In no particular order, here are some observations about the latest cotton piece, which may or may not become a sporadic but long-running series with a name something along the lines of "Indulgence":
* Broken warp knots are easier to see than feel, and it's not easy to see all of them. Although I wouldn't put a knot in a piece to sell/gift, the piece is fine for me to wear. Or, make another Doni's bag.
* Knots can be made into a design feature made big or with many "arms" like a small pompom. If I were to do this deliberately, including them in the weft would be easier than in the warp. Treadling/lifting mistakes make interesting accents, too.
* The texture is only marginally stiffer than 100% 20/6 pieces.
* Early on, when I was going for the secret code look, I repeated pattern lift combinations for 2, 3 or 4 pattern picks. Later, for variety, I tried 6 and 7 times and they created fluid lines/shapes. I see merits in both, and the same goes for threading. Unless I have a "forest" rather than "trees" design, a mix of both, vertically and horizontally, would be most interesting/dynamic.
* This warp was threaded 1-x-2-x, although not necessarily in pairs, e.g. 1-x-2-y-1-y-2-z-1-z-2-z and so on. I didn't have a plan and threaded as I pleased. I flippantly wondered out loud what would happen if I threaded 60/2 in Shafts 1 and 2, 20/2 in x, y, z, etc.
The primary visual difference is the width of the shapes/lines. and the visibility of the shapes of individual cells. (The latter is where the named tied weaves come in.) The apparent "clarity" of the larger shapes can be manipulated by colors, in making them sharper or duller. There may be difference in the texture of the cloth with increased use of 60/2, but I can't be certain until I sample.
My understanding at this stage in considering 60/2 for Shafts 1 and 2 depends on: 1) the desired color effect/interaction; 2) structural/functional differences, if any, to suit the purpose, e.g. scarf vs bag; 3) textural difference, if any.
* This style would suit over-decoration, e.g. beads, embroidery, etc, as well as just the cloth.
* I am most keen to work on more pieces in this style, but if scarves, would make them shorter, 150-180cm, though wider is also an option.
* In addition to flashy colors, I'm keen to weave a few with gazillion variations in monochrome or in a narrow band of analogous colors.
* My favorite lifting mechanism on table looms is usually levers-in-front, as in an Ashford.
But this loom's system works well in this style of weaving where I
usually chose Shafts 3 to 8 geometrically, such as two at a time
clockwise, without paying attention too which number shafts are
up/down in a particular shed, other than 1 and 2.
This loom is "Tekoteko", a NZ brand. I had never heard of it until I checked yesterday. Shaft 1 lever is left front; 2 on the right; 3, second from the front on the left, etc.
* That I can recall, I've only woven two pieces in cotton on this loom, and the loom and the fiber are a compatible because I can pull the tension to crazy-tight. Ashford's soft tension suits cashmere, on the other hand, producing much fluffier pieces than the floor looms. I may dedicate these two table looms for these two distinct fibers, while leaving Klick for experimentation, sampling and study.
While seated, Klick's lifting system is impossible to see and bigger numbered shafts unreachable, and the loom height is on the low side for prolonged standing weaving. On the + side, the loom has 16 shafts and is easy to rethread, so is well-suited to sampling including projects intended for the big loom. So, clarifying the primary use/purpose of my table looms makes good sense, and should help plan stash reorg.
And this project was supposed to be all about color interaction. AHAHAHAHA. I've left the weft heads/tails hanging from the selvedges for some more looking.
1 comment:
Turns out I wove my first shadow weave on Tekoteko in cashmere in 2008. Shadow weave... might revisit that another time.
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