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:

• History
• Resources
• Threading
• Tie-Up

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. 

Crackle Weave: Manners of Weaving

 © 2023 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:

Crackle Weave: Somewhat of a History 

Crackle Weave: Resources

Crackle Weave: Threading 

Crackle Weave: Tie-Up  

S&W Samples 2: Tabby Treadling Order

By Leigh

This has been an interesting experiment. The focus of summer & winter is usually on the four classic patterns which can be treadled (1-2-1-2, 1-2-2-1, 2-1-1-2, and 1-1-1-1). For this next set of samples however, I experimented with how each of these looked depending on which tabby treadle I started with. Let me show you what happened.

The first sample is the 1-2-1-2 pattern treadling order.

It didn't matter which which tabby treadle I started with, there was no noticeable difference in either the pattern or ground cloth. The result looked the same.

With the paired treadlings (1-2-2-1 and 2-1-1-2), there was a difference, depending on which tabby I started with. You can see it in the ground cloth.

This next sample was the effect of leading with the "a" tabby (shafts 1 & 2)......

If I started with the "b" tabby (remaining shafts), this is what it looks like.....

The effect is more striking if we step back a bit ...

Notice the ground cloth. I got a pink (tabby thread) diamond effect by starting with tabby a (top sample). I got a brown (pattern thread) diamond by starting with tabby b (bottom sample).

In her Summer & Winter: A Weave for All Seasons, Donna Sullivan explains why this happens.

The difference occurs because each tie is used twice in sequence. If the 1-2 tabby falls between the two members of a single pair, the pattern wefts in those sheds will "cuddle" together. If the 3-4 tabby occurs in this position, the pattern wefts will be pushed slightly farther apart, and slightly closer to the nearest weft floats in the adjoining pairs.¹

You can see that happening in the close-up photos above. The effect, though subtle, is something I'll keep in mind.

The effect of tabby order with the last treadling, 1-1-1-1, was the same as with the 1-2-1-2 order I showed you first, i.e. no difference.....

However, when I tried the same exercise with the other pattern shed, 2-2-2-2, I discovered that it was the pattern itself which was effected. Notice the columns in the photo above: four fat, nicely defined, straight pattern columns are treadled, along with narrower, less well defined columns in the ground cloth.

Compare those with the columns in this 2-2-2-2 pattern treadling below....

Notice there are five pattern columns, with some variation in width. I don't know if you can see in the above photo, but the two outermost columns are formed with 2-thread weft floats, as opposed to the 3-thread floats which form the three center columns (the same as in the 1-1-1-1 sample) . It is the edges of the pattern blocks which are effected. This is why the 1-1-1-1 treadling is usually preferred, and is significant enough to keep in mind while designing.

I have to say that this was an informative exercise, which also shows one of the benefits of sampling. I plan to add these samples to my S&W notebook.

Posted 12 Nov. 2008 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

¹ Summer & Winter: A Weave for All Seasons, Donna Sullivan, (Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 1991) p. 16

Related Posts:
Summer & Winter: A Basic Definition
Summer & Winter: Treadling
S&W Samples 1: Traditional Treadlings

Expanded Multiple Tabby Weave Samples

By Leigh

Since I am in the middle of concocting and sampling dye recipes, I thought I'd show you the extended multiple tabby weave samples I've recently taken off the loom.

I really like these! I think they would be especially lovely with two closely related colors. I only wish I had started experimenting with them sooner. As it was, I was trying to see if I could use MTW like a one shuttle Summer & Winter.

The particulars for these samples:

The threading draft

Yarns: 16/3 white unmercerized cotton warp and tabby weft
..........5/2 navy mercerized cotton pattern weft
Sett: 36 EPI
Width in reed: 17.75 inches
Width off loom: 16.5 inches
Width after washing and drying: 15 inches

With this warp, I tried both one shuttle and two shuttle weaves.

One shuttle, using only the pattern weft:

Two shuttle, in overshot fashion:

I have to admit that I like the one shuttle samples better. Not because they were faster to weave, but just because.

And remember the sett I calculated? Two different ways? I can honestly say that it worked very well and that the result is a nice firm fabric. I had hoped for something not so thick, but I'm thinking that the heavier pattern weft is what made the difference.

Next on the loom will be something different. More on that soon.

© 4 July 2008 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves - the basics
Expanding Multiple Tabby Weave Blocks - expanded to 5 warp ends
Calculating Sett - Peggy Osterkamp's method
Another Way to Calculate Sett - Another formula
Summer & Winter: Structure and Theory - the basics

MTW Weaving Update (At Last)

How time flies. I can't believe that it's been over two weeks since my last weaving post. I try to divide my time so that I get at least a little of several things done each day: weaving, knitting, computer, and spinning, (though I haven't been spinning lately). Now dyeing. I find this gives me a break from one activity to the next, but keeps me busy at the same time.

I have been slowly working away at my expanded multiple tabby weave experiments, and now have something on the loom to show.

The threading draft I'm using is found on page 48 of Dr. Bateman's Multiple Tabby Weave.

These are interesting, not only because the treadling is different from the samples I've done previously, but also because they use overshot wefting.

This one uses only one shuttle, the pattern and tabby wefts being the same yarn. I'm using 16/3 unmercerized cotton for the warp, and a navy blue 5/2 cotton for the weft. The treadling is block C as drawn in, with the A block used for the tabby shots.

The yellow and red thrums on the right mark the end of each treadling sequence. The sequence is 56 picks, so if I lose my place, these show me where the sequence began. Then if I need to, I can count the weft shots to figure out where I am and what's next.

The white twill tape is for measuring. I draw my own measurement marks on it and find it's the best way for me to get each piece the same length! Details on that here.

Here's a close-up....

This second one is a two shuttle weave. The pattern weft is the same navy blue, and the tabby weft is the same as the warp.

The overall pattern is vaguely visible, so I am very curious as to how this will look after wet finishing.

The biggest challenge for these so far has been keeping track of where I am in the treadling sequence. This is how I'm doing it at present:

I and II alternate. I just have to move the paper clip after I complete each section in the sequence. This hasn't been too bad really. I could have made it easier if I'd re-tyed the treadles. As it is, the tabbies for part I are treadles 3 and 4. It would have been much easier if they were 5 and 6. However, treadle tie-up on a countermarche loom is a bit of challenge and I prefer to avoid it if at all possible! Hence the fancy footwork.

What I really want to try to keep track of the treadling sequence is a treadling abacus. Photo and brief explanation from Yorksett Arts & Crafts here (at the bottom of the post). When I can find some cube shaped number beads I'll go for it. Until then, I'll just treadle along as I am. :)

© June 2008 at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
Expanding Multiple Tabby Weave Blocks
Expanded Multiple Tabby Weave Samples - how these turned out
A Means to Measure - Using twill tape to track length

Expanding Multiple Tabby Weave Blocks

By Leigh

I've spent two posts discussing trying to calculate sett without saying much about the other project details.

What I'm working on, is another multiple tabby weaves experiment, also from Dr. Bateman's book. So far I've only threaded all three plain weave possibilities in alternating blocks, but this next experiment is based on expanding these blocks.

The blocks are expanded to five threads by repeating the first thread. So that,

and

In addition, these blocks can be flipped to create more possibilities. The threading draft I'm using is found on page 48 of Dr. Bateman's book.

I'm also planning to try the weftings found in this section as well. How far along am I at the moment? This far.........

© 4 June 2008 at http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com

Related posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
MTW Weaving Update At Last - how this warp is weaving up
Expanded Multiple Tabby Weave Samples - the finished samples

I'm Getting Bored With This

This is the latest batch of multiple tabby weave samples, just off the loom. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels because I'm not achieving anything I'm happy with.

I tied on about a yard of 8/2s cotton warp in three new colors, using the same Fibonacci stripes as the last sample warp.

Of the samples shown in that earlier post, I liked the ones with the heavier, sport weight knitting yarn as weft best. I wanted to experiment more with this, using different weft colors. I thought that I had a heavier black cotton yarn to work with, but it turned out that it wasn't as heavy as I thought. I used it anyway.

I really had a lot of trouble with getting an even beat as you can seen in the above photo. The goal is an balanced weave with as many picks per inch as ends per inch. Quite disappointing.

Then I found a 6/3 cotton in a medium gray and used as weft with my 8/2 warp. I still had the same problem with getting an even beat. I did try though . However, you're going to have to tilt your head to the side to view this photo properly....

..... as Blogger insisted on rotating the photo when it uploaded it. I tried several times but couldn't get it uploaded the way it is supposed to be. I searched Blogger Help Group to see if I could find a solution for this problem, and apparently others have had it on occasion, but none of the discussions helped me. So there it is anyway.

Here is something similar in a different color weft (and not rotated)....

The weft packed in a little more evenly, though not consistently. I am puzzled, because the sett is the same as all the other samples, 20 epi. I'm not sure why I'm having issues this time when I didn't before.

And lastly I decided, what the heck, I'll just let it do what it wants, and beat it hard.

The weft is the same 8/2 cotton as in the yellow warp stripe. This was interesting because packing down the weft distorted the horizontal lines with washing. This sample has a little more potential than the first three, though I think a contrasting weft would have been better.

I've been thinking a lot about these samples, and why I wasn't happy with them. Finally I realized that I am disappointed because I was trying to see if I could get multiple tabby weave to imitate summer & winter, which has been my favorite weave so far. I still think the results would have been better with an heavier weft; such as the sport weight knitting cotton yarn. However, I'm just sampling from my stash, hence the limitations.

I'm not sure what I'm going to try next. Choices include:

1. Using a finer warp and the same wefts
2. Using the same warp and purchasing more sport weight cotton for a heavier weft.
   
3. Moving on to a totally different draft from Dr. Bateman's book.

While I'm at it, I may as well try a new threading too.

© May 2008 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves - the basics

More MTW Samples

I've had a lot of ideas about multiple tabby weave and so I've been experimenting. To run through some of my ideas, I put a sample warp on my loom, a little over a yard long and about six inches wide.

For this warp I chose all the various yellow and gold 8/2 yarns that I have; mostly cotton, but on a whim, I added some yellow rayon chenille. I measured and tied them on to my last MTW warp, changing the various yellows in Fibonacci stripes of 5, 8, 13, and 21 ends each. Then I experimented with the weft.

First I tried the same green sportweight cotton knitting yarn that I used for the experiment with the brown striped warp.

I changed treadling in the same Fib sequence too. What I immediately didn't like was the chenille stripes. Up close and personal they are too dominant. However, with almost a yard of this warp still on the loom, I kept on experimenting.

Next I tried the same weft yarn in a different color, purple.

On this one, besides not liking the chenille stripes, I didn't think that this particular purple looked all that well with the yellows.

Next I tried to incorporate the chenille into the weft sequence. The treadling is still in the same 5, 8, 13, 21 treadling sequence. First with green...

Mmmm. Nah. Well, how about that with the purple weft?

Better, but even with narrower chenille weft stripes it is still a no. Next I tried one of the yellow 8/2s for the weft, but still added the chenille stripes.

Boring. Add that to the no list too.

By this time I had used up that warp, so I tied on more. This time I decided to use the chenille only for each of the narrowest warp stripes. The others are still the same yellows and golds as before. For the weft I used the same 8/2 yarns, changing them randomly except for the narrow chenille stripe.

Michele asked about the loose weft ends. Since these are just samples, I left them hanging. After washing and drying I cut them shorter, but didn't worry about them otherwise. If this were for a sewing project, I'd leave them too. I only worry about loose weft ends for something where the selvedges will show, like a scarf or dishtowel.

The following are two samples from that second sample warp.

These were a little more interesting than the first batch, but by this time I was sick of yellow and gold, which are not my favorite colors anyway.

Even though I wouldn't use any of these for a larger piece, I learned a lot from them. For one thing, I learned that I really like the heavier weft for MTW, even though the particular colors of green and purple weren't perfect choices.

While I think the chenille used this way has some possibilities, I found that there was some differential shrinkage after washing and drying. Because the squares were so large, I really didn't like the look of that, so I pressed it out as best I could.

Also, the very nature of multiple tabby weave caused the chenille to create wavy weft stripes rather than straight ones. Again, this has possibilities.

I'm sure every spinner and weaver out there has heard "sample, sample, sample," and for knitters it's "SWATCH!" All I can say to this is, "how true, how true."

© May 2008, Leighs Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
MTW With Heavier Weftn
MTW tent copyright 2008 by http://leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com/. If you find it anywhere else, it's been stolen.

MTW - Rainbow Warp Revisited

Do you remember this black weft sample from the rainbow warp?

Like many of you, I usually prefer black for contrast, because it really seems to make the other colors pop out. But still, I wondered how it would look with white. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer. I just had to experiment with a white weft as well.

My rationale for tying on another rainbow warp was two-fold. One was to experiment with a white warp, but the other was to weave one more sample in the rainbow weft series of samples. I had already sampled wefts of purple, blue, green, yellow, and orange. But I forgot one with red. So I wanted that one to add to the others. I added a photo of it the original post showing all of them.

Here are the six rainbow samples together. They measure about 15 by 17 inches. I'm still thinking about making napkins, though they seem a tad heavy for that.

And here is a photo of the white weft sample.

It doesn't have the 3-dimensional quality that the black weft one does, but I like it. More candy-like and whimsical in appearance.

With all that out of the way, I am now mentally free to resume the other multiple tabby weave ideas that I want to experiment with. In fact, I should finish tying on a small sample warp today.

© 2008 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weave
Black Weft MTW

Off the Loom

The heavier weft multiple tabby weave sample is off the loom. I put part of it, a smaller piece, through a wash and dry cycle, and left the rest of it unwashed for the time being.

Here it is unwashed:


Here it is after washing and pressing:

The width in the reed was 19 inches (380 ends at 20 epi)
The width before washing was 17.25 inches.
The width after washing is 15.5 inches.

It is 100% mercerized cotton. You may recall that the warp is 8/2s and the weft a sport weight knitting yarn.

Visually there isn't a humongous amount of difference between the unwashed sample and the washed, except when noting the treadling pattern. I think the biggest difference (besides the shrinkage) is how much softer the washed sample is. It is a little wrinklier too.

Because of the heavier weft, it is actually a fairly heavy fabric. Not something I would use for a dishcloth or a blouse. It would probably be good for placemats or a table runner, but I'm thinking upholstery, specifically a pillow front(?) If I decide to do that, I don't think I want to wash the larger piece. I'll just use it as is. My reasoning is that few throw pillows are required to survive a washer and dryer. Nor do they ever seem to be dried cleaned. At least I never have!

Weaving this has reminded me a little of the Fibonacci overlays I did in Summer & Winter. And that has gotten the mental wheels turning. Hopefully I have some fun experimenting ahead.

© 2008 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
Multiple Tabby Weave With Heavier Weft

MTW With Heavier Weft

Dr. Bateman's book, Multiple Tabby Weaves, has about 18 drafts with anywhere between three and six variations for each one. Rather than try to work my way through all of them, I thought that I would rather simply apply some of his ideas for exploring multiple tabby weaves.

For this next experiment, I tied on the new warp, so I could use the same threading and tie-up as I did for my first samples....

... but I used different treadling and a heavier weft.

This sample uses mercerized cottons for both warp and weft. The warp is 8/2 in two shades of brown. The weft is a light, cool green sportweight knitting yarn.

From a distance, it almost has textured looking horizontal stripes, which don't actually exist, as you can see in the close-up below (courtesy of my new Canon PowerShot SD 1000 digital camera which I absolutely love!)

The treadling sequence is confusing to explain (for me). The different tabby blocks are created with different pairs of treadles, 1 & 2, 3 & 4, and 5 & 6. I'm changing treadling in a sequence of 6 shots, 8 shots, 16 shots, and reverse. You can probably see it in the overall pattern better than I can explain it!

Interestingly, the selvedges are behaving themselves much more nicely with the heavier weft. I'm also using floating selvedges this time, so that might be a factor also. Anyway, it's still a one shuttle weave and so going quickly. Dr. Bateman also wove many MTW samples using an overshot technique with both pattern and tabby wefts. So that is on my list to try too.

© 2008 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
Off The Loom - How these samples turned out

Black Weft MTW

I had a little bit of multi-color warp left from first multiple tabby weave sampler, so I wove off the rest with a black 8/2 cotton weft.

I like the almost three dimensional look, but now I wish I had woven some with white weft too. Just to see what it would have looked like. I may try that in the future sometime, before I move on from multiple tabby weaves, but at the moment I have other ideas I want to experiment with. One of the ways I amuse myself while I weave is to wonder how it would look if I changed something; weft color; warp color, treadling, tie-up, something.

The finished piece is about 15 by 43 inches, so I'm not sure what to do with it. Yet.

© 2008 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves - the basics
Rainbow Warp Revisited - how it looked with white weft

Multiple Tabby Sampler Off the Loom

My first multiple tabby sampler is off the loom. I've even got it washed and dried. As promised, here is the draft, albeit in an abbreviated form.

My warp yarn was 8/2 unmercerized cotton.
Each 20 end threading block is one inch wide, so the sett is 20 epi.
I used a different warp color for each block, rotating through the colors of the rainbow.

The tie-up is standard.

The treadling changed after each 20 picks.
My aim was 20 ppi, though I was kinda inconsistent with this.
My weft yarn was also 8/2 unmercerized cotton.
I used a different color weft for each sample.

Purple weft

Blue weft

Green weft

Yellow weft

Orange weft

Red Weft

Marie asked about the inspiration for these, and I actually got it while I was weaving the M's & O's dishtowels. While using different color wefts with the red warp, I thought that I would like to weave my next project in a color gamp. (For a good definition of gamp, click here.) Once I decided on the multiple tabby weave I changed my mind however, because I realized that the skips wouldn't create an even blending of color. So I decided to do a series of samplers, each with a different color weft. As you can see, the weft color does have a dominating effect on the overall fabric. I like that however with this weave.

Actually, these were never intended to be samplers in the traditional sense. Sharon calls them "samples with usable results," like all my dishtowels! For a color series, however, I thought for my samples with usable results, I'd make napkins. Their size after washing and drying is 15 by 17 inches. As napkins they would be a little smaller after hemming. I've never made napkins before, so I'm not sure what a good size should be. But I'm willing to give it a try.

© 2008 Leigh's Fiber Journal

Related Posts:
Multiple Tabby Weaves
Multiple Tabby Weave Sampling