candidate for the profile challenge
Warp-dyed Double weave
I intended this as a three-layer shawl, but because of my inexperience with dyeing, my third color didn't work. I re-drafted and used pick-up to get the look I wanted.
John & David's Table Settings
Double weave fabric with crepe weave draft from Mastering Weave Structure, "stitched" to a plain weave backing. Hem stitched on loom for edges. Colour sequence determined by cycling through 1/4" 1/8" and 3/8" widths and 5 colours to create a "random" striping pattern.
Placemats: (11) Placemats 12.5" high x 19" wide17" in reed 816 (@48 epi) (4 1/2 repeats) each piece 23" woven 253" woven total4" gap between each piece 40" waste 341" total warp length7750 yards needed for warp (1550 yds per color, could be rounded up for safety) 6600 yards needed for weftWeft: Total woven length: ____253__________ Actual width in reed + 15% = pick length ____19.55______ Number of picks per inch= ____48________total woven length x pick length x picks per inch divided by 36= yards needed or by 60 = skein winder turns needed.Colors: for each repeat: .75" of each color with 3.75" per repeat.
7750 yards needed for warp (1550 yds per color, could be rounded up for safety) 6600 yards needed for weft
Backstrap double weave - a first try
This was started in a class with Laverne Waddington but put aside for a while over the holidays. I finally finished it, but not with out the help of Laverne's excellent video tutorials to refresh my memory. Challenging, but much fun. I first made some warping errors that I had to figure out. I found I could only do a little at a time because as soon as I lost my concentration, I made errors that took me much pondering to figure out. The edges are crooked and the back has a couple of errors where I missed a thread, but I will do it again!
Double weave throw
This is my first attempt at a double weave / double width throw. The weaving has been slow since I have had other projects (knitting) that I needed to get sinished. I have about 20 inches woven so far and have about 35 - 40 more to go. I choose a lightweight wool that I will full lightly when I am finished. That will help hide any small issues I might have with the fold line and selvedges. The sample I wove turned out well so I am hoping for more of the same with this!
2-18-2012 - the throw is off the loom - I am slowly weaving in ends and fixing a few large skips - it will get washed tomorrow and lightly fulled
2-22-2012 - I fixed most of the skips - the ones I could find - and then did a crocheted edging. I can see all the problems but overall I am pleased with my first attempt at a double weave / double width project. I learned many things doing this and look forward to the next project. It measured about 40 x 65 inches before fulling and 35 x 56 inches after.
I keep entering the yarn and it keeps getting deleted. I used Nature Spun sport weight in charcoal, gray heather, stone and ash.
Harry Potter Double Weave Pick-up
My daughter's best friend is a devoted Harry Potter fan. She not only owns all the books and movies, but has recently visited Harry Potter World. When she found out she was pregnant she wanted to decorate her nursery with a Harry Potter theme. I, too, am a Harry Potter fan, so this was a labor of love. I picked the colors because they represented Gryfindor, the house Harry belonged to. I had initially picked several motifs to weave, but decided I was better off narrowing down my choices since this weave structure is very labor intensive.
I had set myself a goal of weaving an inch a week. It seems I spent a LOT of time UN-weaving on some of those weeks. I do believe I am now expert in un-weaving double weave. I doubt I will ever attempt another project of this size, but it's nice to know that it can be done.
Houndstooth Tubular Double Weave
Double weave wall hanging
I'm using a 3/2 perle cotton in cream and sage green - the green shows brighter in the pictures than it really is.I am going to sample a variety of techniques and end up with a usable sampler wall hanging. At least that's the plan. . . 10-19-2011 - The wall hanging was cut off the loom this evening and will be wet finished tomorrw - then the finishing touches added - still not sure what I am going to do with the bottom fringe but some beads may find their way into that area. 10-27-2011 - the wall hanging is finished. All the loosed ends woven in, fringe detail finished. Finished length with fringe is about 5.5 feet. I think it will find a home on my office door at work. I tried out several different double weave patterns and techniques including plain weave, twill, separate layers, using supplementary weft for honeycombs, etc. , window panes and finger manipulated lace weaves on the top layer with a solid layer underneath. I liked some of the techniques and am looking to explore double weave on the rigd heddle some more with differnt weight and content yarns. And of course I need to do that double width throw sometime too!
Seamless Pouch prototype
I was motivated to post this project after seeing Metex's seamless bags posted last year (and which just showed up on FB to remind me). I made this some time ago on my backstrap loom just as a little experiment in warp-faced double weave. I wanted to use the fact that warp-faced double weave without a pick up pattern produces a tube to make a seamless pouch...just for fun!! One face is purple and the other yellow.
I wove a row of pick up pattern along the bottom which sealed the tube.

Once it was off the loom I worked a couple of rows of weft twining along the bottom to hold the weft and cut the fringe. I wove some triangles along the sides as well which weren't necessary for the tubular form and had to stop weaving them after a while as the difference in take up between the patterned edge and the plain body was considerable.
So I decided to do some supplementary weft motifs instead in the inlay method I learned in Guatemala, turning the weft in such a way that it outlined the motif.
This pouch is just the right size for eyeglasses and I sewed a strip of tape measure into the top seam to create one of those "snap openings''...the kind where you squeeze the sides of the pouch and the top pops open.....like so... and that was the only sewing involved. My friend Bobbie gave me the tape measure idea.

This was a prototype. If I make another, I will plan the pattern beforehand rather than make it up as I go!
And here it is along with a few other small pouches I have made lately on the backstrap loom in supplementary weft and warp and complementary warp pick up techniques as well as finnweave.

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