Shadow Weave Samples - 1

By Leigh

My first set of shadow weave samples is off the loom. I don't have anything profound to report, but weaving these has given me an opportunity to do some experimenting as well as get a feel for it and an idea of what to consider next.

I wove three identical strips of five samples each, choosing different sizes of yarn for each sample strip. In my stash, I found the following of similar color: 8/2 cotton, sock yarn, worsted weight knitting yarn. This gave me an opportunity to experiment with sett as well as yarn size.

The draft (profile actually) was taken from Marian Powell’s 1000+ Patterns. I started with the 4-1 threading on page 66. This is a 4 shaft shadow weave in point twill development. I chose five different treadling sequences to weave the strips, using the same sequences for each strip.

It was the first time I'd worked profiles and since I was unfamiliar with them, they are quite puzzling at first. Here is an excerpt from the page I worked from:

I found that the best way to interpret these was to work them out as a more familiar drawdown on my simple weaving software program, WinWeave.

The next pic compares 3 inch segments of the same pattern from the different sample strips:

And here are a few more examples:

I also discovered how easy it is to make treadling errors! Can you see it?

In re-reading Powell's "this and that" (page 5), I learned to use a shot of sewing thread after completing each treadling sequence, thus giving me a starting point to count from in case I got lost (which more often than I care to admit. :)

Now, on to weaving more samples.

© 11 July 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

Related Posts:
Shadow Weave Profiles
Profile Drafts