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~ Jean Williams, Handweaver

jeanweaves

Category Archives: Opphämta

Putting Inspiration to Work

02 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Designing, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Opphämta, Weaving

Last spring, during my week-long drawloom class at Vävstuga in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, the lovely, vibrant, intricate hangings on every wall made my heart sing.  Reds, blues, golds, 8-pointed stars, crosses, and diamonds everywhere I looked.

The hangings echoed the richly decorative weaving of Sweden. Some were in linen, some in wool. Some incorporated Monks Belt, some Smålandsväv, but many were woven in opphämta, a weave in which the heavier pattern floats over or under the plain weave ground fabric.  The motifs are old and found in many crafts besides weaving.

All the way home, the patterns and colors played at the edge of my thoughts. How could I apply the techniques I’d learned to my own weaving? How could I adapt those traditional motifs to the equipment I have, the yarns on my shelf? That is, after all, why we go to classes and workshops—to learn new techniques.

Finally, this summer I wound warp for four hangings without any clear plan on specific designs.  I just wanted to try my hand at wall hangings like those I’d seen. The first hanging features blues and a few bands of rose.  As the patterns grew, it spoke “winter” to me – blue, icy patterns on snow, rose colored sunsets.

"Winter"

“Winter”

After that, the other three seasons just fell into place.  “Spring” with bright yellow and red flowers and light spring greens, “Summer” with darker green vines and bluebirds, “Autumn” with acorns and oak leaves.

"Spring"

“Spring”

"Summer"

“Summer”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The warp is 8/2 bleached cotton—I didn’t know if I was ready for the careful warping linen requires – next time.  The ground weft is linen. For weft, I used what I have on hand—some linen, some cottolin, some mercerized cotton. I used 17 pattern units on the drawloom threaded in a point which results in symmetrical motifs.

"Autumn"

“Autumn”

Of course, as I twisted fringe and assembled the hangings, I already knew things I’ll do differently next time.  There’s always a next time. That’s inspiration being put to work.

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Great Cover-Ups

24 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Craft History, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Opphämta, Weaving

In the dictionary, to cover is to place something upon, over, or in front of, so as to protect, shut in, or conceal; to hide or screen from view or knowledge, often used with “up”.

There are fashion cover-ups, like the items one wears over a swimsuit at the pool or beach.

There are sun screens to protect us from sunburns.

First hanging cloth fresh off the loom

First hanging cloth fresh off the loom

And of course, there are scandals and cover-ups meant to conceal truth. But that’s not where I’m going. Lately, I’ve been intrigued by textile cover-ups.

We have long used home textiles to hide what we want to protect or don’t want seen. A tablecloth can protect a good table or cover a scarred table and dress it up for the holidays. Sofa covers protect the good upholstery from pets and wear, and also hide the evidence of said pets and wear. Curtains cover our windows for privacy. Bread towels cover the newly baked loaf for cooling.

The Scandinavians have a couple historical textile traditions that I’ve been enjoying. One are the “hanging cloths.” Prior to the 19th century, in the day of flue-less fireplaces, the walls and ceilings would get sooty. On special occasions, hanging cloths covered up those dirty walls and ceilings, giving the room a fresh look.

According to Lillemor Johansson in Damask and Opphämta, these were white linen or cotton with colored patterns bands. The patterns were woven in opphämta or monks belt on a plain weave ground. In some communities, the patterns were all blue. In other places, the cloth could be red, blue, or a combination of colors. Braided fringes often decorated the ends.

Another historical Scandinavian tradition is the show towel. Towel bars must have had two bars, one closer to the wall than the other, but I’m just guessing on that. The idea was to hang a pretty towel in front to cover the utilitarian towel hung in the back. Family was presumably taught to only use the back towel.

We still have examples of “show towels” in our homes. My mother had special guest towels that only came out when company was coming. And woe to the child who inadvertently used one after coming in from play!

I like the decorative borders and finishes of these old textiles. I don’t have a flue-less fireplace—or any other kind for that matter—but I like the idea of woven wall hangings to dress up a room. Changing them out for the season can give a room a facelift without a major remodel.

Right now, I have a white 8/2 cotton warp on the drawloom for some of those opphämta hanging cloths. The first one is finished and I’m considering patterns and colors for the next one. It is both challenging and satisfying to design at the loom, choosing which border to balance the last, how to use the colors I have on hand to their best advantage. And it’s fun to see the pattern develop with each row.

These are my favorite kinds of cover-ups. What are yours?

Refilling the Creative Well

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Damask, Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Damask, Opphämta

Our part of the world enjoys four seasons and right now spring is transitioning to summer. The days are getting longer, warmer, and greener. There’s renewed hope for the garden, renewed energy in the morning walks, the desire to break out of the routine, for something different on the loom, something to get excited about. Getting away for some kind of retreat is a good way to refill the creative well for the coming months.

This past week was just such a retreat for me. I spent the week at Vävstuga Weaving School in Shelburne, Massachusetts studying Drawloom Basics with Becky Ashenden. Becky’s warm welcome and enthusiasm for all things Swedish made all of us feel right at home from start to finish.

What an inspiring week! Yes, I’ve woven on a drawloom for many years, but only with a few structures. Where I’ve woven 5-shaft satin damask before, this past week I had the opportunity to try 8-shaft satin damask.

Damask in 8-Shaft Satin

Damask in 8-Shaft Satin

We learned the properties of the various damask weaves, 5- 7-, 8-, and 10-shaft. We even worked with weaving swords to hold pattern sheds open on two different looms.

4-Shaft broken twill woven with a weaving sword

4-Shaft broken twill woven with a weaving sword

Where I’ve woven opphämta in the past, at Vävstuga I saw the variety of designs beyond what I’ve tried, combining borders and designing effective figures.

Opphämta with Weaving Sword

Opphämta with Weaving Sword

Opphämta borders on 10 patterns shafts

Opphämta borders on 10 patterns shafts

And with Smålandsväv, there seems to be limitless variations to keep me busy indefinitely.

Smålandsväv

Smålandsväv, back

Smålandsväv, front

Smålandsväv, front

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have shaft drawlooms; last week I also wove on single unit drawlooms, both with pattern-saving lashes

 

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, front

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, front

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, back

Damask with Pattern-Saving Lashes, back

 

 

 

 

 

 

and without.

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, front

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, front

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, back

Single Unit Draw in 6-shaft satin, back

 

I’ve woven mostly with cotton; this week, it was almost exclusively linen or cottonlin. I beat my warp with a steady hand; this week, I learned that some weaves just need a heavy thump.

Lithuanian Opphamta on 21 Pattern Shafts

Lithuanian Opphamta on 21 Pattern Shafts

I can follow simple directions, but I don’t always know the “why” behind the “how.” After a week of discussing the different kinds of looms, deciphering drawdowns, and weaving on several different set-ups, I have a lot more understanding of how to make the loom do what I want it to do.

And now that I’m home again, I’m putting more thought into rearranging my looms and their set-ups. When I bought my second Glimäkra last year, it was basically so I could have one dedicated to drawloom weaves and one to wide and multi-shaft weaves. The class gave me the incentive to make that happen. Over the coming weeks, I will take the draw attachments off my bigger loom and allow it to be used fully as the 12-shaft loom that it is. The smaller loom will then be the dedicated drawloom since I usually don’t weave wide drawn pieces.

I so appreciate Becky’s encouragement and the warm welcome from all the Vävstuga staff.  Many thanks to all you! Now that I’m home, there’s so much to weave, so little time!

More on Opphämta

26 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in Opphämta, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Color, creative inspiration, Projects, Textiles, Tradition, Weaving

Opphämta on the Loom

Opphämta on the Loom

Earlier this summer, I set out to explore opphämta and chose to put together some aprons using the patterning as borders along the sides and bodice. This has been a season-long project, but one in which I’ve learned a lot.

Because I wanted to make unique aprons, I wound only enough warp to make two aprons of each color. I also wanted to include some contrasting threads spaced randomly across the warp and weft. Since the borders and ties are woven on the same warp, this presented a bit of a challenge. Those contrasting threads interrupted the opphämpta pattern.

Royal Apron with White Opphämta Pattern

Royal Apron with White Opphämta Pattern

My first solution was to weave the body of the apron first with the contrasting threads. Then for the tie bands and patterns, I replaced those threads in the warp with the main color and weighted them off the back of the loom. This worked okay but caused a few tension issues.

White Apron with Star and Rose Pattern

White Apron with Star and Rose Pattern

I actually preferred the second solution—changing the contrasting threads on the warping board as I was measuring the warp. This did take some calculating, but the warp tension was more consistent.

My color choices were mainly pretty traditional—blue on white, white on blue. Then for the third warp, I used some seafoam green mercerized cotton that blends well with lavender. Those color studies from earlier this month came in handy.

White Apron with Star and Leaf Pattern

White Apron with Star and Leaf Pattern

Each apron uses a different opphämta design. There are so many different sources and motifs that I can spend hours playing with stars, roses, diamonds, and crosses. The scale of the pattern had to fit on the apron, so I kept my units to two threads each. With a sett of 24 epi, a five-unit float is almost ½”, so any float over five units had to be tied down.

Seafoam and Lavender Apron

Seafoam and Lavender Apron

As enjoyable as the aprons have been, I’m ready to move on. The nice thing about these opphämta patterns is that they can be used for other weave structures. Next up—damask. But what if these same units could be woven in overshot or lace or ….hmmm…

Exploring Opphämta

09 Monday May 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in Opphämta, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Opphämta, Weaving

Opphämta Borders

Opphämta Borders

I would like to introduce you to my friend, opphämta. Opphämta has spent a lot of time in my studio lately. I probably don’t pronounce her name correctly, but I sure am having fun with her.

Opphämta, or upphämta, is a Swedish weave structure in which the pattern thread forms the design over a plain weave ground. In a way, she reminds me of overshot, only without the half-tones. Like overshot, she is often woven in wool on a cotton plain weave or basketweave background, and often used for coverlets. Unlike overshot, the pattern thread is either on the face or on the reverse; there are no tie-downs which in overshot create half-tones, so long floats can occur. The patterns can often be traced to specific regions, are usually symmetrical, can be woven as borders or as all-over designs.

Opphämta was originally woven by picking up the pattern with a weaving sword. Although I’ve never tried to weave it with a sword, I have woven it on a draw loom which I’m sure is much faster than a sword. Although “fast” is a relative term for a draw loom.

Early aprons in opphämta, 1998

Early aprons in opphämta, 1998

Many years ago, I wove opphämta borders for some aprons, and decided  to revisit that project. Those aprons were a traditional bib-type design, with the opphamta border running along the hem and across the top. Two patch pockets also sported patterning.

My current project is inspired by a diamond-shaped apron my Mom sewed for me some years back. She was a quilter and her apron showcased her patchwork skills. I borrowed her apron’s shape, applying opphämta borders instead of patchwork along two sides and again across the top.

Detail of opphämta borders

Detail of opphämta borders

This is a work in progress. There are so many possibilities with this technique and it will be an adventure to see where opphämta takes me.

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