Showing posts with label on opposites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label on opposites. Show all posts

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Crackle Manners of Weaving: On Opposites


In weaving, opposites can refer to either:
  • Pattern blocks. For example, one pattern block is woven lifting one or two particular shafts, and the next block is treadled with the opposite shafts. Tabby must be used to avoid long warp floats and stabilize the fabric. My Cottage Windows table runner is woven this way.
  • Alternating opposite sheds. For example, a shed from shafts 1-2 is alternates with 3-4. Tabby is optional, but produces a more stable fabric.
Sample #9: Blocks On Opposites

The draft for this sample is based on one from Anne Dixon's The Handweaver's Pattern Directory, page 131. 

Sample #9, crackle blocks on opposites

  • Warp and tabby are 10/2, pattern weft is 10/2 doubled
  • Alternates sheds 1-2 and 3-4 with tabby.
 
Sample #10: Opposite Sheds with Tabby
 
Sample #10, woven on opposite sheds

Sample #10 close-up
  • 2 pattern wefts in different colors with tabby
    • 1-2, a
    • 3-4, b
    • repeat as desired
  • Warp and tabby are 10/2
  • Pattern wefts are 6/2
Based on the sample photo in Weave Classic Crackle & More, I was fully expecting to not be impressed with this one. So, I was surprised when i liked the look of it. I got to thinking it would make nice yardage for a lightweight jacket or heavyweight shirt. I wove more, rotating the blocks:
  • 1-2 and 3-4
  • 2-3 and 1-4
  • 3-4 and 1-2
  • 1-4 and 2-3
It makes a nice but subtle patterned fabric. I particularly like plaids and checks, which would be easy to create with this manner of weaving. I'll keep it on my "to try" list for a future yardage project.

Another example

My Cottage Windows table runner woven on opposite blocks.

Resources
  • Wilson, Susan, Weave Classic Crackle & More, pages 45, 52
  • Brusic, Lucy M., A Crackle Weave Companion, page 29
  • Snyder, Mary E., The Crackle Weave, page 11
  • Dixon, Anne, The Handweaver's Pattern Directory, page 131

Related posts
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: ,

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The Italian Manner

A note at the bottom of Mary Meigs Atwater's Cottage Windows pattern states

"Pattern (h) may also be woven in the Italian manner."

This is the variation (pattern h, called "A Modern Arrangement") that I used for my Cottage Windows table runner. Before I pulled off the waste warp from the loom, I wanted to tie on a different color warp and give this a try. But first, I needed to research "The Italian Manner," also referred to as the Italian style or Italian method. 

The simplest definition I found was in Susan Wilson's Weave Classic Crackle & More. On page 53 she states,

"In the weaving literature, Italian manner or Italian style
refers to polychrome treadling with three colors."

Lucy Brusic is a little more specific. On page 26 of her A Crackle Weave Companion she explains, 

"Italian Manner in which a repeating thread alternates with the appropriate opposite blocks."

In examining her treadling chart on the same page, I see that this means that instead of tabby (using one color for both the 1-3 and 2-4 shots), Italian manner treadling uses two different colors for the background wefts using opposite sheds between the pattern shots. For example:

pattern
3-4
pattern
1-2

or

pattern
4-1
pattern
2-3

or

pattern
1-2
pattern
3-4

or 

pattern
2-3
pattern
4-1

Compare that to traditional crackle, which is

pattern
1-3
pattern
2-4

In other words, Italian manner replaces tabby with a different set of opposite sheds.

Other details: 
  • Traditional crackle uses one pattern color and one tabby color. 
  • Italian manner uses one pattern color and two background colors. The color sequence remains consistent throughout, it is the treadling that progresses with each block. 
  • Pattern treadling is 3-pick straight twill repeats.
    • 1-2-3
    • 2-3-4
    • 3-4-1
    • 4-1-2
  • Typically, a heavier pattern weft is used for both.

Harriet Tidball calls the Italian method, "classic crackle" (page 125 of The Weaver's Book), but on page 54 of Wilson's book, she points out a difference based on studying historical drafts. What Atwater, Thorpe, Snyder, and Tod call Italian manner begins the treadling sequence with the pattern weft. Classic crackle begins the treadling sequence with the background weft. Nit-picky? Perhaps. It's just interesting to note these differences of observation and interpretation.

Finally, here are some variations for the Italian manner according to Brusic (page 27):
  • 2-shuttle Italian Manner
    • heavier pattern weft in one color
    • warp-weight background weft in another color
    • treadled as for 3-shuttle Italian manner
  • 1-shuttle Italian Manner
    • weft similar in weight to warp
    • treadled as for 3-shuttle Italian manner
    • fabric is said to have a nice drape

I can't say that I've got it all figured out, but I do have a better grasp on Italian manner weaving than when I started this post.

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, April 07, 2024

Weaving On Opposites

One of the things that interested me about variation H of Mary Meigs Atwater's "Cottage Windows" pattern, was that it is woven "on opposites." Being one of the many concepts I forgot during my long hiatus from weaving, I did a little research when I learned it was one of the crackle manners of weaving. I jotted down a definition for my crackle manners of weaving blog post, but found myself thinking more about it as I wove a my Cottage Windows table runner, and researching more. What I realized, is that there are some variations on how "on opposites" is interpreted. 

In some sources, opposites refers to pattern blocks. As, for example, Harriet Tidball's diagram of Cottage Windows. It's treadled . . .

Treadling pattern is in the right-hand column. 

One pattern block is treadled with shafts 2-3 for so many weft shots, and then treadled 1-2 for so many weft shots. The second block is treadled with the opposite shafts 4-1 and 3-4. With this treadling, tabby must be used, or as you can see by studying the treadling sequence, the common shaft in 2-3 and 1-2 (shaft 2) would always be lifted and create a long warp float over the top of the fabric. Ditto for shaft 4 in the 4-1 and 3-4 sequence. Tabby is needed to tie these down to the fabric.

The second definition defines opposites as alternate sheds, using contrasting colors for the wefts. One weft shot of shafts 1-2 is alternated with 3-4. Tabby weft is optional, but said to make a more stable fabric.

My Cottage Windows table runner is an example of the first definition, opposite pattern blocks. One of these days I'm going to have to rustle up a pattern using the other definition, opposite sheds. It will be fun to experiment.


Related posts:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, April 04, 2024

Cottage Windows (Variation H) Crackle Table Runner



Weaving Notes & Observations

  • I wasn't able to weave through all 15 rows of the window motif because my blocks were longer than I originally planned. I wove 11 before I ran out of warp, still rotating my pattern and tabby weft colors so that each block varies subtly. (Diagram of my plan in this post).
  • I wet finished in warm water and Dawn original. The water turned purple! 1st cool water rinse was pale pink, second was clear. I'm assuming either the purple or burgundy yarn bleeds.
  • Overall, color variation between blocks are subtle.
  • Even though these aren't colors I ordinarily choose, I really like the way this turned out. 
Posted by at 6 comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Crackle Weave: Manners of Weaving

Change is in the air! I'm revamping this page, so it's changing frequently.

Initially, I was going to call this blog post "Crackle Weave: Treadling," because treadling seemed like the next topic in a logical progression of notes:
Except with crackle, there's so much more to it. Treadling is where the fun begins because this is when the patterns reveal themselves on the loom. But also part of the equation are yarn choices (colors, number, and types of weft, etc.) plus the way it's threaded. So I changed the name of the post to better reflect that. 

This page has evolved over time to become an index of sorts. Each example is (i.e. will be, as I update the page) linked to pages discussing the particulars of each manner of weaving, plus more examples of the variations.

Classic Crackle

Bathmat in 4-ply cotton

Summery: Classic crackle is woven with 3-shuttles, using a pattern and two background wefts instead of tabby. It's popular for color weaving as different colors can be used on each shuttle. Details and more examples here.

Overshot Manner (also called traditional crackle)

threading - Scandinavian Favorite

Summary: Overshot manner crackle is woven with 2 shuttles, alternating pattern and tabby wefts. This is probably the most popular form of crackle. Details and more examples here.

As-Drawn-In (also called tromp-as-writ)
  • treadling simply follows the threading draft
  • uses two shuttles
  • alternates pattern and tabby wefts
    • pattern weft - contrasting color to warp and tabby wefts and heavier
    • tabby weft - same as warp (but may be different color)
Plain Weave

threading - Scandinavian Favorite
  • one shuttle weave (no tabby)
  • alternates plain weave sheds: 1 & 3 and 2 & 4
  • typically used to start or finish off a warp
  • threading pattern is pretty much lost with plain weave treadling
As Twill

Twill treadling without tabby (here, a birds eye variation)

Summery: Crackle is a twill based structure, so any of the balanced (2/2) twill treadlings will work. It can be woven with or without tabby. More examples and details here.

Polychrome (poly= many, chrome = color)


Summary: Methods of treadling that produce blocks of color side by side. More examples and information here.

On Opposites

"Cottage Windows." An on-opposites pattern produced from opposite pattern blocks.

Summary: "On opposites" can refer to alternating opposite sheds or weaving opposite pattern blocks. More examples and details here.
Italian Manner (also called Italian style or Italian method)
  • three shuttles
    • one pattern weft (often the heaviest yarn)
    • two background wefts (called "a" and "b," and typically similar in size to the warp)
    • often a three-color weave
      • pattern is typically one color
      • background wefts can be two different colors or the same
  • various methods of treadling
  • can be applied to a variety of weave structures
  • treadling sequence is four shots
    • Pattern
    • Background A
    • Pattern
    • Background b
  • background wefts use opposite sheds between the pattern shots, either
    • 1-2 and 3-4
    • 1-4 and 2-3
  • no tabby. The Italian manner replaces tabby with a different set of opposite sheds.
  • emphasis is on color
  • The color sequence remains consistent throughout, it is the treadling that progresses with each block. Eg. 
    • A alternates 1-2 and 3-4
    • B alternates 2-3 and 4-1
    • C alternates 3-4 and 1-2
    • D alternates 4-1 and 2-3
  • can also be woven with one or two shuttles
  • See The Italian Manner for more details


There are others, but I'm going to stop here for now, as this will give me plenty to work on.  Hopefully, I can add more in the future. Also, I plan to add photos of each as I work my way through them. 

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)