Crackle Manners of Weaving: Lengthwise Stripes

Samples #27 & 28 of my 4-shaft crackle manners of weaving sampler. 

Lengthwise stripes are attractive and easy to weave. Using different warp colors is one way to do it, but in this sample, the stripes are created with pattern weft. The tie-up is for 2/2 twill, so it's just a matter of choosing one pair of shafts to lift for every shot. Tabby is thrown in between to stabilize the fabric. My sample was done with shafts 2 & 3, just because I liked the location of the stripes with my particular threading.

#27, lengthwise stripes on the loom

The wider brown stripes in the pattern blocks, of course are dominant. But what I find interesting, is the tiny stripes in the background blocks. This may change with wet finishing, which will shrink the fabric somewhat, and is something I was curious about.  

#27, lengthwise stripes after washing, drying, and pressing

With a different threading, I could change the width and location of the stripes. I could even make them different colors, to add more interest.

Another idea for stripes comes from Susan Wilson, who included lengthwise stripes in her lacy manners of weaving section. 

#28, lacy lengthwise stripes

It's kinda hard to see them though, isn't it? Here's another shot at an angle. 

Mary Snyder's book has an exercise in creating a variety of crackle stripes. See resources below for the page number

Resources

• A Crackle Weave Companion by Lucy M. Brusic, pages 51 and 92.
• Weave Classic Crackle & More by Susan Wilson, page 55.
• The Crackle Weave by Mary E. Snyder, page 91 of the 1989 edition, or page 31 of the 1961 edition.

Crackle Manners of Weaving: Lengthwise Stripes

© November 2024 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related posts

Crackle Weave Study Part 1: Manners of Weaving on 4 Shafts

Crackle Weave: Manners of Weaving (an index)

Crackle Manners of Weaving: Lace Weaves

Samples #13, 14, & 15 of my 4-shaft crackle manners of weaving sampler.

Susan Wilson offers three treadling patterns for weaving crackle as lace

• Bronson lace (p.39). (This one is called Snyder lace by Lucy Brusic.)
• Mystery Lace (p. 42)
• Two-block lace (p. 42)

Weaving notes:

• All are one shuttle weaves.
•  I used the same 10/2 yarn for weft as I used for warp.
• I'm using a table loom, so the treadling plans are given as liftplans.
• The threading and tie-up can be found in the introduction to my sampler.

As Bronson Lace

Sample #13: treadled as Bronson lace

Bronson lace treadling

• Block A: a, 1-4, a, 1-4, a, b
• Block B: a, 1-2, a, 1-2, a, b
• Block C: a, 2-3, a, 2-3, a, b
• Block D: a, 3-4, a, 3-4, a, b

As Mystery Lace

Sample #14: Treadled as Mystery lace

Mystery lace treadling

• Block A: a, 1-4, a, b, 1-4, b
• Block B: a, 1-2, a, b, 1-2, b
• Block C: a, 2-3, a, b, 2-3, b
• Block D: a, 3-4, a, b, 3-4, b

As 2-block Lace

Sample #15: Treadled as 2-block lace

2-block lace treadling

• Block A: 3-4, 1-4, 3-4, 1-4, a, b
• Block B: 1-4, 1-2, 1-4, 1-2, a, b
• Block C: 1-2, 2-3, 1-2, 2-3, a, b
• Block D: 2-3, 3-4, 2-3, 3-4, a, b

Weaving observations

• Being a one-shuttle weave, these wove up quickly.
• Even though I'm a color weaver, I enjoy weaving monochrome lace.
• Of the three, the mystery lace seems to have the most obscure pattern. The Bronson is the most lace-like. The 2-block lace is the most textured. On the loom, at least.
• I'm thinking if I do use the summer & winter treadled crackle for fabric for dining room curtains, then lace under curtains (like shears) in the same threading might look well. 
• Washing made a big difference, but since both warp and weft are white, it was difficult to get a good photo to show them off. But by taking the photo at an angle, the light highlights the texture.

Left to right, Bronson, Mystery, and 2-block treadlings

Crackle Manners of Weaving: Lace Weaves

© Nov 2024 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related posts

Crackle Weave Study Part 1: Manners of Weaving on 4 Shafts

Crackle Weave: Manners of Weaving (an index)

Last of the Alpaca Projects

By Leigh

Well, this was the last of the projects I promised in trade for the alpaca fleece!

This last fleece was lovely. The color is actually redder than the scan shows. Four to five inches is pretty much the average length, and the crimp measures eight per inch. As you can see it had some VM. It also had some short cuts. The fleece is fairly consistent throughout, except for a courser section of britch, which is the fiber that grows around the rear end. Even the britch wool was softer than the sheep's wool britch I've seen, but I discarded it anyway.

One thing I have learned from working with alpaca over the past several months, is not to judge the luster until the fleece is washed. Rather than wash the fleece however, I spun it first and then washed the yarn, which proved to have a lovely, subtle luster.

Since I had the made the teddy bear shawl with a bulky handspun, and the alpaca doll and child's cap with a medium weight, I wanted a fine handspun yarn for this last project .

I drum carded the fleece three times and then spun it worsted style on my Kromski Minstrel, with the 8.5:1 ratio whorl. By now I was pretty comfortable spinning this fairly slippery fiber, so the finer yarn was easy to spin. My singles measured 48 wraps per inch, and my 2-ply is 22 wraps per inch.

I washed the yarn in very hot soapy water twice, then rinsed with very hot water as well. The second to the last rinse had a glug of white vinegar in it. The soaking water was very, very dirty, but the yarn washed beautifully.

It took a bit of searching to find the right knitting pattern for this. I really wanted something open and lacy, but to be honest, I really struggle with lace knitting. I seem to make endless mistakes and have to rip out numerous times.

After scouring my knitting books, spinning magazines, and free patterns on the web, I found this Lacy Shawl pattern. The stitch is a very easy *yo, k2tog*, but gave the open look I was looking for.


I knitted a scarf instead of a shawl which was quicker. I used US13 knitting needles.

I admit that I still had some problems, until I began to pay close attention as to how each stitch was made and where the needle needed to be, in relation to the yarn. After that I was able to catch potential problems and correct them before they became actual mistakes.

After blocking the scarf measured about 6 by 54 inches.

I had enough success with it so that I am willing to try this type of knitting again. Perhaps I may conquer it yet. I should probably try to hunt up my Samoyed scarf, which keeps getting abandoned when I become frustrated with the knit 3 togethers. This time I'll even use a lifeline.

I have absolutely loved working with this fiber. I have learned a lot and my spinning skills have grown. But then, that's one of the joys of handspinning, isn't it?

© 1 Sept. 2007 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler – Bronson Lace

By Leigh

I have one sample to show for Bronson Lace. I actually wove two, one with warp treadling, and one with weft treadling. However, I beat the warp version in too firmly and squished the pattern all together. Neither a scan nor photo showed the pattern, so I didn't post it here. That will be a project for future experimentation.

The weft version, on the other hand, is lovely, I think. Even with the threading error! This is in the same 12/2 cotton, sett 24 epi.

I think this structure would be lovely for a table cloth, though I can't imagine having a loom wide enough for such a project. Nor can I imagine doing Bronson Lace as a double weave. But.... a table runner would be nice too.

© 5 Dec. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler - Huck
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Lace Sampler - Spot Bronson

Lace Sampler – Spot Bronson

By Leigh

My 4th set of lace weave samples for the Beginning Lace Weaves Workshop, is off the loom. These samples are Spot Bronson which, although aren't technically lace, gives us the background for Bronson Lace.

The draft is from Marguerite Porter Davison's A Handweaver's Pattern Book. It is the Rose Point Pattern in the Barley Corn Weave chapter, page 86. Barley Corn is another name for Spot Bronson. I used the same 12/2 cotton warp, but experimented with two different weft yarns. The rose point pattern has 2 variations, so I ended up with 4 samples.

For the first weft, I used a 3/2 mauve cotton for the pattern and the same 12/2 cotton for the tabby weft.

Then I tried it using only the white 12/2 cotton. It's hard to see the pattern......

..... in fact, I like the backside better........

I used the same weft yarns for the 2nd variation:

Front in all white:

And back:
What you can't see in these photos is the sculptured effect the white samples have, which I think is very nice! In fact it is this texture which has given me some ideas of where to place stripes of color, giving plenty of experiments to store away for future use.

© 30 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler - Huck
Lace Sampler - Huck Lace 1
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Colored Huck Lace

By Leigh

One thing about me and weaving, is that I can't not think about color. As much as I loved weaving the white huck and huck lace samples, my mind was constantly rehearsing "what ifs" with color.

So before moving on to the Spot Bronson and Bronson Lace portions of the workshop, I tied on some colored cotton and experimented a little. These are all in 8/2s cotton, sett at 20 epi. The warp alternates stripes of orange, green, and gold. The weft is black.

Huck warp spots:

Close-up:

And I was just as intrigued with the back.......

....... as the curves are even more pronounced.

In order to show off the lacy holes, the huck lace was a bit more difficult to photograph, particularly a close-up.

Stepped back:

First close-up:

Against a solid background, it looks more like solid cloth, but against the window, which allows in the light, I needed to use the flash, which washed out the color:

Well, I'll have to add photography to the list of things I plan to study some day. [And I did! Follow this link to take a peek at Leigh's Photography Journal.]

With our American Thanksgiving tomorrow, a house full of company, and a family birthday this weekend, I won't be online much. But I've finished knitting the back to my Rare Breed Sweater and hope to show you that on Monday. See you then!

© 22 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler – Huck Lace 2

By Leigh

These are the rest of the photos from my huck lace sampler. All are woven in 12/2 cotton, sett at 24 epi.

On the loom:
After washing:


On the loom:
After washing:

This last one was a bit of a challenge for me. One of the lessons in the workshop involved an introduction to designing huck lace. The assignment included figuring out the treadle tie-up for a couple of drafts. Having never learned how to do this, I was stumped! After quick plea for help to the Guild's message board, I was able to work it out and was rewarded with a very nice design. Here it is on the loom:

And after washing.

As intrigued as I am with this weave structure, I can't stop my mind from wondering "what if...." about color. So my plan is to take a brief detour before moving onto the next lace structure, and try a couple of color ideas with huck and huck lace.

© 20 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler – Huck Lace 1

By Leigh

My first lace sampler is off the loom.

As fascinating as it was to watch the patterns appear before my eyes, little did I know the transformation that was in store for me. And all because of ....... washing.

When I first started weaving I was terrified to toss my handwovens into the washing machine. But I gradually got braver, and with much relief discovered that depending on the fiber content of the yarn, things actually hold up quite well.

All these samples are woven in cotton, which responds to machine agitation, and wow what a difference it makes with huck lace.

After weaving sections of huck warp and weft spots, I wove a section of huck lace. Actually I wove two sections, as I was worried that I beat the first section in too hard.

On the loom:

After washing:
After washing, I was surprised that my first section (bottom) looks the best. I beat that one as for a balanced plain weave and it definitely turned out better. The one on the top wasn't beaten in as hard, and the integrity of the lace looks compromised and sloppy. Chalk one up for sampling first!

Here are more before and afters.

On the loom:

After washing:


On the loom:

After washing:

For the rest of my huck lace photos, click here.

© 18 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler – Huck

By Leigh

Yesterday I was able to start weaving on my sampler. The workshop is going to explore five weave structures. Besides huck, we will learn huck lace, spot Bronson, Bronson lace, and Swedish lace. The five yard warp I have on the loom will give me an opportunity to learn and explore these. It will require some cutting and rethreading, but that will be better than dealing with separate warps for these!

First on the list is huck. Huck is not technically a lace weave, but it will lead into huck lace, so it's a logical place to start. Also known as spot weave, it is actually a loom controlled textured weave which creates spots of either warp or weft floats. Harriet Tidball (The Weaver's Book) classifies it as a grouped thread or linen weave.

Helene Bress has an entire chapter on it in The Weaving Book: Patterns and Ideas. From her book and the workshop notes, this is what I've learned about traditional huck so far:

• It consists of short warp or weft floats on a plain weave background.
  
• Warp and weft are the same or similar yarn.
  
• It requires a minimum of four shafts; two for the pattern blocks and two for the plain weave.
  
• The blocks are treadled the same number of times as there are warp ends.
  
• How and where the spots form depend on the treadling.
  

My first two samples (just to get warmed up). These are 12/2s cotton set at 24 epi.:


And my third:
The pictures are not exceptional. The flash washed the pattern out and natural light doesn't show it off that well either. We've been assured that is will look better once they are off the loom and washed. You can see how the different times of day effect the color.

I really enjoyed weaving these and can't wait to try the next samples. There are several variations to explore. I'm envisioning blouse fabric and curtains. It is fascinating to me to watch the pattern reveal itself before my eyes. It's almost as much fun as experimenting with color! (Oops, I can't believe I said that. Do note the “almost” :)

I admit that I can't help but wonder how color would effect these. But I'll save those experiments for later. For the moment, I'm content to follow the plan.

© 9 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Sampler – Beaming the Warp

By Leigh

This month the Online Guild is featuring a lace weaving workshop. Having spent the past several months exploring color-and-weave effects (specifically log cabin and shadow weave), I think it is a timely change of pace for me. Fortunately, my computer problems haven't put me too far behind in the workshop schedule.

Besides exploring color-and weave, I have been learning how to warp back-to-front. After years of warping front-to-back and struggling with compromised warp tension, I am delighted that b2f warping has made such a difference in my weaving. I can't really lament not having learned it sooner, as it seems to me that f2b is pretty much the American standard these days. I've read that the reason for this stems from the American settlers, who didn't have neighbours close by to help with their warping. But b2f techniques have been developed (or perhaps they've existed from the dawn of ages) which allow a weaver to warp this way alone. It's these techniques which I have been exploring, and with happy results.

I think that being largely self-taught claims most of responsibility for my tension problems. True, I did learn the basics at an excellent one day workshop sponsored by The South Mountain Handweavers Guild, and true, I did take two classes from an excellent weaving teacher. But lets face it, the perfecting of any skill is a process which only emerges from hours of diligent practice. It is the fruit of one's own labor.

I'm not saying that I have the whole thing down pat and could warp a loom b2f blindfolded, or in my sleep. No, I still have to keep my reference materials and notes handy. And I'm still fine tuning. In fact, I was tempted to try some more experimenting with this warp, but decided that perhaps it would be best to get one method memorized before I try experimenting any more. Otherwise I will always feel slow and awkward with the process.

So I've gotten the warp beamed and am ready to thread the heddles. Not without help of course.



I am beaming about 5 yards of 12/2 cotton. It is an unbleached natural color. I did make one small improvement in how I weighted the warp bouts. The ring is so much easier to deal with than doing this.

It is a sampler, so I only have 204 ends to deal with, plus floating selvedges.

That said, I'd better get back to work. Hopefully I can get the heddles threaded and my first few assigned inches woven by tomorrow. That's when the good stuff starts.

© 7 Nov. 2006 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

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Lace Knitting Success------NOT!

After knitting about 12 inches or so on my handspun Samoyed lace scarf, I was hoping to be able to report that I was finally getting the hang of it. Unfortunately, I can't.

I suppose that I can honestly say that I'm beginning to understand the pattern and see how the rows fit together. I have it somewhat memorized and mostly know what to do next. I only have to look at the instructions to see how the row starts off. After that I can knit with no problem.

Well, I take that back. I do have problems. I'm still making occasional mistakes. I'd call them concentration mistakes because they occur when my mind has journeyed elsewhere. Somehow, I end up at the end of a row and realize that the pattern is no longer working. But! At least I'm catching them before I have a disaster on my hands.


It's a very old Shetland pattern called “Miniature Leaf.” It requires a multiple of 6 stitches plus one extra stitch, and goes like this:

Row 1 - *k1, yo, k2tog, k1, k2tog, yo* Repeat to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 – purl
Row 3 - *k2, yo, k3tog, yo, k1* Repeat to last stitch, k1
Row 4 – purl
Row 5 - *k1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog* Repeat to last stitch, k1
Row 6 – purl
Row 7 – k2tog, yo *k3, yo, k3tog, yo* Repeat to last 5 stitches, k3, yo, k2tog
Row 8 – purl

Of course this is the Americanized version. The UK version refers to yarn overs as yarn forwards.

The place I usually mess up is the knit-3-togethers. I tend to somehow drop one of the 3 stitches. I am knitting on US5 needles and I do tend to knit tightly which doesn't help, I know.

At one time I thought I would never be interested in knitting lace. In fact I vowed I'd never do it. I didn't think I had the patience. I lean towards yarns that spin and knit quickly. Hence I am always in awe of spinners of fine yarns and knitters of lace.

I've been enjoying this project however, in spite of all the frogging I've had to do. I'd like to think that I'm becoming a more patient person, but I doubt it. More likely I'm just finally becoming interested in the challenges of knitting lace. And this yarn just begged to be knit this way.

Progress, I think, will be very slow. I will continue to put the project down when it frustrates me, and pick it up again at a later date, when time has worked it's soothing magic on me. It's just nice to report that at least some progress is being made.

© 2006 Leigh's Fiber Journa

Lost Lace Found

While trying to find places to put my newest stash acquisitions from the Silent Auction, I found my first and only (so far) lace knitting!

It’s whereabouts had been unknown for about a year (due to two long distance moves.) To be honest, I’d pretty much forgotten all about it.

The pattern is "miniature leaf pattern," from Patterns for North Ronaldsay Yarn by Elizabeth Lovick of Northern Lace. The yarn is my handspun, from Samoyed fiber sent to me by my friend Ann in the UK. This is the first dog fiber I’ve ever worked with and it as soft as bunny angora. It was a dream to spin, but a challenge to knit!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue as to where I left off in the pattern. I tried to keep track of which row I was on, but you know how that goes. The best laid plans mice and cats and all that. Well, it’s too hot to think about it anyway.

Sadly, all of this points to some rather glaring discrepancies between my self image and the real me. I like to think of myself as being organized, neat, and efficient. In fact, I continually tell myself that this is the “real” me, and that once I simplify my life I really will be like that.

This self imagined me has all my books and magazines shelved and arranged according to subject; neatly labeled boxes for my fleeces, rovings, and yarns (all catalogued with samples of course); my weaving caddy neatly arranged with my tools organized in their own drawers; my knitting needles and crochet hooks displayed in beautiful handcrafted pottery and baskets; and all of my fiber and textile magazine articles organized in a data base on my computer, ready for me to find with the type of a keyword and the click of the mouse.

The real me uses the pile system of organization. I have a pile for knitting, a pile for spinning, two piles for weaving, a pile for sewing, a pile for web design, and a pile of things I need to file. When DH begins to comment on the mess, I simply straighten up the piles and rearrange them so that they look like I’ve actually done something with them.

The self imagined me has complete records of all my finished weaving, knitting, dyeing, and spinning projects with samples attached. In my self imagined world these are all neatly organized on their own bookshelf. The self imagined me also has a filing cabinet, where paper instructions and projects are systematically filed so that I can find them whenever I want.

The real me has four notebooks of various designs and project plans. When inspiration strikes, I grab the nearest one and start putting ideas down in it. Unfortunately, these don’t usually find their way back to their appointed pile, so I often don’t have a clue to their whereabouts. And the reason I have 4 notebooks is not because each one is dedicated to it’s own subject matter, but because I keep having to start new ones because I can’t find the old.

Somehow the 2nd law of thermodynamics always comes into play here. No matter how well I organize my messes, and no matter how well intentioned I am to keep things orderly, sooner or later (usually sooner) things deteriorate into chaos. Oh, I can make excuses (I moved two times in the past year. I’m in a hurry right now, I’ll put it back later. This is how I organize things, if I straighten it up I’ll never be able to find anything again. If only I had more boxes I could keep it neat. If only I had more shelves I could keep things orderly. If only I had a bigger room, then I would………)

For now, I’m just happy to have found this UFO. So after admiring it I’ll carefully put it back in it’s knitting bag. But this time I’ll put it where I can find it again.

© 2006 Leigh's Fiber Journal