Thursday, March 20, 2008

Multiple Tabby Sampler Off the Loom

My first multiple tabby sampler is off the loom. I've even got it washed and dried. As promised, here is the draft, albeit in an abbreviated form.

My 1st multiple tabby draft
My warp yarn was 8/2 unmercerized cotton.
Each 20 end threading block is one inch wide, so the sett is 20 epi.
I used a different warp color for each block, rotating through the colors of the rainbow.

The tie-up is standard.

The treadling changed after each 20 picks.
My aim was 20 ppi, though I was kinda inconsistent with this.
My weft yarn was also 8/2 unmercerized cotton.
I used a different color weft for each sample.

Purple weft

Blue weft

Green weft

Yellow weft

Orange weft

Red Weft

Marie asked about the inspiration for these, and I actually got it while I was weaving the M's & O's dishtowels. While using different color wefts with the red warp, I thought that I would like to weave my next project in a color gamp. (For a good definition of gamp, click here.) Once I decided on the multiple tabby weave I changed my mind however, because I realized that the skips wouldn't create an even blending of color. So I decided to do a series of samplers, each with a different color weft. As you can see, the weft color does have a dominating effect on the overall fabric. I like that however with this weave.

Actually, these were never intended to be samplers in the traditional sense. Sharon calls them "samples with usable results," like all my dishtowels! For a color series, however, I thought for my samples with usable results, I'd make napkins. Their size after washing and drying is 15 by 17 inches. As napkins they would be a little smaller after hemming. I've never made napkins before, so I'm not sure what a good size should be. But I'm willing to give it a try.

12 comments:

Sharon said...

Eye candy! I think I need to order some 8/2 cotton and try that. I ordered 20/2 and haven't had a good experience with it - it tangles. The reality is that I need to make the time to learn to warp B2F but I'm too lazy so just complain and admire your work instead.

Anonymous said...

Wow! How festive!

I am all for usable samples. It is pretty much all I do (or used to do, as it has been a while since I have woven anything.)

Peg in South Carolina said...

Lovely samples! Can you do this structure on more than four shafts?

Peg in South Carolina said...

I just took a look at the book. Wow! I can hardly wait to see what you'll do next!

Leigh said...

Thank you! Yes, Peg, this can be done on more than 4. Dr. Bateman's monograph has chapters for 4, 6, and 8 shaft multiple tabby weaves, with a lot of variety in each.

bspinner said...

Wonder, bright, enjoyable and usable. Dinner table at your house sure will be lively. Great job!!

Kathy said...

Again...beautiful! My loom is folded up waiting for the painter to come and finish. (sniff, sniff)
I guess I'll just have to console myself with spinning. ;)

Happy Easter!

Helen said...

Hi Leigh I think it is fascinating to see the effects of different colours on the final result. It seems a good idea to use your samples for something practical too. I like the look of the polworth too , although it is very odd it is only tender in parts as you say it should be tender all over. Hmm. bw Helen

Annie said...

Beautiful samples, Leigh! Isn't it surprising how much the effect of the piece changes when you just change the weft colour. I caught myself giving names to each sample, like 'autumn', 'summer', etc. This is a kind of playing I love!

cyndy said...

So full of color! Lovely and amazing to read about!

The variety that is achieved with a different woof and a simple plain weave is what intrigues me! The photos really illustrate that perfectly...terrific series!

Tracy said...

Nice. It is so cool to see how different the colors play together.

kneek said...

What a fantastic set of napkins. The orange weft is my favorite - it makes all the other colors glow. Beautiful work! So nice to find your journal again now that I have more time to read.