See-through, One

In this piece I wanted to show that the cloth I was weaving was sheer. You can see the wavy supplementary warps that are on the back of the cloth. The cloth itself was woven as a tube with very fine wefts. The idea is that it’s one layer of cloth with the floating threads behind, but instead of weaving it as one layer, I wove it as a tube (two layers) the sett is very open and the layer is really 2 gauze-like layers–more transparent than a more solid single layer would have been. (The floating threads are in the middle, between the layers of the tube.)
The supplementary warps are woven into the cloth in the band in the middle. For the rest of the cloth, they were not woven in so when I cut it off the loom, they were free to wander except where attached in the middle area. The idea came from a previous piece where the supplementary warps floated behind. In this piece I planned where they were attached and free floating.

See-through one, close-up

More information on the supplementary warp techniques are in previous posts for this sewing thread warp. This is a subject I use a lot and will be teaching on line in the future. Let me know if you think you might like to sign up.

Black Horsehair with heading sticks

Here are more photos of the black horse hair piece. One shows it just off the loom, before cutting off the heading sticks. Note that the heading was WOVEN when I cut off the previous piece. The sticks were attached to the apron rod to put the warp back on tension so I could weave this piece. Look up the tip on Two-stick Heading. It is also described in my first books and my book, Weaving for Beginners.

Black Horsehair detail

Black Horsehair Back Side

Here is the back; also interesting.

Rose Canes Number 1

I began weaving with the rose bush canes today. I had to wait until I could borrow good leather gloves and clippers. I’m pleased with this first piece. The canes will dry and it will be interesting to see what happens. Already I see that they are drawing in the cloth as they dry. What fun!

Rose Thorns, Close

I want to weave in rose thorns in the sewing thread warp. I got the idea in the night Sunday. On Monday I asked when the men were coming to prune the rose bushes in the gardens where I live. They came the next day. I went down and gathered the rose canes before breakfast.

Rose Thorns, Closer

I’m thinking of weaving them in on the top similar to the horse hair pieces I showed in a post recently. In my area, January is when the big pruning takes place. I thought I’d mention it in case anyone else wants to get a supply before it’s too late.

Pockets in Weaving, A

I keep wanting to show how transparent the sewing thread cloth is. The circles are in pockets–in a sandwich between the two layers of double weave cloth. I like to make the two layers when I want to open up the sett (ends per inch). Ask me what the circles are–I wonder if anyone can figure them out.

Pockets in Weaving B

horsehair weaving

Here is another weaving from the sewing thread warp. There is a lot of warp left and I hope to keep making more and more pieces. I wanted to have lush horsehair on the cloth. I love the color of the horsehair.

horsehair in weaving, detail

Horse Hair Weaving

Here’s a new weaving from the sewing thread warp. I used horse hair in the center. I hope to do more with the horse hair–it is a beautiful color–I’d like to make it lush the next time.

Sewing Thread Ruffles A

The weaving is sheer–I wanted to show that so I ruffled up the cloth so you could see through it.

Sewing Thread Ruffles B

Sewing thread Ruffles C

Right now it’s still pinned to the wall and can’t stand alone yet. We’ll see what happens when it gets finished.

Weaving with Marl Yarns A

I’ve played with weaving with marl yarns over the years. A marl yarn is made by  twisting a dark and a light thread together to use as a single weft. Which way you twist makes a difference in the look. I made two shuttles–each one twisted in the opposite direction (S&Z). I alternated the two shuttles in the sections here (A).

Weaving with marl Yarns B

This is meant to be one of my “pages” in my  Pages Series. Interesting how the diagonals are stronger when looking at the side of the cloth–and how it looked on the loom (B).

Weaving with Marl Yarns C

You can see how I had to practice to accomplish what I wanted (C).

Weaving with Marl Yarns D

I might not cut the two apart–maybe some won’t turn into pages at all (D). Putting a group of them together really looked interesting. I might mount them that way. Who knows? I’ve got lots more ideas. I just need the time.

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First Woven Page (click to enlarge)

I’ve been weaving the sewing thread warp. My idea is to weave small pieces that remind me of pages in books. I won’t make books, but show just these “pages”. It’s such fun to see what I can do with only 4 shafts. The warp is 10 shades/colors of sewing thread. I think the sett is 60 epi. I can weave it as a single layer at 60 epi or as a tube at 30 epi. This really gives me flexibility.The supplementary warp is threaded between the heddles so it doesn’t take any shafts. I just put the shuttle below it in the shed when I want it to show on the top. I can have it on the back or in the middle, too.

Four Woven Pages (click to enlarge)

What fun! Here is the first one and a group of four. I’m tempted to show the spools of threads again to show the colors I’m working with.

Sewing Thread Spools for Weaving