Following my own advice, I think I’m going to approach the question, “What do I study next?” iteratively, by doing a few short projects that last a week or two apiece, and then decide what to do next. Because I have a good chance at an opportunity to study doubleweave through HGA’s TLC program, I’m going to start with doubleweave. Since I want to explore as many techniques as possible in as short a time as possible, I think I’m going to start with a set of samples, maybe 9-12″ wide, and explore as much as I can. For maximum flexibility, I will probably weave it using a straight draw threading (which will allow me to control the pattern on a thread by thread basis); that limits me to “only” 12 shafts for each layer, which means the pattern repeat will be every 12 ends. That is smaller than I like, but it’s a start. Once I understand more about how doubleweave works, I’ll probably design a threading gamp of some sort.
Fortunately for me, Bonnie Inouye’s Exploring Multishaft Design has a section on doubleweave, which I plan to reread tonight. I will set things up using a two-color warp, one layer for the top and one for the bottom (to make it easier to distinguish between the two). I’ll start with “plain” doubleweave, two joined layers, and then try weaving two separate layers, a tube, and other basic exercises. Then I’ll try making a checkerboard, and go on from there.
I’ll have to dig into my stash for some fairly fat yarns (well, fat for me, anyway). Since my repeat is only 12 ends wide, I don’t want to use a particularly fine yarn – so it will probably be 8/2 tencel at 3360 (?) ypp. I am considering ordering some predyed yarns for the occasion – very out of character for me, but I don’t want dyes anywhere near the wedding dress, even if it isn’t currently in the house. I might use some 10/2 cotton instead, since I do have that in colors, and it’s only 4200 yards per pound.
Once the wedding dress is complete, I’m also going to try some exercises in color from the design book I’m reading – don’t want to do it now because it involves acrylic paints, which likewise are not getting anywhere NEAR the wedding dress. Until that dress is complete and stored away – no dyes, no paints in the house!
