Weaving letters with 13 pattern threads
Weaving letters and making your own messages is fun. Recently I was asked to weave six sashes for the Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. https://journalwsd.org.uk/
However, I needed to check that the wording would be the correct length for the sash so I had to weave several samples. Because the design was complicated I used my 32 shaft Megado loom to weave the sashes.
The First Sample
My first sample was too long. I needed to weave the legend 'The Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers' twice so that when the sash is worn, it can be read from the front and back For this sample I used 6/2 cotton and it was too long and too wide.
The Second Sample
I tried a thinner cotton and came up with this design.
I only wove one repeat of the lettering so that I could check the length. This seemed correct.
I chose the colour in the border area to represent dyeing and the red twist on either side of the lettering to represent spinning. The fancy heart pattern will be the centre section which will be on the shoulder of the wearer.
The Third Sample
The sash still seemed a little wide so for the third sample I reduced the white area.
I sent all the samples to the committee so that they could comment and see if they liked the design. One aspect that I should have foreseen was how clear the letters looked at a distance. I had been so busy with weaving and looking closely at the sashes, I had not considered how easy it would be to read the message from a distance. I was given some useful suggestions and went about redesigning some of the letters.
Final version
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| 6 sashes showing the centre section |
Here are the final versions. I do hope that they are useful. I am looking forward to seeing a photograph of the sashes in use.
Do have a go at weaving letters and making your own messages. Using the 13 Sunna double slotted heddle, weaving letters is much easier than using an inkle loom.
For weavers in the UK, the 13 pattern slot Sunna heddle is available from the Handweavers Studio.
https://www.handweavers.co.uk/equipment-weaving-looms-rigid-heddle-stoorstalka.irc
Susan J Foulkes April 2019.
Dear Susan,
ReplyDeleteYour books and posts are wonderful, as are your tutorials on the Braids website. Thank you for sharing everything!
I have used the Sunna heddle and the Sigga heddle with some success. They make pattern weaving on warp faced plain weave MUCH easier!! I also have a Beavi heddle, but I have not used it yet. I have questions about when to use each heddle.
1. I understand that the Sunna is for patterns with an odd number of threads, and the Sigga is for patterns with an even number of threads. Stoorstalka includes a pattern with the Sigga kit when all of the pattern threads are lifted or lowered as a group. They can also be treated individually, can't they? Aren't there patterns with an even number of threads? What was the Sigga actually designed for?
2. The Beavi seems to be used for situations where groups of threads are treated as units. Is that correct? Can't the Sunna and the Sigga be used in the same way? Is the advantage of the Beavi that it squeezes more threads into the same space? What was the Beavi actually designed for?
I appreciate your help!
Best wishes,
Christine
The Sigga heddle was developed by a Sami weaving teacher with Stoorstalka. It is for the typical Sami patterns when groups of pattern threads are lifted together and the background weave is warp-faced plain weave.
ReplyDeleteThe Sunna and Beavi heddle can weave the same sorts of patterns but I prefer the Sunna heddle. Here the background weave is half-basket weave where the weft goes over two and under two background threads. In the border area the weave structure if warp-faced plain weave. The Beavi weave structure is warp-faced plain weave in the background with supplementary warp threads for the pattern. Personally, I prefer the halfbasket weave structure. Here are two useful YouTube videos which shows how the Beavi heddle is used. https://youtu.be/7GbJHJUOGAM and https://youtu.be/f1c3lzq3o2k
I hope this helps
Susan
Dear Susan,
ReplyDeleteHaving just received two of your "Weaving Pattern Bands", one for our studio, I read"One should weave 2 to 3 meters"etc. I have had a copy of a Swedish band loom made, here in Cape Town, and I have found that once the loom is set up, you can indeed weave 2 meters while boiling the potatoes. Of course at higher elevations the boiling would take longer! This is weaving without pick-up of course. The book is wonderful. THANK YOU.
Dear Lyn
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I love my Swedish band loom and it is in constant use. I am weaving a very narrow band at the moment to put on a picture frame.
I am so pleased that you enjoy this type of weaving. In my next blog I review a new book about weaving this type of band.
I am delighted to hear from someone in Cape Town.
With best wishes
Happy weaving
Susan
I currently am trying to use a 11 hole Sunna heddle (I think? based on comparing, I bought it from a different seller on Etsy) to weave runes of my own charting. I first didn't notice the pattern threads are double so I took out my starting weft and went and re-stretched it all out and fixed that. But my pattern threads are still getting lost. It could be very well because of my tension, and the fact that I'm using a mohair/silk yarn that's fairly thick? (For reasons, the whole project is goat themed). Do you use a slightly thicker yarn for your pattern threads to make it pop? I watched the video several times, and have your book as of a few days ago and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right. At least with this thick yarn, it's easy to pick the right threads with my fingers. This is good because they don't separate into the three sections as nice as yours. They did at first, but clearly it's a very "grabby" yarn.
ReplyDelete