Weave Structures

I am working on a research paper which discusses Medieval Textiles. I have a 13 page outline of notes prepared and am beginning to draft the paper. I believe I will be taking a post out of Tien Chu's blog and am considering blogging this paper. The intent of this method is to write longer items, papers/books, by working in chunks, or one blog post at a time. Assuming I continue in this manner, here is my first chunk, which is not at all the introduction to the paper. Please feel free to give me feedback by commenting on this post.

Weave structures can be categorized in a number of ways. The first aspect weavers often discuss is whether or not the cloth is balanced. Balanced cloth is defined by an equal number of ends per inch (or centimeter) and wefts per inch (herein referred to as picks per inch). Balanced cloth shows the skill of a weaver to control the beat of the weft. Balanced cloth is effect when drape is not a factor. However there are a number of reasons when balancing warp and weft is not desirable. Items that are intended to create drapable clothing, should be woven with slight higher ends per inch than picks per inch. This warp dominance produce a better drape in the cloth. Fabric with an end use that needs to be more stiff, such as, a rugged placemat or book cover, should be woven with higher picks per inch than ends per inch.

Cloth can also be woven as warp faced or weft faced. Warp faced cloth is woven in such a way that the warp threads are the only threads visible in the final cloth. Weft faced cloth is woven such that the weft is the only thread that shows in the final cloth. Tapestries, which are weft faced, are common in medieval textiles.

The weave structure itself plays an important role in the final cloth and will be the main focus of this paper. There are three main structures, which will be introduced here. Each structure can be modified in a number of ways to create a wide variety of textiles. The main structures seen in medieval textiles and studied by modern weavers are tabby (or plain weave), twill, and satin. Structures are normally discussed in terms of their interlacement. A cloth’s interlacement is merely the pattern of how many warp threads a weft travels under and then over or vice versa. It is essentially how the warp and weft interact with each other to create the woven cloth.

Tabby, or plain weave is the simplest of all weave structures. It is simple because the weft passes over one warp thread then under another. You only need a mechanism that creates 2 sheds. The earliest looms had a natural shed, that is the way the loom was warped every other thread was lifte above it’s neighbor.These looms also had a mechanism, normally a heddle rod, which lifted the second set of threads up to create the second shed.

Twill is generally defined as a regular interlacement in which the weft passes over or under at least two warp threads. This interlacement must move in a regular interval and direction (either left or right), which produces the distinct diagonal line associated with a twill cloth. Twills are commonly found in medieval textiles.

A satin interlacement is similar to twill, but with an irregular pattern. Satin weaves move using a regular satin (or move) number, but the direction is inconsistent. This structure was developed to allow the quality of the thread to be the dominant visual element rather than the move sequence being the dominant visual element. Satin is commonly used for silk and is believed to have been developed when silk came into common use, to allow the shine of the silk to be the main visual element of the cloth.

And here is my sweet little loom.

Isn't she adorable?

Ohh Ebay!!!

Ebay is a harsh mistress, a blessing and a curse. I should say I rarely visit Ebay or buy things there anymore.
At a recent Cambridge Guild Meeting, a few members were discussing buying looms. One member pointed out that, in the UK, floor looms often go unsold and folks can make offers for them after the auction ends and thus get great deals! I think this is good advice for weavers loking for a floor loom.
This was not my experience! I already have a 60" Glimakra Standard, but I wanted a smaller floor loom for another room in the house. So I went looking. I made an offer on a loom bigger than I was looking for, the offer was turned down, no big deal.
Then I saw it!!! A Glimakra Ideal...there were already bids. So I knew if I wanted it, I had to bid. 3 days out it was still less expensive than most used table looms. So I bid and waited, and waited. For 2 days I was the highest bidder. This increased my longing for the loom. With an hour left the bidding fever hit me! I had to have it. Needless to say, I bid more than I initially said I would. I did win the loom and it was still a complete steal. They stopped selling the Ideal in Europe this summer, so you can't buy them new here anymore. My total cost was a fraction of the original retail price.
Oliver kindly drove all the way to the Southern coast to pick it up. A 9 hour day for him. He was rewarded with a big thank you and fish and chips for dinner!
The end result, I have a lovely loom, beautiful bench, several more reeds, temples, and more shuttles than I could ever use. Many of them stick shuttles, which I will sell on to someone who will use them, but not via Ebay.
Ebay, I love you, but you won't see me back for awhile!!!

Taquete Todo!

Ok I admit, sometimes I blog to keep myself organized. Hopefully you have seen my damask samples and 13th C Alms Purse. Damask is woven in a drawloom, but is quite a bit later in period. So now my next adventure in drawloom weaving is taquete then samitum.
So here's where I'm at and where I'm going.
I've wound my warp and beamed it. I have added 4 drawcords to my drawbridge, yes that really is what it's called! I now have 14 pattern shafts.
Here's what I still need to do:
1) Put leveling cords on the drawcords and tie the loops on one side of the cords. (Completed 12 April)
2)Thread the loom. This will initially be threaded. 1, Pattern, 2, Pattern. (Completed 12 April)
3) Sley the reed and tie on.
4) Distribute pattern heddles onto 14 pattern shafts. I'll use the Becky Ashden's method for doing this.
5) Weave away!!!
Wish me luck!

Spinning Spring Cleaning

I've always knew I was a spinner. My mother bought a wheel at an Amish auction when I was 7 or 8. I loved treadling it. I spent hours a day just making it go.
For some reason I have resisted my inner spinner. But 5 years ago when I visited Gotland stopping at little farms looking at lammskins, my inner spinner asked a farm wife "Do you have any sheep hair that was cut off a live sheep?" She didn't speak English well enough to understand "Do you have fleece too?" 40 SEK later I had about 10 lbs of fleece. I gave much of this away, but thanks to my friend Constanza, Abbey Franquemont, and the Spin Doctor, I'm just about ready to spin up what I have left.
I tried cleaning it using the Fermented Suint Method recommended by Constanza. And thanks to the Spin Doctor and Amazon my storage is going from tubs under the counter to duvets bags in the cabinets!

Taquete Binding

Today I wound my next warp and cut off my damask sampling warp. I am setting up , my drawloom to learn taquete. I know most weavers use standard looms for this now, but I will be basing my taquete on historical examples, which are believed to have been woven on a drawloom. Plus, all the designs I plan to userequire more shafts than I have on any other loom.

In preparing my initial warp, I have read the section on Taquete in Tabby to Taquete by Nancy Hoskins, and Pattern and Loom by David Becker. These books discuss different binding mehtods. Hoskins uses A1, A2, B1, and B2, each being shaft 1 or 2 plus all the pattern shafts for "block" A or B. Whereas Becker says taquete is woven using a binding warp and main/pattern warp, where the binding warp are the only warp threads used in the tabby treadling.

I plan to sample using both methods, but would be interested in hearing thoughts of other weavers.

Adventures in Drawloom Weaving

I am finishing up my series of damask samples and my small damask project. Now I'm going back further in weaving history to study Taquete and Samitum!
Today I'm preparing my taquete warp and may begin vhanging my drswloom set up for taquete.
Tjis warp is 10/2 linen. The warp will be linen and tge weft wool as are the Coptic and Persian examples. My first samples will be historic samples from Nancy Hoskins Tabby to Taquete, then some designs of my own that are taken from SCA heraldry and badges. I'm excited to do these designs in taquete and samitum to compare the structures!