Tien Chiu

  • Home
  • About
    • Honors, Awards, and Publications
  • Online Teaching
  • Gallery
  • Essays
  • Book
  • Blog
  • Dye samples
You are here: Home / All blog posts / textiles / Next samples
Previous post: Bye bye Travelingtiger
Next post: Oh yes, that wedding thing

October 28, 2009 by Tien Chiu

Next samples

I spent a little while tinkering with my eternity knot draft today, and have decided to weave a gamp 15″ wide with three different patterns:

  • eternity knot against a six-shaft  broken twill background
  • eternity knot against a four-shaft broken twill background
  • eternity knot against a four-shaft broken twill background, with the motifs spaced farther apart.

Most of the gamp, of course, will be mush, but the sections of interest should look something like this:

eternity knot gamp simulation

(The full size photo shows it at just slightly smaller life size, so click on the thumbnail if you want to see the actual size as it will be woven.)

The things I am testing with this gamp are:

  • Does using a six-shaft rather than a 4-shaft broken twill background make a big difference in how clearly the pattern shows?  (You can see in the photo that the first one, the six-shaft broken twill, has a significantly lighter background.  is it enough to make a difference?)
  • Is a closer spacing more attractive than a wider spacing?
  • Is it better to combine the gold metallic with another, darker weft (to increase contrast) or to use 100% gold metallic?
  • What is the correct sett?

I won’t be able to answer the last question 100%, both because the sample is narrower than the finished result and because I am mixing two weave structures in the same gamp (6-shaft and 4-shaft broken twill).  But I should get an idea of whether it will work.  I plan to sett at 60 epi, which Ashenhurst’s Rule suggests would be about right for the 6-shaft broken twill, maybe a little close for the 4-shaft broken twill.

I will weave two repeats of this sample, the first to sample different weft combinations and the second to check on the spacing with the sample I decide I like best.  Unfortunately (?), that means I will have to dye some 140/2 silk to combine with the gold metallic before I can start weaving.  Between that and having to beam on and thread 900 threads for this sample, it will likely be next week before I can start weaving.

And, of course, there are the muslins.  I’ve cut and marked all the pieces for the coat muslin and have just started sewing it up; I should finish tomorrow morning.  I also need to correct the pattern and cut/sew the corselette (interior support) for the dress, including boning, by Sunday – which will take another few days of work.  I definitely have my work  cut out for me!

…and, starting next weekend, I will need to start making chocolates as well.  Caramels and toffee first, followed by fudges.  I also need to do a test batch of bonbons to see if my new ganache cutters work!

It would be nice if there were three of me, but there’s only one, so I guess I’m going to have to prioritize the fun.  🙂  But I’m looking forward to it!

Share this post!

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print

Filed Under: textiles, weaving Tagged With: wedding dress

Previous post: Bye bye Travelingtiger
Next post: Oh yes, that wedding thing

Comments

  1. Benita Story says

    October 29, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    I’m going to be curious to see how that top one comes out. At least in the draft, the knot shows up more clearly, in my opinion.

  2. Jo says

    October 29, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    I’ll chime in and say that the top section seems the cleanest and the clearest to my eyes. What sett(s) are you thinking of using for the samples?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Information resources

  • Dye samples
    • Procion MX fiber-reactive dye samples on cotton
    • How to "read" the dye sample sets
    • Dye sample strategy - the "Cube" method
  • How-Tos
    • Dyeing and surface design
    • Weaving
    • Designing handwoven cloth
    • Sewing

Blog posts

  • All blog posts
    • food
      • chocolate
    • musings
    • textiles
      • dyeing
      • knitting
      • sewing
      • surface design
      • weaving
    • writing

Archives

Photos from my travels

  • Dye samples
    • Procion MX fiber-reactive dye samples on cotton
    • How to "read" the dye sample sets
    • Dye sample strategy - the "Cube" method
  • Travels
    • Thailand
    • Cambodia
    • Vietnam
    • Laos
    • India
    • Ghana
    • China

Travel Blog

Entertaining miscellanies

© Copyright 2016 Tien Chiu · All Rights Reserved ·

 

Loading Comments...