This weave structure is 'turning' out to be one of my favorite. I can have fun with several colours at a time. I learned this twill at Jane Staffords' Workshop. The workshop Units, Blocks and Profiles is the bread and butter of weaving. The concepts to design and what weave structure you may want to use is now possible. I thought I would add some of my weaving projects and show the reason behind the illusion. It is a 3/1 twill, so you have a weft thread going over three and under one or vise versus. This determines which colour will show on your fabric face. Each block uses 4 shafts , so on a 8 shaft loom there are only 2 blocks. If you want to have more blocks and create a more elaborate pattern, you would have to use a different weave structure or buy a loom with 4 more shafts. Summer and Winter would allow you have 6 blocks and you can get a similar over all look.
I have recently bought a wonderful book with a great story and some great overshot patterns. "Weaving Designs by Bertha Gray Hayes-Miniature Overshot Patterns".
I had been browsing through the book and found an overshot pattern that I really liked. It is called Jitterbug and originally had a 228 thread count repeat. This would be too wide for a scarf, so fortunately Bertha re configured many of the old overshot patterns into miniature. In her book is a 62 thread count repeat. I warped 2/10 mercerized cotton and will use lace weight Alpaca for the weft. The book tells a great story of a women that lived in the early 1900's. She lived through WW2 and some of her unique patterns depict those times (Victory). She designed patterns and named them after her friends (Peggy's Choice). When she became terminally ill with stomach cancer she named a pattern (Gastric Ulcer). Even naming a pattern after the hospital she stayed in for her last 10 days (Miriam Hospital). The book goes on to tell her story and there is a picture in it of the participants at the National Conference of American Handweavers 1940. At the time the book was published no one could identify her, but I emailed the Rhode Island Weavers Guild to see if by any chance someone did identify her after the book was published and got a response back. So if you have this book on page 20 she is the woman 2nd in on the left of the 2nd row. Now we have a face to associate all those wonderful patterns to. |
Love to weave.
Love to go walking,esp. at the beach. Love my kids and dog. Love music. Love retirement. Archives
June 2019
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