I tied on about a yard of 8/2s cotton warp in three new colors, using the same Fibonacci stripes as the last sample warp.
Of the samples shown in that earlier post, I liked the ones with the heavier, sport weight knitting yarn as weft best. I wanted to experiment more with this, using different weft colors. I thought that I had a heavier black cotton yarn to work with, but it turned out that it wasn't as heavy as I thought. I used it anyway.
I really had a lot of trouble with getting an even beat as you can seen in the above photo. The goal is an balanced weave with as many picks per inch as ends per inch. Quite disappointing.
Then I found a 6/3 cotton in a medium gray and used as weft with my 8/2 warp. I still had the same problem with getting an even beat. I did try though . However, you're going to have to tilt your head to the side to view this photo properly....
Then I found a 6/3 cotton in a medium gray and used as weft with my 8/2 warp. I still had the same problem with getting an even beat. I did try though . However, you're going to have to tilt your head to the side to view this photo properly....
..... as Blogger insisted on rotating the photo when it uploaded it. I tried several times but couldn't get it uploaded the way it is supposed to be. I searched Blogger Help Group to see if I could find a solution for this problem, and apparently others have had it on occasion, but none of the discussions helped me. So there it is anyway.
Here is something similar in a different color weft (and not rotated)....
Here is something similar in a different color weft (and not rotated)....
The weft packed in a little more evenly, though not consistently. I am puzzled, because the sett is the same as all the other samples, 20 epi. I'm not sure why I'm having issues this time when I didn't before.
And lastly I decided, what the heck, I'll just let it do what it wants, and beat it hard.
And lastly I decided, what the heck, I'll just let it do what it wants, and beat it hard.
The weft is the same 8/2 cotton as in the yellow warp stripe. This was interesting because packing down the weft distorted the horizontal lines with washing. This sample has a little more potential than the first three, though I think a contrasting weft would have been better.
I've been thinking a lot about these samples, and why I wasn't happy with them. Finally I realized that I am disappointed because I was trying to see if I could get multiple tabby weave to imitate summer & winter, which has been my favorite weave so far. I still think the results would have been better with an heavier weft; such as the sport weight knitting cotton yarn. However, I'm just sampling from my stash, hence the limitations.
I'm not sure what I'm going to try next. Choices include:
I've been thinking a lot about these samples, and why I wasn't happy with them. Finally I realized that I am disappointed because I was trying to see if I could get multiple tabby weave to imitate summer & winter, which has been my favorite weave so far. I still think the results would have been better with an heavier weft; such as the sport weight knitting cotton yarn. However, I'm just sampling from my stash, hence the limitations.
I'm not sure what I'm going to try next. Choices include:
- Using a finer warp and the same wefts
- Using the same warp and purchasing more sport weight cotton for a heavier weft.
- Moving on to a totally different draft from Dr. Bateman's book.
5 comments:
Frankly, I am amazed by your output, both quantity and quality. It's great.
I think it is true for most of us (I know it is for me) that we get disappointed in our own work sometimes because we know how we originally envisioned the whole thing, where others just see the result with no comparison to the original intent. Looking at the plain weave areas of the weave, it all looks pretty balanced and consistent to me. Unless you tighten up the epi, I think the "twill" areas are going to have more movement, especially since they make up about 2/3 of the width.
Your Summer and Winter work was so lovely, I can see why you are bored with this particular set of experiments and ready to move on to new draft to play with.
Don't you love, though, how through all of the experimentation comes a wealth of knowledge that piece by piece gives us so much freedom as weavers? In learning the underlying structures inside out, and playing with the various color and weave effects, etc -- our possibilities are limitless.
You may still have one of those 'aha' moments where down the road all that information in your brain synthesizes and you discover that elusive commonality between multiple tabby weave and summer and winter that you were hoping to find this go round.
Definitely staying tuned!
Jane
A variation of that last sample could make a lovely upholstery! Getting bored does make a person grateful to move on to the next thing.
Don't worry about not liking these Leigh. there may come a day where they fit right in with a project you're doing. Or they can always be Cat Toys! LOL! Multi-Colored Mousies!
When we lived in Kansas, I did alot of natural dyeing. At first, I thought I was just getting drab, blah colors. Then one night while cleaning out the studio I threw them on the floor to clean where they had been hanging. When I turned around, I was shocked by the way they all went with each other and weren't really blah at all. It took that serendipitous moment to see the beauty in them. Thus it shall be with your samples. I decree it so! :)
Thanks for the explanation on summer and winter. I have been at a lost to understand what it's made of, not that I'm ready to try it.
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