hemp, what format did you order that in? Is it like a thread or a fabric or fibres?
I used hemp yarn – I think it came from Nepal.
Stunning Kim! I agree with Antje, it looks like you you’ve been doing this a lot longer. I’m trying to get my head around how you do this. It’s great you’ve used different materials. Great job!
Where did you find paper yarn? I’m a papermaker but have never heard of that.
Thanks Marilyn. If you read my post about the first puzzle ball I made you’ll find a description of the technique there.
We were given some paper yarn in the class – I think it was made in Japan. However, there are a few other suppliers – I’ve just ordered some from Paperphine at http://www.paperphine.com/
Thanks Kim. I will go back and re-read your first post.
Absolutely wonderful! Very professional result and I agree, it looks like a very experienced maker created these.
This is so cool Kim. It’s a beautiful structure and I love the way it moves! I’m guessing it’s a pretty lengthy procedure to create something like this?
If you think felting is a lengthy process Karen you should try basketry! 😉
I can believe that Kim!