For an article I’m writing, I need to weave a couple of quick samples, all in different structures, from the same profile draft, and about 4-5 inches square (they’re destined to be mug rugs). For efficiency, I wanted to get as many structures as possible from the same threading. All structures had to be weavable on eight shafts or less.
This was a bit of a challenge. Finally, after much pondering, I figured out how to get a bunch of different structures from the same threading: use a very dense sett, and weave double weave, rep, and two layers of turned twill on the same threading! Rep weave and double weave both require about a sett 2x denser than plain weave; I might have to re-sley between samples, but the difference isn’t profound enough to require a totally different warp (i.e., I only have to beam on once). Two layers of turned twill would require a slightly denser set, but again, not enough to force me to rewarp. That would give me three structures, plenty for my article. Rep weave is weavable on four shafts, double weave and turned twill on eight shafts – perfect!
So I spent this morning figuring out the correct threading and tie-up for the three drafts. Because I wanted to thread only once, I had to work out a threading that would be compatible with all three structures. I wound up using a sixteen-shaft threading (two blocks of 8 shafts apiece). Then I worked out the tie-ups (rather fiddly work!), and now I have three drafts that ought to work. Tonight I’m going to cut the Autumn Splendor sample (which was failing drastically – breaking four or five warp threads on the left side with every half-inch or so; need to troubleshoot that later) off the loom and start warping up for the new draft. I’m hoping to have it woven and off the loom by this weekend, so I can start warping up The Big Huge Gynormous Warp (37 yards of 60/2 silk).
And here is a photo of the colors I plan to use in for my mug rugs:
These are from Lunatic Fringe Yarns, which specializes in spectrum colors for people weaving color gamps. They had 1.5-ounce cones, which are perfect for small projects, so I didn’t have to buy full 1-pound cones. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t dye my own, it’s because the yarns have to be commercially available – can’t expect readers to custom-dye their own!)
The colors in the center will be the warp colors (hence the colors for the warp rep sample); the colors to the side are to be used as the colors for double weave wefts. I will probably use yet another pair of colors for the turned twills.
In all, I plan to weave five samples:
- rep weave – gold and fuchsia
- double weave – gold and fuchsia warp and weft
- double weave – gold warp/orange weft, fuchsia warp/purple weft
- two layers of turned twill – gold warp/green weft, fuchsia warp/turquoise weft (will be two separate samples)
