Units, Blocks & Profiles – What a year!
None of us can believe that another year has flown by and we are getting ready to launch Season 7, the sequel to Units, Blocks and Profiles. We have covered so much ground and given you so much to absorb but…that’s the beauty of the School of Weaving format. I know that many of my students who have taken “in-house” workshops in the past are delighted that they can now go through everything we learned this year, at a pace that gives them time to absorb all the information.
We started our first project of the year with a bang by taking 8-shaft Twill to another level by playing with blocks and tie-up quadrants. We watched the magic happen! We took what we learned about Monk’s Belt and pushed it up a notch. We learned how to use the unit system for Overshot and how to adapt our designs using Twill shapes in the mix. We learned how to do name drafting, which is so much fun. We finally got to know and play with Crackle Weave, learning how to add layers to this eye-popping structure. Next came M’s & O’s with all the treadling elements you could incorporate in the structure to create a beautiful cloth. We took our first steps into the almost endless possibilities of weaving using Summer and Winter. Before we knew it – we were blowing our minds learning to analyze blocks and then weaving the fabulous Block Analysis/Bronson Lace scarves.
Now it’s time to just enjoy the holiday season and weave with all the knowledge you’ve gained this past year!
Thank you for coming on this journey with me : )
Jane
School of Weaving In-Stock Kits
8 Shaft Twill Block & Tie-up Quadrants
Level of Difficulty: intermediate
Weave structure: Twill Blocks & Tie-up Quadrants
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Tea Towels
Things we learn:
- ways to manipulate the tie-up box
- we consider it in quadrants
- how to frame Lace with Twill
- how to frame Basket Weave with Twill
- how to frame Plain Weave with Twill
- we don’t fret about clean cut lines
- how to play with graphic and colour.
Monk’s Belt
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Monk’s belt
Material: 8/2 cotton & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Placemats
Things we learn:
- Monk’s Belt uses 2 opposite twill units. A is 1&2 and B is 3&4
- the number of times a unit is repeated lengthens the pattern float
- the number of times a unit can be repeated is also dependent on the EPI of the warp
- it is woven with alternating tabby picks between pattern picks
- it can be woven on other threadings ie. point twill for a 3-end unit and Huck for a 5-end unit.
Overshot
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Overshot
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes a warp for 3 Scarves
Things we learn:
- the unit system for Overshot
- how understanding Twill shapes will help us identify those shapes in Overshot
- Tromp as Writ, Rose Fashion, treadling on opposites
- using contemporary graphics in the threading
- adding other Plain Weave elements to the overall design.
Crackle Weave
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Crackle Weave
Material: 8/2 & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 9 Towels
Things we learn:
• Crackle weave is a twill-derivative structure
• it can be woven with or without alternating tabby picks
• how to interpret a Twill threading as a profile draft
• doubling the units to double the size of the pattern
• Overshot style treadling
• on opposites treadling
• classic Crackle threading, 3 wefts, (no tabby)
• Bronson Lace treadling
• Summer and Winter treadling
• composition of graphic.
M’s & O’s
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: M’s & O’s
Material: 8/2 organic cotton & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 guest towels or 12 placemats
Things we learn:
- traditional threading for M’s & O’s
- that we can thread Plain Weave selvedges and we can weave a version of Plain Weave selvedge… BUT, not both… you have to pick which one you want.
- if you go for the version of Plain Weave we can use floating selvedges to spiff up the selvedge (we are using 4 per side)
- that we have 2 units that can be repeated with care… I’ll explain in the video
- that we can treadle: almost Plain Weave, traditional M’s & O’s, honeycomb, a version of Monk’s Belt, a version of Bronson Lace & repetitive sequences playing with all those things.
Summer and Winter
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Summer & Winter
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 1 sampler and 8 placemats
Things we learn:
- the unit system of Summer and Winter
- what a two-tie structure means
- how to make your hem exactly like the pattern in reverse
- how to treadle in pairs X style
- how to treadle in pars O style
- how to treadle in singles alternate style (bricks)
- how to treadle in Dukagang style (columns)
- how to change your ground patterning by changing your tabbies
- having neutral warp allows us to bring in any colour we want.
School of Weaving
Watch anywhere, anytime!
JST 2023 Calendar
You now have the option to have the calendar shipped letter-mail to save on shipping. These images will inspire you all year long. Why not give them to your favourite weaving friends 🙂
$5 to ship in Canada and $7 CAD to ship to the USA.
Just click the “letter-mail” shipping option at checkout.
From Our Inbox
We were delighted to see Jacqueline Hitchen’s beautiful sample towels using what she learned in Season 6 – Episode 6 – Crackle Weave. Jacqueline wove them with Overshot and Summer & Winter treadling and we were pleased to see her results woven in her own choice of colours.
We offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.
Here to Help
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