How do I do a tied double weave?

[Mary Godfrey]

Hi Jane

Greetings from the UK. I hope you are staying well and safe during this awful global Covid 19 outbreak.

I want to make a large shawl for my daughter who has requested ‘something bright and bold’. As I have 32 shafts I was thinking of doing a block draft in double weave with large blocks repeating to form big areas of colour. This will mean that the pockets of double weave will be large so I want to tie them together to prevent them separating. Can you suggest a Liftplan that would do this effectively? I only have one beam, but have previously found this to be fine when weaving double cloths.

many thanks

mary

 

[Ginette]

Hi Mary,

Just wondering, have you looked into Jennifer Moore’s books or her website? She has a couple of books on double weave, not certain if she has anything for a 32 shaft but it might be worth checking out her website or contacting her.

Would absolutely love to see this piece once you’ve woven it! Stay safe out there too!

[Mary Godfrey]

Hi Ginette

I’ve put the shawl on hold until after I’ve done an experiment with ‘summer and winter’. I am intending to weave a graphic pattern to go in a frame – not something I’ve done before. I’ve worked out how to  draft it in blocks and have set it up the draft and lift plans using Fiberworks, so I know it works in theory!

My question is about the selvedges – what would you recommend? Plain weave? Doubling the two ends at the edges?

thank you

Mary

[kathleen ready]

I have woven lots of S and W. You don’t need to double up on selvedge threads. You don’t need a floating selvedge, because every other pick is a plain weave, and you are using 2 shuttles with two different colours, so going (jump the bump and dive the dip) I think that’s what Jane calls it.

As well, you can weave plain weave across the weft, such as for a hem, but you can not weave plain weave along the warp or selvedge. (Each weave structure comes with it’s own set of rules). Depending how you weave your pattern, let’s say the warp colour is the background, then you would raise all your blocks and weave just the background, if you want to have a design framed then you would use  a shaft, usually the 3rd for your background along the side. That block can be your selvedge, but it has to be a S and W block. 1,3,2,3. Hope this helps.

 

I actually was interested in your first ?, and I have the Doubleweave book by Jennifer Moore. She does talk about tie downs, and she has drafts for up to 8 shafts, but you can extrapolate. Whether you weave plain weave or twill, when you add a tie down, it always brings the other coloured warp up (I’m  a jack loom thinker), so there will be a dot of colour from the other side. My first double weave project was to weave pockets in a table runner and add sequins in them. Well I washed my cloth and all the sequins fell to one side. I had crossed threads along the weft to close off the pocket, but not along the warp. I had a good laugh about that. I look forward to seeing your shawl too. You have lots of options with 32 shafts.

[Mary Godfrey]

Hi Kathleen

I really appreciate the information you’ve provided. I have made the warp and am now threading the shafts. I was relieved to see that the suggestion for the edges is exactly what I am doing. I’ve made the edges a little wider. I’m actually doing a 4 colour design. I found an excellent article by Lilian Whipple on Weavezine which explains how to do it in detail, with the weave drafts and lift plans. She calls it Summer and Winter Polychrome and Taquete. I don’t think it’s quite what I want but I though it was worth mastering and experimenting with. I suspect I should be doing Lampas to get the effect I want but I don’t have the right yarns in the right thickness to do that right now, and I’m unsure whether I need a second beam. I only bought one with my Megado.

Thank you for telling me about Jennifer Moore. My goodness her work is stunning, like stained glass windows. I shall certainly treat myself to a copy of her book.

Your story of the sequins falling out of their pockets was quite sweet. It’s only by trying things that we learn. I will let you know how I get on with my current project. I should be ready to start weaving tomorrow.

warm wishes

Mary

 

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