This is a new group to build on the work started in the last couple of years as well as the work started during the Halloweave challenge. As stated, the purpose of this group is to study SPRANG, the craft of interlacing, interlinking, and intertwining strands, threads, yarns, from the historical perspective up to and including contemporary usage. This group is based on a running message I started on Weavolution in Dec 2009 Sprang - A Twisted Adventure http://weavolution.com/forum/weaving/sprang-twisted-adventure-11539 Welcome! Have a good day! Franco Rios Sacramento, Calif.

Comments

francorios (not verified)

This is my first attempt at sprang from Dec 2009. I call it my "sad sprang." This is done with Peaches and Creme cotton yarn.

This is my second attempt. Still sad but it is better.

This is the bag I finished last week before Christmas. This is done with crochet thread about #3 in size. I've gotten a lot better at it, especially lately.

I post this for encouragement. Because if you keep practicing, you're going to get better at it.

Have a good day!

jenjscott

So where is the best place to start learning about sprang?

francorios (not verified)

I just posted a list of resources as a separate message http://weavolution.com/group/sprang-twisted-adventure/sprang-resources-21120 There are a couple of sites with videos also that can be helpful. I hope that helps. Have a good day! Franco Rios

jenjscott

I like to oversize things to get a clear picture, so I threw this together with instructions  from your video link.  I used knitted rope rug weft wrapped around chair legs, just to get the feel of it.

francorios (not verified)

Bravo Jenscott!

I love the choice of yarn! Love the chair legs! The pencils!

It looks like you have the basic skill nailed and you did with unique tools! I give it 10 points for style!

Well done!

Have a good day!

graciela (not verified)

well!!! this image is wonderful: You understood the method and you put it in action.

jenjscott

Of course, Franco, you know where the idea for the pencils came from!  I am starting another one, for real this time, with the plain inteweave.  Who knows where it will go from there.

Jen

endorph

first sprang experiment. It took me a couple of tried to get going but so far so good. I'll post pictures in the morning - or sometime tomorrow - it is sort of addictive. I think I might have to get the book Sprang Unsprung - I'd like the Collingwood book but can't afford it. I am very interested in historical textile techniques and this certainly fits the bill.

Elk Ridge Orch… (not verified)

so I just started reading this thread very exciting! I too am interested in historical textile techniques i am doing research to weave for my husbands civil war group i wanted to know what the book is? its that the title or the auther? I just started reading Shaker Textile Arts by Beverly Gordon it was suggest reading for me Becky

WeaverDave (not verified)

I got this idea years ago that a person might be able to string threads horizontally like a warp, and then use an individual machine knitting needle to "knit" up and down the warp.  The problem would be that the warp bed would grow shorter with each vertical row.

I'll have to try that sometime.  Sprang looks almost like a larger version of the knitting I'm thinking about.

francorios (not verified)

"The Techniques of Sprang: Plaiting on Stretched Threads," Peter Collingwood (1974) This is THE BOOK in English on sprang. Out of print. "Sprang Unsprung an Illustrated Guide to Interlinking," Interlacing and Intertwining, Carol James (2011) New book, very readable, starts from plain interlinking and develops into various forms of sprang.

endorph

Here is a picture of my first attempt so far - only a few rows twinnedI cobbled together a frame from stretcher bars and dowels from an embroidery frame. I am getting ready to switch from Z twist to S twist - I didn't have any pencils so I am using tiny dowels!

francorios (not verified)

Great start! Bravo on the do it yourself frame!

Have a joyful day!

Elk Ridge Orch… (not verified)

thanks! I spent many hours last on amazon looking at books and adding them to my wish list!

francorios (not verified)

I just added to the description: This group is based on a running message I started on Weavolution in Dec 2009 Sprang - A Twisted Adventure http://weavolution.com/forum/weaving/sprang-twisted-adventure-11539 Have a good day!

jenjscott

Here it is on the broomsticks, almost ready for finishing.

And here it is, complete with a braided drawstring.

 

 

endorph

is beautiful. Congrats on the first project - I haven't been able to work on mine since Saturday but I am thinking about taking it to work with me tomorrow to work on during lunch.

francorios (not verified)

Jen,

Bravo on your first bag! What is that yarn?

Have a good day!

endorph

So here is the finished product. The sewing of the side seams not so great but. . it does function. Here is the bag flat. . . here it is hanging with some yarn balls inside it and here it is lying down with the yarn balls in it Hopefully the next one will turn out better but I am pretty satisfied with this first attempt.

Tina

francorios (not verified)

Beautiful! I like the stripes!

Bravo!

Have a good day!

jenjscott

I am sure I posted an answer to the "what thread?" question.  Or maybe senility is overtaking me faster thanI thought.  The thread is Peaches and Cream 4/4 100% cotton.

Tina, very nice, The seams gave me some problems too.  and the bottom was very bulky.  How did you secure yours at the middle point?

Jen

endorph

When I got to the point where I couldn't twine anymore I ran a piece of yarn through the middle. Then when I went to sew up the seams I wove in the ends of that thread up the sides. It helped to give the bottom of the bag a bit of structure. I was thinking on the next attempt of using yarn to hold the twist on every other row or so then when I get ready to sew the edges I can use those yarn ends to "match" up the seams. Does that make sense? And I have decided I definitely need to get the Sprand Unsprung book!

Thanks Franco for introducing me to this fascinating technique~

 

Linda Ratliff

I'm so excited to see other people interested in sprang!  I discovered it a couple a years ago and nobody had any idea what I was talking about.  I haven't done much beyond a basic twist, but it's pretty fun--I'll be honest, it kind of boggles my mind that it works at all. 

Just for fun, here's a couple of hats I've done.  The black one is a chenille mystery yarn I swiped from my mom's stash, and the green one is Lion Hometown USA acrylic (I normally try to avoid acrylics, but I love the size of this one).

 

The green one is a bit boxy, but I think it's a good start.

I haven't played with the technique for a while--should probably reassemble my sprang board/loom/thinggymabobber.

On a side note, painter's stretcher bars (you'll find them back with the canvases in places like Michael's) make for a great frame--all you have to do is pop them together.  They also come on all different sizes, too.

francorios (not verified)

Welcome to the group! I like your hats. I agree, the size of the green yarn has some great impact! Have a good day!

CarolJames

Great hats! I bet they were quick to make. Thanks for sharing.