Weaving a tubular cord on a four shaft loom.
On a four shaft loom the sequence it is easy to weave a tubular band. For the tubular band there are two layers; woven separately but joined by the weft at each side.
Layer one is threaded on shafts 1 and 3 to weave plain or warp faced plain weave. Layer two is threaded on shaft 2 and 4.
The weaving sequence is:
- Lift shaft 1 and take the shuttle through from left to right
- Lift shafts 134 and take the shuttle through from right to left.
- Lift shaft 2 and take the shuttle through from left to right
- Lift shafts 123 and take the shuttle through from right to left.
The weft spirals through the warp ends to make a tube. If the width of the band is narrow then the finished band will be a tube. If there are more warp ends then the finished tube will flatten out and become a flat tubular band.
Kusti weavers use the same principle to weave their sacred tubular cord.
A Tasuki Band
A tasuki band is a long piece of cloth or band which ties up the sleeves of a kimono or similar garment to ensure that the sleeves are kept out of the way when working.
Samurai warriors also used a tasuki sash to tie up their long sleeves. These would prove a handicap when using a sword or for archery.
I first became aware of them when watching a 1962 Kurasawa film - Sanjuro. I was fascinated by the quick automatic movements to tie up their sleeves when a group of young Samuari are about to go into action.
Tasuki are usually about 230 - 250 cm in length and can be narrow but nowadays are more often about 4 cms in width. Usually they are a single layer of cloth.
I wove a tubular tasuki cord. The cord is made from synthetic yarn, rayon, and is tubular. Rayon is not the material that I should have used but i was interested in seeing how well it wove as a double cloth. One side is a plain white colour and the other side is stripes of green. Unfortunately I did not put a long enough warp on the loom and the cord is just too short.
Details of my first Tasuki Cord.
Warp ends in total: 95
Layer one: 47 ends three shades of green acrylic These are threaded on shafts 1 and 3
Layer two: 48 warp ends of white. These are threaded on shafts 2 and 4.
Weft: 2 strands of green cotton.
Width: 14 mm
Finished length just under 200 cms However it needs to be at least 230 cms in length.
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| Top layer of warp ends. |
Here is the tubular tasuki cord.
Rayon was a difficult yarn to weave. It is very slippery and I found it hard to keep to an even tension. You can see the ridges of the weaving are uneven.
Instructions for Tying the Cord.
Here is an elegant way of tying a tasuki cord.
A more practical approach is shown here.
Kusti weavers use the same principle to weave their sacred tubular cord.
It is particularly fascinating to know that narrow tubular bands were also woven in ancient Egypt. I saw a simple narrow tubular band around dating to the 1st century BCE in a museum recently. It was wrapped around a mummy on top of the usual close wrapping bands. It was broken in one area and it was clear that this was a woven tubular band. It also had a twisted cord inside the tube. I suspect from the way it looked that this twisted group of fibres was added after the tube was woven. The tubular band was wide enough to see this central fibre cord inside which had plenty of room. Perhaps the centre filling was added to make the band firmer.
Happy Weaving.
Susan J Foulkes Febrary 2025
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