Saturday, December 16, 2023

Bath Mats Ho!

 I've made a start.


I measured warp for two bath mats, and decided to weave the first one in classic crackle. I didn't care for the crackle structure with the red plaid scarf, but I think it will work very well for a bath mat. Classic crackle is a three shuttle weave with no tabby. It uses one color for the pattern weft, and two other colors for the two background wefts.

Weaving Notes
  • I had quite a few colors to choose from (see Bath Mats: Planning) and finally settled on lemon yellow and orange for the warp blocks. 
  • I wanted to try the variegated white/yellow/orange yarn in the warp, but had trouble measuring it so that the color sections matched up (like they did for my diddy bag.)
  • I'm using brown for my pattern weft; golden yellow and red for my two background wefts.
  • Weaving is a 4-pick sequence:
    • background x (golden yellow)
    • pattern weft (brown)
    • background y (red)
    • pattern weft (brown)
  • I'm using stick shuttles instead of boat shuttles because for a heavier yarn, they hold a lot more than my small boat shuttle bobbins.
  • When I went to wind the red onto the shuttle, I discovered that the ball was made entirely of short pieces of yarn(!) So I bought a new red when I was out doing errands.
  • I chose brown for the pattern weft because I consider it a neutral color, and I'm hoping it will help keep all those bright colors from looking too gaudy. 
  • I only say that because autumn colors aren't my favorite, so they tend to look gaudy to me. 😄 But they match my stained glass window.
  • At first, handling the three shuttles and keeping track of the colors plus lift order was awkward and required a lot of concentration. But it got easier pretty quickly.


Now that I've worked with the colors a bit, I've decided that they aren't gaudy but cheerful. I think this will be a colorful addition to my bathroom. 

Onward ho!

Bath Mats Ho! © December 2023

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5 comments:

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

I like Autumn colors, but I am preferential to Autumn in general.

How big will this be, Leigh?

Leigh said...

I'm aiming for 17" by 26". It's always a guess because the weaving process itself pulls the threads together (called draw-in for the width and take-up for the length). Then there's wondering how much it will shrink after it's been washed and dried. In the end, it will be approximately that size.

Michelle said...

I am itching to start another project, but am afraid it will have to wait until after the holidays. I need more warp twine, too.

Michelle said...

PS. Autumn colors are my least favorite as well, but I do like your bath mat!

Leigh said...

Michelle, I'll look forward to your new project after the holidays. It is a busy time!

The mat colors match the window, so I'm content with that. :) I am looking forward to trying this structure in a different color scheme.