Let's all get to know each other.  Tell a little about yourself, your looms, your favs, and your expectations.  Lets get the fun started.

 

 

Comments

Tue, 07/12/2011 - 20:05

paxnea

Hello! - I'm totally new to weaving, and I have inherited my grandmother's old Herald loom with 4 shafts.  I love pattern weaves and I am excited to learn as much as possible without getting a bigger loom.  I've only woven a scarf before, in a class at the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center near my home in New Mexico.  As soon as I get my new loom working, I'd love to do a weave-along!

Wed, 07/13/2011 - 07:03

B P (not verified)

Hi, I'm Beth from the UK. I weave on a 16 shaft Louet Megado, BUT, as I am newish to weaving, and am unfamiliar with many of the weave structures, I often like to start on 4 shafts.

.......Rachel, a 4 shaft weave along sounds like a great idea, we can all learn from one another!

Is anyone else interested in a Weave-along?

Beth

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 08:43

paulz

Hi I'm Paul in the UK. I have just got up and running an old Weavemaster 4 shaft loom - or at least that's what Im guessing Ive got. I have done weaving before on sticks but not on a loom. Just to get me going Ive used some old rags to finish off what was already on the loom - It was set up for only two of the shafts.

I'd really like to make some priests stoles for our local church but as yet don't understand any of the patterns Ive seen. I think it should be quite easy I just want to weave a yellow cross on each end of a 11 ft weave where the rest of the cloth is blue. Can anyone tell me where I should post this? If I am in the correct place can anyone help.

Many thanks

Paul

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 10:58

lkautio (not verified)

Paul, the questions you ask are better suited to the "Weaving 101" group. It's a great place to ask about learning to read a draft and the basics of 4 shaft weaving. There may be an ecclesiastical group as well.

The short answer to your question is that there are a lot of ways to do what you want, from tapestry techniques, to inlays, soumak, and brocades, to repp weaves, summer and winter, and various on opposite treadlings of other weaves.  Some of these may be familiar from backstrap weaving, others will be new to you. 

A good beginners book for 4 shaft weavers will be very helpful.  Drafts are not hard to read once you look at them as a set of instructions for the loom. 

[Long Answer] There is usually a horizontal bar which is as many blocks high as there are shafts on your loom.  It may be at the top or bottom of the draft.  It shows you the order in which the heddles are threaded. 

In the top or bottom right side there may be a small square or rectangular grid, called the tie-up.  If it is there, it shows which shafts are always lifted together.  It will have a different column for each combination (14 possible on 4 shafts, but often limited to 6). Each column is a treadle, each row is a shaft.

Then, there is a strip of grid down the right side for the treadling.  Each row is one pick (weft thread). Each column will correspond to a treadle, showing you the order of the lifts in the tie-up. Sometimes two or more treadles may be pressed together to make more combinations than are shown in the tie-up.  If there is no tie up, each column will just be a shaft and every shaft lifted in that pick will be shown in a given row (this format is called a lift plan).

Last, the large area, called the drawdown, shows you how the pattern created by this threading, tie-up, and treadling looks.  The usual convention is that a black box indicates a warp thread on the front surface of the cloth, and an empty or white box is a weft thread.  Sometimes the actual colors of the cloth are shown.

A simplified version, called a profile draft, does not show the individual threads, just where there is pattern and background occuring.

Laurie Autio

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 14:02

Peg.Cherre (not verified)

I have 2 floor looms, but my preferred is a handmade (not from a kit or any design I've seen before) 4H counterbalance.  I live in very rural, western New York State - about 80 miles southeast of Buffalo.

I don't know if I'll always be able to participate in the WAL, since I'm constantly weaving things for sale, but I'd love to try. 

Thu, 07/14/2011 - 14:17

B P (not verified)

Paulz, where abouts do you live in the UK? Perhaps there is a weaving class or Guild near to you, that you could join.

http://www.wsd.org.uk/ is the web address of the UK weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Guilds.

For a weave-along I guess we need to know how many weavers would be interested. I've never done a weave-along before.....how is one organized? Any helpful suggestions anyone?

Beth

Thu, 07/21/2011 - 22:03

paulz

The local weavers meet in the next village from me - literally a 10 minute walk over the fields. They meet Saturday but I have to go to the Game Fair at Blenheim. Will try to meet up with them next month.

Not sure about a weave along but I have had some good advice from the group at 101. I think I need som more practice before I weave along with anyone.

Best Wishes

PAul

 

Group Audience
Complex Weaves on 4 Shafts