Introduction to Weaving Course

Susie and Ruby, neither of whom have ever woven before, are my guinea pigs for the beginners weaving course. The first day and some of the second was spent dressing the looms but by the end of day 2 they have both made some fantastic designs! Two more days of weaving and learning still to come.

Susie's

Ruby's

 

On the loom currently

Two more colourways for my "swirl" design. The combination of lighter colours has made for a subtle pattern, whilst the "less lustrous than silk" tencel, which is also slightly thicker, has altered the design slightly.

The blue and yellow, evokes the "seashore" imagery in the design. The all yellow is less successful.

On the second loom a couple of yoga blankets in our own homespun wool are underway. The blankets are woven folded in half (fold on the right, to loose edges on the left) so they will be double the width of the loom.

Two more shawls in doubleweave with linen, lambswool and silk and already being put on the first loom.

Pashmina

After the sampling, a thousand very fine merino warp threads went on the loom and a day's weaving in linen/silk/lambswool slub single thread and the weave was over. Finishing required 55 degrees hot water to shrink the fabric to two thirds of its original width, then blocking.

The fabric has two separate almost gauze like layers joined at the squares of double density single cloth. The same single cloth at hem gives a gentle flare at the ends. It's very soft, light and drapey.

 

More double weave experiments

More experiments with doubleweave. This is a weave whereby two layers of cloth are woven simultaneously one above the other. I designed a fabric with two layers of plain weave sandwiching free floating red threads between them. At intervals the cloths are woven together as a single cloth in a series of squares. These also trap the red threads. Between the squares the red thread is either tightbpuffing the two layers apart when it shrinks on washing, or very loose allowing it to free form.

The first sample was at two close a sett, so the red threads were only visible with back light. I widened the sett for a second sample with almost a gauze like structure.

 

I also wove a sample as single cloth with a wool warp, but used the double layers as squares. In the single cloth the wool is tightly held by the warp, but in the more open sett of the double layer it can shrink and create a seersucker effect.

Planning to use this knowledge on a scarf project next.

New yarns

Whilst in London a visit to handweaver's studios and stash to get new yarns....wool, silk and linen mixes plus some novelty yarns and high twist wool.

A trio of woollen scarves

The first a scarf for me made from homespun and odds and ends.

another with the same draft different yarns...the wool for the warp proved too fragile so I had to end the weaving early - hence the short length!

And another, this time with a stronger cotton warp.

More double weave experiments

759 ends to thread and sley

Another experiment with double cloth overlaying different weave structures, this time huck lace over a pointed draft twill - both in cotton. 8/2 for the twill and finer 16/2 for the lace both set at 10 ends/cm (25 epi). The two cloths are joined at intervals in the weave. This didn't work at first so I had to add two more treadles to the draft and cut and re thread about 40 warp ends. Fortunately, the tension wasn't affected noticeable.

After washing, the lace structure has appeared, revealing the colours of the twill below, perhaps not quite as clearly as I had hoped. A very dark cotton or the lace may have helped and next time perhaps more blurred transitions between the colours underneath - maybe an echo weave.

Details of the lace structure (still wet and un-ironed!).

The finished cloth

The twill on the reverse.

 

Bateman scarves

Storm Daragh brought strong winds and snow here. A test for the roof and a break from building for me. Finally finished weaving the Bateman boulevards scarves, just fringes and finishing to do.

Bamboo

The Maurice brassard bamboo thread I ordered an eon ago finally showed up, so time to get another warp on the loom.  Three different scarves in Bateman boulevard.

bedford cord

Some experiments with a weave structure called bedford weave using some thick "mop" yarn in the warp for the threads which usually create padding for the ribs. Ive brought these to the surface to create pattern and also cut some them after removal from the loom.

 

Scarf 2

Another deflected doubleweave scarf. This time with more cotton and less wool. The wool is in basketweave. Less successful than last scarf as the wool hasn't shrunk enough to make the cotton 'pop'.

Finished!

 

Next weave

Interested in doing something in deflected doubleweave and this scarf by Madelyn Van der Hoogt has the added attraction of having several different weft densities, so I can practice to improve my beating accuracy. The sea of green, is wool which is "fulled" (partially felted in the finishing process). The bumps I'm changing to 8/2 cotton (pink) so they keep their weave texture. I ve also modified slightly the balance of wool to cotton in the warp to suit sectional warping. 

 Results of the double-weave experiment. Swedish lace in 20/2 with plain weave in 8/2 and 16/2

More adventures in double weave

 

I ve been thinking about the possibilities with double weave of having separate cloths joined at intervals where the cloths are different weave structures, yarn weights or setts.  So I'm doing some sampling starting with a fine open sett Swedish lace over a heavier plain cloth.

Rug weaving

 A return to the loom with a cotton rug for the bathroom in diversified plain weave using 8/2 cotton and minimop. 

Sampling

Whilst I m waiting for a new loom reed suitable for the bathroom rug project, I put a narrow warp on the loom to do some sampling. Playing with bateman blend and basket weave twill.