Thursday 1 July 2021

The Joy of Sacks (part 2)

 Weaving these samples is getting addictive. There are other projects which need to be tackled but these are so enjoyable to weave.  Fortunately I am running out of some colours so I feel that I have made some inroads on my stash.  One more white warp should be enough. 

The designs are from the Thrilling Twills by Ingrid Boesel.  I got the CD when I bought my beautiful Megado 32 shaft electronic dobby loom.  Some of the first items I wove were a set of samples on a cotton warp using some of the 32 shaft designs.  

More Rustic Linen Sacks.

I am using these files again for the linen sacks I am weaving.  The Thrilling Twill collection is now available as a free download for either Windows or Mac. http://www.fiberworks-pcw.com/twills.html 

This is a very generous offer. There are 4,000 designs to explore from 5 to 32 shafts. 

I like the circle pattern.  There are a number of different circle patterns in the collection.  I wove the material for several linen sacks using it. I decided to change the pattern slightly. 

Here is the first pattern I wove. It is a 16 shaft pattern.  I added two additional shafts for the plain weave selvedge. This is the pattern with warp circles.  FO62  On the PCW weave program it is easy to change the face of the weaving.  



Here is the same pattern after I changed the face so the circles are formed by the weft. You can see the floats between the circle rows. 





Here is the material. You can see the longer white floats between the circles. 






I revised one of the other patterns. Again, it is on 18 shafts with two shafts for the plain weave selvedge. 


This eliminates the longer floats between the rows of circles by adding an additional pick which goes over two and under two warp ends. 

Here is the finished cloth. 





Here are pieces that I have washed and ironed. 


I like the three colour design.



I have woven the material and made 12 small sacks for the workshop next year.  I will need to make a few more but here is the work so far. 


Here are the sacks tied with a sack knot.  I made the ties from bamboo tape using a lucet. #rusticlinensacks  



One design that I really like is the feather/leaf pattern.  I used this for my peacock scarf which I described in my blog for 1st January 2016.  Here is a shortcut to the post.  https://durhamweaver64.blogspot.com/2016/01/slow-cloth-and-slow-craft-and-peacock.html 


Here is a close up of the scarf.



Here is the drawdown for 16sFO55. I added two additional shafts for the plain weave selvedge. 


I am reorganising my weaving room at present and decorating it at the same time.  This entails moving the shelves, painting then moving the shelves back again.  I have managed two of the four walls so far but the next two have the most equipment along their length so it will be some time before it is finished.  It is not a large room and I have a lot of equipment and books.  I am trying to fit my weaving around the work.

Happy Weaving
 Susan J Foulkes July 2021.