Similarities between swivel and petitpoint
-
Weaves as small dots on plain weave on the front of the fabric, with long
floats on the back.
- Two shuttles and two colors (pattern and background)
- Uses a 3/1 twill tie-up, instead of a 2/2 twill tie-up (see "tie-up" in my sampler introduction.)
-
1-3-4, 1-2-4, 1-2-3, 2-3-4 & tabby
-
With a table loom, I must lift the sets of shafts myself to make the
shed.
- This unbalanced tie-up is what weaves the design on the front of the cloth and leaves long floats on the back.
- Usually woven on twill threadings, which is why it works with crackle. (See "threading" in my sampler introduction.)
Differences between swivel and petitpoint
- The difference (that I can tell) between swivel and petitpoint, is that swivel uses only pattern and background wefts. Petitpoint uses uses the same, with the addition of tabby.
Swivel
#28, crackle threading treadled as swivel |
- alternates 3 shafts with 3 shafts
- one shed for pattern (p), the other for background (b, called “binder” by Bress)
-
treadled as drawn in (treadling follows the threading draft). From Bress:
- Block A is threaded on shafts 1-2-3-2 and treadled
- 1. p: 2-3-4, b: 1-2-4
- 2. p: 1-3-4, b: 1-2-3
- 3. p: 1-2-4, b: 2-3-4
- 2. p: 1-3-4, b: 1-2-3
- Block B is threaded on shafts 2-3-4-3 and treadled
- 2. p: 1-3-4, b: 1-2-3
- 3. p: 1-2-4, b: 2-3-4
- 4. p: 1-2-3, b: 1-3-4
- 3. p: 1-2-4, b: 2-3-4
- Block C is threaded on shafts 3-4-1-4 and treadled
- 3. p: 1-2-4, b: 2-3-4
- 4. p: 1-2-3, b: 1-3-4
- 1. p: 2-3-4, b: 1-2-4
- 4. p: 1-2-3, b: 1-3-4
- Block D is threaded on shafts 4-1-2-1 and treadled
- 4. p: 1-2-3, b: 1-3-4
- 1. p: 2-3-4, b: 1-2-4
- 2. p: 1-3-4, b: 1-2-3
- 1. p: 2-3-4, b: 1-2-4
- no tabby
- Yarns
- background weft is the same weight and color as the warp
- pattern weft is same weight as warp but a contrasting color
Notes & Observations
- To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to include this in my sampler at first. The sticking point for me was the long floats in the back. If crackle doesn’t have floats longer than three ends, is this really crackle??? None of the authors questioned it, and it does look intriguing, so I gave it a tr.
-
I think some interesting things could be done with color. Maybe thread each
block in different colors and ditto with the weaving.
- I like the look of it, but found it complicated to weave. With a table loom, I’m lifting three shafts for each throw of the shuttle and I found it difficult to keep track of. I worked out a system for keeping my place, but it was slow going.
- The long floats on back limit the use of the fabric. It would best serve for things that either could be lined, like vests and jackets, or which displayed only one side of the fabric, such as throw pillows or upholstery.
With a hand mirror, you can see the long floats on the back. |
Resources
- Helene Bress, The Weaving Book, pages 98-99
- Harriet Tidball, The Weaver's Book, pages 73, 164