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~ Jean Williams, Handweaver

jeanweaves

Category Archives: Planning

Samples

04 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by jeanweaves in creating, Finishing, Planning, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Samples, Weaving

Nearing the warp's endNear the end of a project, with the final throws of the shuttle, while I’m quietly stitching the hem, there’s a hint for the next warp. It teases its way into my brain. It’s the “what if…” that carries weavers to rethread the loom time and again.

What if I change the treadling from a straight sequence to a pointed sequence? What happens if I use a finer yarn? What if I focus on block A instead of block C? What if I weave overshot as if it were honeycomb? Can it even work? The only way to find out is to try it.

Samples. I have to confess I’m a “let’s just get it done” type of person. I’m thrifty and I’m impatient. Samples have always seemed like a waste of time and money, and what would I do with them afterwards?

I’m getting wiser in my old age. How many times have I woven something only to find out the sett was too tight, or the yarn I’d chosen bleeds, or the weave just wasn’t what I thought it would be. That’s a waste of time of money.

So my sample stash is growing. I had a tub …

Tub of Samples

that spilled over to a drawer …

Drawer of samples

and now to a second drawer.

Overflow drawer of samples

I really admire those super-organized weavers who keep their samples in neat binders and sleeves along with all their planning notes and records. I’m not there yet.

I have at least started tagging my samples so I have a vague idea about what I was trying to do and why it did or did not work. That’s a start.

The next step is to sort them into some order so I can find that inspiration when I need it. And as I’m sorting the samples, one or another gives me pause. A different yarn perhaps? Maybe this will work for that new curtain? What if I added an accent color right there? What if….?

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When My Looms Look Like This….

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by jeanweaves in Planning, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Damask, Making, Production, Weaving

New Year, new month plus one, and this is the first week I’m faced with this….

End of the blanket warp

End of the blanket warp

And this…..

Baby bib warp thrums

Baby bib warp thrums

And this…..

Opphämta warp ties

Opphämta warp ties

This can be daunting if there aren’t any projects in the works, but it is also a refreshing point to be at early in the year. What could be better than facing a clean slate in the middle of winter when there’s time to ponder the possibilities?

Many years, January sits on the far side of the holidays and the winter stretches before me in a quandary of unknown directions. Not so this year. The apron warps bridged Christmas and the New Year. The dark aprons sat finished with the blue warp planned but not yet warped. In between came a baby blanket order. Both projects kept me busy in the studio throughout January.

What remains of the January projects

What remains of the January projects

So here I am, aprons and blankets neatly stacked, with that clean slate.

Some years I formally make a list of what I want to weave by when. Other years, like last year, I set out to improve my skills in one area or another.

While I was throwing the shuttle these past few weeks, my mind casually wandered around all the possibilities waiting for the drawloom on the other side of my studio. After finishing the opphämta hangings last fall, it has been patiently waiting for another warp. Maybe I should pay attention to where I’m wandering.

So at least for the next while, I’m borrowing a bit from last year’s challenges. First step is to plan out a warp for satin damask and decide whether to work with 5-shaft satin or 8-shaft satin. Then I’ll need to review how to dress the loom for single unit draw and spend some time graphing out a design or two or three.

I’m not sure just what I want to try first, but it’ll be a pleasant exploration whatever it is.

Loose Ends

20 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Designing, Planning

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Finishings, Textiles, Weaving

Kitchen Towel Stripes and Denim

Fold-over hem

Every piece has loose ends. The fabric is woven, the threads cut, but all those warp threads have to be fastened off somehow.

The purpose often dictates how a piece is finished. Most of what I weave needs a durable finish. I don’t want my handwovens to fray away in the wash. Towels, placemats, napkins, anything that will be washed frequently calls for a folded hem.

Black and Burgundy Wool Scarf

Twisted Fringe

I can also twist the fringe. Picture handwoven scarves, shawls,and even blankets, and most often they are finished with fringe. Twisting the fringe controls it. Some yarns have so much life, they just want to tango (or is that “tangle”?) as soon as they are cut from the loom. One of my weaving friends adds beads to give her fringes a little glitz.

And then there is hemstitching. Hemstitching is a decorative finish done on the loom. It binds the warps so when you cut the piece off the loom, it is essentially finished with the exception of washing the piece. The ends can be left to form a fringe or worked with twists, loops, or knots.

When I choose to hemstitch a piece, I leave enough warp at the beginning and end for a fringe. Using weft from the shuttle, I stitch up and over, up and over, across the warp. The first part of the stitch catches the warp.

The second part is worked around the tail of the first stitch to tie the bundle.

Each stitch binds two, three, four or more warps in a bundle.

I use a very simple hemstitch, but there are some wonderfully creative techniques to dress up the hem. Virginia M. West details many hemstitching variations as well as fringes, knots, and added bands in her book Finishing Touches for the Handweaver (1988: Loveland, CO Interweave Press). I know it’s an older book, but so worth it if you can find a copy.

What is your favorite way to tie up loose ends?

Containing the Excitement

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Damask, Designing, Looms, Planning

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Damask, Loom, Projects, Weaving

Two weeks ago The Shipment came. In three long, heavy boxes: loom extension; shaft draw system to upgrade from the old one; combination single unit set-up. It was like Christmas in June. I think my husband was just as excited as I was. Let the fun begin!

The view from the back

The view from the back

The pieces of the extension were finished but the other wooden pieces needed to be oiled and finished before I could put them together. And I’m a bit slow to comprehend things, so I read and reread the sheets that came in the boxes. One box only had a parts list—I was on my own to figure out how to assemble it. Another had more instructions, but no identification of the parts, so I had to figure out what some of the pieces were. The third box not only had instructions, but they were numbered to correspond to a drawing and little baggies of bolts and nuts. Hurray! I also had an idea from the Vävstuga video, Dress Your Swedish Drawloom, about how to proceed.

Hanging the treadles

Hanging the treadles

Piece by piece, it started to come together. By the end of last week, I had most of the attachments assembled and installed. Some had to wait till I had a warp on the loom.

As I was learning more about drawlooms this spring, my husband joked that he wanted some dragon placemats. That seemed like a good project to start with.

I found a fun graphed dragon in Here Be Wyverns by Nancy Spies (©2002 Arelate Studio, Jarrettsville, Maryland) and adapted a border from 826 Textila Bärder by Britta Johanson (©2009 Korssstygnsbolaget) Designing the border posed its own challenges. It took some work to balance the design to fit an 18” placemat.

The dragon taking shape

The dragon taking shape

I chose to weave a 6-thread irregular satin with an 8/2 cotton warp. This allows me to be able to see what I’m doing and make any adjustments more easily.

Because my existing countermarche is too long to fit within the new drawloom frame, I set this warp up on a counter-balance beam.  This, too, is a first. With the 6-shaft satin on this counter-balance tie-up, shaft 1 is tied to shaft 6, 2 to 5, and 3 to 4. So when I pull up shaft 1, shaft 6 goes down; the same with all the others.

I tested the shed by weaving a couple inches and measured a few random units to get a feel for how well the graphed design would fit in my planned weaving length. All set, the mat began, first with the hem, then the border, and on to the tail.

The view from underneath

The view from underneath

The wings took shape, followed by the head complete with “flames”. Finally the border and ending hems. The mat ended up a bit longer than I intended, but the cotton will shrink in the finishing.

First mat finished

First mat finished

This has been a satisfying first project. Now I have to decide what project to follow.

Designing Double Duty

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Color, Designing, Planning, Towels

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Designing, Projects, Towels, Weaving

Blue and Red Towels off the loom

The blue towels came off the loom a couple weeks ago and before the last shuttle thrown, I already knew a red warp would follow.

The blue warp has three shades threaded evenly across the ground with plaid-like bands of pale yellow bordered with purple on either side. This was the first time in a while that I wove distinct bands in the warp and it turned out to be a relaxing weave—I knew the drill, followed old habits and came up with several variations for weft-wise borders.

Even as the blue towels are waiting to be hemmed, I was measuring the red warp, this time a blend of various shades accented with yellow, purple, orange, and fuchsia. Using the same treadling orders, this set of towels wove up fast. All the designing was done already. And yes, I did tie the red warp onto the blue.

The first three towels were an experiment in themselves. Twill draws in more than tabby. Twill woven within a tabby towel often leaves scalloped selvages, but could I reduce or eliminate those scallops by bubbling the weft more? The answer is yes –and no. The twill bands didn’t draw in as much, but there is still some difference. And if I wasn’t careful, the excess weft sometimes left loops on the surface.

This twill threading allows a variety of different treadlings too. This is when I really appreciate the computer. I was able to eliminate a couple ideas because they resulted in some long floats. I took careful notes on how I treadled each set so that I could repeat them with the red warp. Even so, there are plenty of options with straight draw twill:

Straight Draw Twill on Ms and Ws Threading

a combination of tabby and twill (bubbling carefully):

Tabby with twill

woven as drawn in (what is sometimes called “trompt as writ”):

Ms and Ws woven as drawn in

and point treadling:

Point treadling on Ms and Ws threading

I’ve toyed with the idea of doing a green warp next. However, a niece is expecting a baby this fall and baby blankets and bibs are next on the to-do list. And then there’s a loom reassignment coming up—more on that next time!

When have your designs done double duty? Share your story!

Making the Most of Time

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in creating, Planning, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Projects, Time Management, Weaving

Gebrochene on the loom

Gebrochene on the loom

Last night our study group met. We were a small group—the local colleges are on spring break and many people are out of town. Those of us who came shared our current projects and the conversation turned to tying a new warp onto the previous one.

Susan said she rarely ties on. She says she is always planning the next project while she is weaving, and it is often in a different structure.

As an example, Susan brought a rainbow colored baby blanket woven in 8-shaft crackle. What a bright and cheery blanket! The blocks for her crackle pattern came from an overshot name draft that she designed. She showed us that same name draft woven in fine white and blue linen overshot. Then there were the lace towels in 10/2 cotton—again using those name draft blocks, this time in lace. That’s three different structures from one block design. She couldn’t tie each warp onto the previous one because they are different structures, but she started with the same block design for each.

Paula said she ties on whenever she can. Paula has an Ms and Os warp on right now for a baby blanket after which she will reduce the sett for a scarf, then after that, she’s spread the warp again and tie on for a rug. Paula has studied Ms and Os for years. She starts with that one weave structure and interprets it into everything from fine to heavy fabrics. She knows just what to expect from different yarns in that weave and how they will respond to the floats and interlacements. One weave structure—many ways.

I’m somewhere in between in the tying discussions. I tie on when I can, but like Susan, I’m often on to a different structure with the next project.

Gebrochene Draft

Gebrochene Draft

Currently I’m working on a gebrochene weave. That’s an old German name for a fancy Ms and Ws twill. I really love the intricate patterns created with just the classic twill line going in different directions. From this one threading, I can weave plain weave with a fancy twill border, gebrochene in a straight treadling, gebrochene in a point treadling, trompt as writ, or a combination of any of these. Using different colors and fibers and tying on to the existing warp, I can weave towels, runners, napkins, even scarves before I have to rethread.

All of us have ways to get the most out of our creative time, whether it tying on to the previous warp, or using the same draft in multiple structures, or weaving a single structure into a variety of items.

How do you get the most out of your creative time?

Problem-Solving in the Works

06 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Planning, Thrums, Wool

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Boundweave, creative inspiration, Thrums, Weaving

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my thrums dilemma and eventual inspiration to weave a bench pad in rosepath boundweave. On Friday, I pulled the pad off the loom and yesterday, finished the hemming.

Thrums waiting to be woven

Thrums waiting to be woven

The bed covering in the painting “Lallah Rookh” is my source for inspiration. It has, as one of its motifs, an elongated flame shape on a solid ground. Because I had a limited supply of thrums for patterning, I focused on that shape rather than trying to duplicate the entire covering. I supplemented the thrums with other wools from my stash for additional colors. From this image, I went to past magazine issues for specifics.

I have seen different tie-up methods for boundweave. Tom Knisely threads boundweave in the typical rosepath arrangement and treadles the colors in blocks which float two ends up, two down. (see “A Boundweave Rug” p. 34 November/December 2010 Handwoven). This results in a reversible fabric.

Flame taking shape

Flame taking shape

However, I chose the tie-up from “Rugs in the Scandinavian Way” in the May/June 1987 Handwoven Magazine for no other reason than I just wanted to see how it would work. Here, Phyllis Waggoner uses a boundweave tie-up that lifts three ends against one. With this set-up, the backside is definitely a backside. Her rug shows several design bands in varying colors, one of which was a distinctive flame motif. Sometime, that would be a fun rug to weave in its entirety, using the block treadling to produce a more reversible fabric, but for now, I needed to focus on that flame pattern and maybe a smaller diamond.

Backside of the boundweave, right off the loom

Backside of the boundweave, right off the loom

Weaving progressed slowly, not just because boundweave is a slow weave, but because I was working with weft in one-yard lengths. Lots of loose ends! Every end had to be overlapped and tucked to the back of the web while weaving. Here is where I made a decision based on expediency: because the back side would not be seen, indeed would be tied down to my loom bench, I decided not to worry about all those loose ends. If this had been a piece on which both sides would be seen, I would have used a needle to weave those ends in after taking the piece off the loom.

Because I didn’t know how long the flame motif would end up, after weaving the hem and header, I started the border just a couple inches in from the beginning. As it turned out, one repeat was going to be too short, and if I wove a second one, the pad wouldn’t fit on my bench. An added smaller diamond on one end resulted in a more useable length, even though it does bother my “symmetry” sensibilities a bit.

The finished boundweave bench pad

The finished boundweave bench pad

This was definitely an exercise in problem-solving that resulted in something useful—which is what I wanted from my thrums.

What challenges are you working on this week? Share your discoveries!

Storm Warning — or How to Spend a Weekend Indoors

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by jeanweaves in Blankets, Doubleweave, Planning, Wool

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blankets, Doubleweave, Weaving

What do you do when an ice storm looms (no pun intended)?

Wool on the cone

Wool on the cone

Dire predictions preceded Winter Storm Jupiter, so named by the National Weather Service. Ice is nothing to fool around with, so we did what most everyone did this weekend—we stayed home.

It was a perfect excuse to work on a wool blanket, something nice and warm.

Before the holidays, I agreed to weave a full-size wool blanket for a customer who attends 1800’s era reenactments. This is a little out of my experience, so it required some research.

Wool Blanket on the Loom

Wool Blanket on the Loom

Because the customer will be using this blanket outdoors, it has to be warm and sturdy. I chose Harrisville Highland Wool (900 yds. per pound) and straight twill for the weave structure. A 24” square sample helped me determine how long to soak and agitate it to get the desired finish.

The size is wider than my looms, but weaving it double-width makes up for that. I had to watch the bottom layer to avoid skips and catches as well as a messy selvedge.

And I weave cotton more than wool, so I had to brush up on how to treat this lovely yarn respectfully, to make it bloom into full potential.

Wool twill blanket off the loom

Wool twill blanket off the loom. Finished sample is in the upper right.

Yesterday I pulled the finished warp off the loom with a sense of accomplishment. I still have to hem it and make any necessary repairs before fulling the finished blanket, but it was a pleasant way to wait out an ice storm.

How to Get There From Here

22 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in creating, Planning, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Handwoven Magazine, Weaving

I have always enjoyed Sharon Alderman’s articles in Handwoven Magazine. She has a comfortable style of explaining things and even when discussing complex structures, she is easy to follow. Recently I borrowed Mastering Weave Structures, by Sharon Alderman and published in 2004 by Interweave Press, and was quickly absorbed in the wealth of information she included.

Mastering Weave Structures by Sharon Alderman

Mastering Weave Structures by Sharon Alderman

Sharon inspired me right from the get-go by her approach to plain weave. What can a weaver do with simple old plain weave to make an interesting fabric? What about grouping warp and/or weft ends? You can vary the denting. Vary the yarn sizes. Use mercerized with unmercerized cotton. Use different fibers in the same fabric. Use colors close in hue or value. Combine basket weave, a form of plain weave, with plain weave itself. Use color and weave effects, including rep weaves. Sharon discusses how these choices and others affect the end fabric.

What makes a twill? What is the difference between an even twill and uneven twill? How do you make a twill more or less steep? What about sett? What if you weave the draft in a point, or combine different points, or advance the twill line? What happens if you weave one pick from one treadling sequence and the next pick from the second? What if you rearrange the treadling order?

She starts each structure with 4-shaft drafts and moves on to include drafts for 8 shafts, 16 shafts, and sometimes 24 shafts. She gives the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. Several times, she points out that an uneven beat will produce crosswise striations in the finished cloth. And she strongly encourages weaving good sized samples, at least 12” x 12”, in order to see what the yarns will actually weave up as.

Compound weaves are those that use more than a single warp and a single weft. They include overshot, summer and winter, crackle, and beiderwand. Sharon covers treadling variations, skeleton tie-ups, and going beyond the expected. “Pushing an idea boils down to this: try the idea, notice what happens, and if you like what happens, see if you can exaggerate it.”

I was particularly curious about her chapter “Inventing Your Own Weave Structures.” Here she presents three different approaches she uses to achieve the fabric in her head, working backwards to the draft and figuring out what she needs to put on the loom to get the result she wants.

In one approach, she starts with paper and pencil, sketching the elements she wants in her cloth and their relative position. Another approach is to design from the tie-up: start with a basic tie-up and make changes to form the elements you want to include. Her third approach is to draw out the design on graph paper and then work out the threading, the treadling, and finally the tie-up.

Anyone who is familiar with Sharon’s articles in Handwoven Magazine will recognize her easy style and practical approach to weaving. She includes drafts, diagrams and sumptuous photos of the resulting fabrics to illustrate the possibilities.

“The important thing, as always, is knowing how to achieve the effect you want.”

Focus, Focus, Focus!!!

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in Planning, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

creative inspiration, Fiber Arts, Weaving

I have to confess – I was not an exemplary student. I recently found some of my old grade cards from elementary and high school. A solid B student. Nothing outstanding. The reason? Focus!

It seems like I always aimed to just finish the assignment fast rather than to finish it well. I’d exalt if I completed the paper first, but then be dismayed at the red checks and corrections I had to make. I missed details because I wasn’t paying attention. How many times did my teachers have to call me back with “Pay attention!”

Even in my high school sewing class, I chaffed at waiting till the teacher approved one step before she let me move on, but she saved me from later frustration by pointing out mistakes that I could still correct.

Planning in the works

Planning in the works

As an adult, I sometimes show the same lack of focus. There are so many exciting fiber arts to play with—spinning, dying, twining, knitting, tatting, book-making, the list goes on and on. And within weaving itself, there are lots of different directions I could go—domestic, artistic, fine threads, rugs, linen, cotton, silk, wool…

I’ve always admired those weavers who focused on a technique until they learned it, really learned it, and could explain what the threads are doing. They sample carefully, documenting their process, and can then repeat what works and avoid what doesn’t. They are not “jacks of all trades, masters of none”– they stick with a technique until they master it. That is the weaver I want to be when I grow up.

At our recent weavers guild meeting, one of our members shared her samples from an on-line tapestry course she is taking. Every sample showed a different technique, executed with precision. I’m sure she had to take out some as she was learning, but she stayed with it. What a great inspiration!

Other members shared what they learned at various summer classes and conferences—Convergence in Milwaukee, a felters symposium, a rep weaving workshop. All these events are opportunities to focus on one technique, one skill, to break open a discipline that can be studied further at home. That’s the real challenge of a workshop or class—to continue learning after the last session and to make the technique my own. That takes focus.

For me, it means looking at what equipment I already have, what weave structures I keep coming back to, and getting to know them really well. I have two Glimakra looms; what more can I learn with them? Those looms have drawloom attachments; there’s so much more that those can do than I am currently using them for!

So in this late-year review of goals, focus is right at the top of my list. I plan to pay attention to what the threads on the loom are doing, and delve deeper into each weave structure.

It is never too late to learn!

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

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