Colour & Weave Inspiration : Plain Weave and Twill

Colour and Weave Inspiration

During the past few weeks some great cloth has walked through our doors and I just have to share it with you. All of these pieces are based on Colour and Weave Technique…. basically working with dark and light colour combinations in simple cloth. In my workshop Colour and Design we do a Colour and Weave Gamp…. Dark/Light over and over, Dark/Dark/Light/Light over and over, Dark/Dark/Light over and over. There are 7 different combinations of Dark and Light. That is what Colour and Weave is all about. As striped fabrics with all the colour in the warp and just one simple weft you get amazing striping sequences but the real magic begins when you weave with dark and light in the weft. In our camp we basically follow the striping sequence in the warp to get the weft sequence. Charlotte had a opportunity to weave a very special gift and we wove the gamp exactly how it is in class but without the dividers. She choose JST’s 2/20 Tussah Silk in Double Chocolate and Glacier sett at 20 epi and woven at 20 ppi. to create this amazing scarf.  The hand and drape of this cloth are evident in the photos below.

Tea Towels

 

I am the lucky recipient of yet another tea towel…. that must make around 500…. but who’s counting and no one can ever have enough tea towels. Not when they are as beautiful as the ones I have….. I don’t mean to brag…. just sayin!

This towel was designed by Sharon Broadley after she saw a flock of White Sussex Chickens at Salt Spring Cheese during one of our workshops. Inspiration lurks everywhere on Salt Spring Island. This towel just makes you smile. Sharon’s borders are Dark/Dark/Light/Light in the warp & Dark/Dark/Light in the weft with a couple of red zingers all on a bed of beautiful white cotton. Plain Weave kids…. just perfectly wonderful plain weave. JST’s 2/8 cotton sett at 18 epi and woven at 18 ppi. Take a look at that corner, looks like little chicken foot prints :^)

The Benefits of Sampling

Sampling is one of the best things a weaver can do. In the end you gain knowledge that you can use again and again. You save money by spending to a bit to learn and practice on and in the end you are generally very happy you did it. There are many different reasons to sample but the most important in my mind is getting your sett correct. Nicole Onetto is a new weaver who has taken sampling to heart. She sees the benefit of sampling in her end products.

Recently she has been weaving blankets…. first just Harrisville Shetland and then Harrisville Shetland Warp and Mohair Weft and now she has sampled to get the best fabric possible using Shetland and Alpaca. Nicole’s goal was to create a very special blanket for her son and she has done it.  Her journey took her through many samples, testing for sett and ‘colour and weave’ ideas on Twill. What happens when you take all those wonderful dark/light sequences you’ve played with in plain weave and overlay a 2/2 twill on top. The results are stunning.

We have draped Nicole’s beautiful blanket on Mary our lovely mannequin. You can see how this fabric would make a stunning coat or poncho.

Nicole’s sampling provided her with the knowledge she needed to make the best use of the yarns she wanted to use. Harrisville Shetland at 12 epi, JST’s Prime Alpaca at 12 ppi. 2/2 twill weave structure.

I want to thank all my wonderful students for sharing their fabulous work. Bang On, Far Out, High Five, Gold Star to my wee Charlotte, Sharon and Nicole. You kids make teaching a joy!