weaving-msg - 4/15/09
Weaving, types of cloth. Weaving techniques.
NOTE: See also the files: looms-msg, card-weaving-msg, tapestries-msg, spinning-msg, knitting-msg, quilting-msg, textiles-msg, Cloth-of-Gold-art, color-a-fab-bib, weavng-sizing-msg.
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Stefan at florilegium.org
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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: ilaine at panix.com (Liz Stokes)
Subject: Re: Dog Hair?
Organization: Panix Public Access Internet & Unix, NYC
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1993 10:48:48 GMT
patmoore at acs.ucalgary.ca (Patricia Lynn Moore) writes:
>btw: despite the pun, it is not woof, but weft, as in weave.
>(same declension as leave/left)
er, warp and weft are the two directions of thread on a loom. The
warp is stretched out between the beams and the weft is the side to side
threads that get filled in as you weave. Woof is another word for weft
(really).
-Ilaine
Liz Stokes | Ilaine's E-Z Garb Workshop
Ilaine de Cameron | We're going to try an experiment now. Instead of using
| a loom, we're going to wind all the yarn into balls
ilaine at panix.com | and adopt an infinite number of kittens...
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: tablet woven borders
Date: 26 Aug 93 12:19:40
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
I don't know if anyone else has tried this, but tablet weaving was
once used as a starting border for loom weaving. the warp of the main
cloth is the weft of the tablet weaving. you produce a piece of tablet
weaving with the weft pulled out on one side around a couple of short
posts (the posts are hammered into the ground or fixed to one side of
a frame you are tablet weaving on) Marta Hoffman gives an excellent
description in her book on the warp weighted loom.
I tried this as a starting border for a warp weighted loom and it
worked fine, but I find the loom excrutiatingly slow to work on.
having just restored a 1930s frame loom I tried using a tablet woven
header on that. I was told by an expert it couldn't be done, but I
didn't really have any problems. I just sewd the tablet weaving to the
rod I would have tied the end of the warp to. I suspect I threaded the
loom up back to front as I had to do a lot of winding to get the warp
even on the back beam, but I wove a couple of inches last night and it
worked.
the loom will weave up to 40" so I fancy trying a square viking cape
on it. The next stage is to figure out how to do tablet woven sides
as well. I think if I stick to two threads per card I might be able to
fit them through the reed, but I won't get any really fancy patterns
that way unless I use brocading.
Has anyone else out there tried tablet weaving in association with
loom weaving? Has anyone got any suggestions?
I think from my reading that most bands that were integral with the
cloth and not sewn on were pretty plain, (though the Thorsbjerg
cloaks had very wide borders they don't seem to have been patterned)
does anyone know if this was the general rule, or know of any
exceptions to it?
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: kreyling at lds.loral.com (Ed Kreyling 6966)
Subject: Re: Weaving question
Organization: Loral Data Systems
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1993 01:50:54 GMT
Syr.Bennen.Mactire at p12.f1066.n374.z1.fidonet.org (Syr Bennen Mactire) writes:
>Grania,
>I am in the process of building one of those big Viking looms, you know
>the kind that lean up against the wall. I have two pictures to work from
>but need more to work out the details .
>Any ideas on books or points of reference that I can turn to?
>
>Also, how fine a weave can be accomplished on just such a loom?
>How much tension is involved?
>
>I figured you and Brigit might get me pointed in the right direction.
>
>Earl Benen
Subj: Re: Weaving question
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 93 18:45:15 EDT
From: Andrea Longo <longo at eggo.csee.usf.edu>
Subject: Re: Weaving question
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: University of South Florida, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Could you post this for me? I can't post anything again because they won't
allow the news software to have enough disk space. It could be days before
someone fixes it.
****************************************************************
Warp weighted loom?? Yippie! Somehow I missed the original post, but no
big problem.
There is a book I have looked thru but do not own, "The Warp Weighted Loom" by
Marta Hoffman. It is considered one of the best sources on warp-weighted
weaving in English. From what I saw, however, the practical information on
constructing and weaving is based on modern Scandinavian use. There is an
article on constructing and weaving in Early Period (issues 2&3) that I used
to build mine.
Most of the information I have on actual weaving techniques come from
extant fragments and experimentation. There are a few archaeological reports
with enough detail to guess at weaving techniques.
I had aa lot of problems finding photographs of loom weights and finally ended
up making some Anglo-Roman ones from descriptions and some line drawings. I
don't know how many of these things were used, because I didn't make near
enough to put what I felt was enough tension on the warp.
Experimentation answered a lot of questions but brought up many, many more.
any fragments from the period appear to have the warp closer than the weft but
I had terrible problems with my 35 epi piece -- sticky warp, bad sheds, just a
nightmare. I think part of the problem is using larger yarn for the same sett
(based on my modern concept of what fabric should look like.) Lots of sources
give sett but few talk about what kind or size of yarn was used.
I just finished a long discussion on warp weighted looms on
rec.crafts.textiles with a woman who does dark-ages recreation named Jennifer
<somethingorother>. I know of a handful of people who work with warp
weighteds, but I am the only person I know here who does. There is another
lady in this kingdom who has used a slightly more advanced loom, a variant of
the vertical two-beam (similar to the Navajo rug loom.)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: kreyling at lds.loral.com (Ed Kreyling 6966)
Subject: Re: Weaving question
Organization: Loral Data Systems
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1993 02:16:44 GMT
Syr.Bennen.Mactire at p12.f1066.n374.z1.fidonet.org (Syr Bennen Mactire) writes:
>I am in the process of building one of those big Viking looms, you know
>the kind that lean up against the wall. I have two pictures to work from
>but need more to work out the details .
>Any ideas on books or points of reference that I can turn to?
>
"The Viking World" by James Graham-Campbell (Ticknor & Fields, New Haven,1980)
has a good diagram (p. 120) of a warp weighted loom. I think I have an exploded
diagram in another book but can't lay my hands on it right now. (Oh, the trials
of an SCA library). We'll send you a copy. "The Viking" published by Crescent
Books, New York (ISBN 0-51744.553-0) has drawings of all of the weaving tools
as well.
>Also, how fine a weave can be accomplished on just such a loom?
>How much tension is involved?
I assure you the limit of how fine the weave is will be my skill, not the type
of loom. Shouldn't be a problem to do 50 epi (threads per inch, Benen), which
is what the Pennsic place mats were, once I get the hang of weaving UP. I have
a photo of a scrap dug up at York that must be about 100 epi. The tension isn't
a problem since you tie bundles of threads to the loom weights. The finer the
thread, the more you tie to the weight. Of course, I will be much more
knowledgable after I've had a chance to play, swear, and weave on it for a while. Brigit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ed Kreyling | Master Erik of Telemark O.L.,O.P.
kreyling at world.lds.loral.com | Shire of Brineside Moor
Sarasota,Fl. USA | Kingdom of Trimaris, SCA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles,rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Weaving a rain cloak
Date: 2 Nov 93 10:05:44
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
I have a few woolen cloaks, some are dark age square types and some
more modern tailored designs. I have found that a heavy fulled wool
will keep the rain off almost indefinately. I have not found seams a
problem, but I used run and fell type seams, (the sort you get on the
outside legs of jeans) Maybe this is a particularly waterproof type of
seam as it has many layers of cloth.
I have a viking style tent (An A frame design with the poles made of
wooden beams), this tent has a woolen cover and has stood up to a
force seven gale, with accompanying rain. It was pitched inside
Harlech castle, in a particularly dumb location: the rain and wind
whipped off the sea, hit the front wall of the castle, came over it, and
was funnelled into the area by the castle gate. Guess where we pitched
the tent? that's right bang in the middle of the wind tunnel by the
castle gate. The relevance of all this to cloaks is that the tent
cover was heavy wool which was fulled (felted) on one side. Inside the
tent was completely dry. The gale carried on overnight and got through
some of the modern tents to soak their occupants.
It looked as though the wool might have been acting as a wick, drawing
the water to ground, you could touch the inside of the tent without
water coming through.
The woolen cloth the tent was made of had never been washed so it
probably had some oil left from the cloths production, but it
certainly wasn't dripping in oil. A friend of mine has a guernsey
jumper which is oiled wool. The jumper doesn't smell or shed oil, but
he claims it is waterproof. I don't know what the oil used is. One of
my square capes has been washed often enough to lose any traces of oil
the wool may have contained and is still up to an hour in the rain, (I
haven't tried it for longer) so I suspect that heavy wool is so
waterproof on its own that you don't need to add much oil (unlike
cotton which needs to be almost dripping in oil or wax to be proofed)
I would definately recommend twill weaves not plain tabby as twill
gives you a denser weave. If you are contemplating a seperate hood I
would suggest trying to weave that first so that you can make your
first learning mistakes on a smaller piece and waste less time and
yarn.
The irish cloaks with locks of wool woven in are still worn by
shepherds in other areas of Europe, Apparently you can stay out as
long as the sheep do and stay dry. locks of wool are taken from the
raw fleece and threaded into the warp along with the weft. On designs
I have seen they are not threaded into every single row. there was a
poster on this group who had woven a sample like this. Apparently it
is incredibly slow and probably not good as a first project.
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: maclure at eos.arc.nasa.gov (IanMaclure)
Subject: Re: fulling
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1993 01:06:18 GMT
Fulling, if I remember correctly was the process by which woolen
garments were dry cleaned prior to the chemical era. It involved
Fuller's Earth ( Diatomaceous Earth ) and a great deal of heaving
and thumping. Diatomaceous Earth by the way is composed of the
skeletons of microscopic prehistoric beasties.
If you are discussing making of cloth ( wool ) perhaps you mean
"Milling" rather than "Fulling". Tweed is "milled" or used to be
in days past. Milling basically involves thumping the cloth back
and forth across a sturdy table for hours at a time.
IBM
################ No Times Like The Maritimes, Eh! ######################
# IBM aka # ian_maclure at QMGATE.arc.nasa.gov (desk) #
# Ian B MacLure # maclure at (remulac/eos).arc.nasa.gov (currently) #
########## Opinions expressed here are mine, mine, mine. ###############
From: Sheri.Stanley at p911.f1066.n374.z1.fidonet.org (Sheri Stanley)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Fulling
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 18:50:01 -0500
MB> Fulling is done to woven wool cloth, and causes the fibers to felt
MB> together, increasing the strength, thickness, and warmth of the cloth.
Felting and fulling are not the same thing, though they can both be acheived
through the same process. Felt is what you get if you full a piece of wool too
long! :) Fulling "fluffs" the fibers, causing them to loosen and become softer,
and more full. This often hides inconsistencies in weaving which would stand out
in a an unfulled piece.
MB> Felting is done to wool fibers, and some others (under special
MB> circumtances), producing cloth in the process, which is not woven, and
MB> is referred to as felt. Felt does not usually have a grain, as woven
MB> goods do. Felt is generally not as strong as an equal thickness of
MB> woven fabric, but you can do odd things to it, such as stretching it to
MB> make hats, which you cannot do with woven fabric.
Felting is done to unwoven fibers...fulling to woven pieces.
Any animal fiber will full out nicely...and cotton also tends to "bloom" when
fulled. Linen is a lost cause - it doesn't full at all - so any mistakes or
inconsistencies stay exactly where you put them!
Using a washing machine is a scary proposition! It's terribly easy to over-full
an item in it - and once fulled, you can't "un-full" it!
Grania
From: jab2 at stl.stc.co.uk (Jennifer Ann Bray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: 14th C textiles & clothing book
Date: 11 Jan 94 15:30:14
Organization: STC Technology Ltd., London Road, Harlow, UK.
I just got a book that might interest someone else out there:
Medieval finds from excavations in London: 4
Textiles and Clothing c.1150 - c.1450
Elizabeth Crowfoot, Frances Pritchard and Kay Staniland
Published HMSO 1992
copyright of the Board of Governors of the Museum of London
ISBN 0 11 290445 9
Price 29.95 pounds sterling
Most of the stuff is fourteenth century, though as the books title
says the range is from c.1150-c.1450
The book begins with details of sources and where the textiles were
found, then there is a short chapter on techniques used in textile
production. This has some very dodgy looking drawings of looms, there
seems to be no way to move the beaters on them, either They've missed
something or medieval looms were wierder than I thought.
Then the book goes into details on weaves and structures with chapters
on wool, goathair, linen, silk and mixed cloths.
The wool chapter even includes a couple of pages on knitting and one
on felt.
The chapter on silk is a masterpiece of deduction, by hunting around
ancient silks the authors have reproduced patterns of whole pieces of
cloth from tiny scraps and offcuts.
A whole chapter is devoted to narrow wares including tablet woven
braids, fingerloop braids, plaited braids, garters and hairnets.
This was my favourite, as I'm a tablet weaving freak, there was a good
description of a method of sewing braid onto edges by simultaneously
weaving and sewing, using the weft of the braid as the sewing thread.
I'm dying to find something to try this out on.
There is also a chapter on sewing with lots of detail on stuff like how
seams were sewn, how cloth buttons were made, how the buttonholes were
stitched, how to edge necks you name it, it's there. Anyone like me
who spends hours fiddling about with fiddle about with period details
that hardly anyone appreciates will love this section.
There is not so much on patterns of clothing as mostly the stuff found
was very fragmentary, but there are pictures of hoods and hose that
are complete enough to work out a pattern from. There is also a well
preserved buttoned sleeve which might interest someone with a
masochistic inclination to make buttonholes by the dozen!
The illustrations are great with lots of colour plates and close ups,
so you can see every detail of the textiles. The text puts everything
into context and cites just about every other relevant find there is.
This is definately not a beginners book, and it's quite expensive, but
if you're looking for something to add to a 14th century English
costume and you've run out of sources, this is the book for you.
I don't even do 14th century stuff and I got it anyway, I can never
resist a good book on textiles, maybe that's why I never have enough
money left over to buy the bookshelves I need to put them all on!
Jennifer
Vanaheim Vikings
From: Gregory Young <kyrke at MBnet.MB.CA>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFT : Inkle Looms and Yarn...
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 1994 18:41:14 -0600
Organization: The University of Manitoba
I read your message concerning yarns for an inkle loom. I have done a
lot of weaving, and some the materials that I use are: the cotton
knitting yarns - these are made from cotton fibres and do not matt like
the various wool and rayon/acrylic yarns; embroidery cotton, skeins,
perle No 8 and perle No.5; crochet cotton (which I really like for
weaving belts). There is also weaving yarn that is spun for people who
use frame looms. It comes in various weights and is available at weaving
and craft stores. Where I live (Winnipeg, Manitoba) there is a knitting
and weaving store that caters to the 4 harness loom people, they also
carry yarns for us inkle weavers. (I have even seen people use 'rat's
tail' cord in weaving, also butcher twine). I like to use my imagination
and experiment with as many different types of thread/yarn possible.
Hope this is of some use. Enjoy!
Mistress Hermina Matilda de Ainesleah of Meredene
(just call me Ainesleah)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFT : Inkle Looms and Yarn...
From: (ssgt miller m.s.)
Date: 21 Nov 94 16:56:12 CST
In message <3ahagh$sm3 at delphinium.cig.mot.com>, garvey at poohbear.cig.mot.com
(Heather L. Garvey) writes:
> I picked up an inkle loom at Pennsic and I've made a couple
>lengths of trim on it. I want to start getting serious, but I'm having
>a hard time find good material - smooth, not-too-thin 'yarn'.
I use 10/2 or 5/2 mercerized cotton for inkle projects. Any local yarn store
should be willing to order it for you.
They also should be able to give you a contact number for your local
weaving/spinning guild.
Martin
From: bridave at MCS.COM (Janice Skaggs)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Craft: Inkle Looms and Yarn..
Date: 20 Nov 1994 10:27:46 -0600
Organization: MCSNet Subscriber Account, Chicago's First Public-Access Internet!
Buy a cheap can of spray net, it washes out and keeps the thread from
"Mating" although you do get fuzz balls. See me at 12th night or call and
I'll give you some sources in Chicago for yarns and stuff. I also sell
looms and loom supplies to renies SCA people.
Bridget
(312) 262-8915
From: sapalmer at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Sharon A Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CRAFT : Inkle Looms and Yarn...
Date: 15 Dec 1994 19:37:26 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University
In article <97f_9412110453 at blkcat.fidonet.org>,
Sheri Stanley <Sheri.Stanley at p1.f1.n107.z180.fidonet.org>
quotes someone not identified:
> >> I picked up an inkle loom at Pennsic and I've made a couple
> >> lengths of trim on it. I want to start getting serious, but I'm having
> >> a hard time find good material - smooth, not-too-thin 'yarn'.
I usually use crochet cotton. It is strong and smooth, easily available
in many colors and is a nice weight for trim. I use a metallic gold
or silver in narrow stripes with it.
The colors are usually too bright, so I put in some darker warps also.
I put garb with this trim in the washer and dryer.
There is a store here in Columbus Ohio that sells 'seconds' balls that
got mashed or broke off at the factory at 20 cents an ounce.
Ranvaig
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: lhorvath at badlands.NoDak.edu (Lorine S Horvath)
Subject: tablet weaving patterns
Date: Fri, 26 May 1995 22:11:21 GMT
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network
The techniques of tablet weaving, by Peter Collingwood is a marvelous
source. He lists archaeological finds, and discusses their patterns and
how to achieve them, along with lots of other information.
Fiona ni Cai
From: vinwaluf2 at aol.com (VINWALUF2)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: tablet weaving patterns
Date: 31 May 1995 21:32:42 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Another book you may want to find is "Tablet Weaving" by Egon Hansen. (I
got my copy from Unicorn Textile Books). It's a bit of a bear to read, as
it was evidently (poorly) translated from the original Finnish, but the
bulk of the items he covers are from archaeological textiles.
Hope this is of help.
Gwennan ferch Gwydion O'Ddyved
Barony of AnCrosaire
Trimaris
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Scots Scholarship Needed
From: una at bregeuf.stonemarche.org (Honour Horne-Jaruk)
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 95 07:51:32 EDT
China <Laurie_kovaleski at ncsu.edu> writes:
> If this date is true, why was one of the punishments of the Jacobite
> Revolution, by the King of England, was to outlaw wearing of tartans.
> (Remember that the two main uprising were in the 1700's.)
Respected Friend:
Please note that the (incredibly nit-picky) wording of 18th cent.
laws did not, in that case, include either the word "clan" or any legally
equivalent phrase, and didn't even include "scottish" or any legally
equivalent modifier. The law just outlawed "tartan". All tartan. Any tartan.
Tartan was well known as THE Scots cloth long before any clan had been
pounded into the Sobieski's rather-too-small molds.
After Prince Charlie's unsuccsessful uprising, many "relics" from
the battlefields were lovingly preserved. It is interesting to note that
_not one_ of these relics matches _any_ Sobieski "Clan tartan". It is
also- at least to a weaver- interesting to note that some of them weren't
even twill weave. (To a weaver, that opens the possibility that parts of the
fighting force may have come from places where the ancient upright loom was
still in use. While it's possible to weave twill on an upright loom, it isn't
anything resembling easy.)
...Ain't science wunnerful?
Yours in service to the Society-
(Friend) Honour Horne-Jaruk R.S.F.
Alizaunde, Demoiselle de Bregeuf C.O.L. SCA
Una Wicca (That Pict)
From: deporodh at aol.com (Deporodh)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Scots Scholarship Needed
Date: 14 Jul 1995 00:19:06 -0400
bjm10 at cornell.edu (Bryan Maloney) writes:
> Clan tartans were invented after AD1800.
MODERN clan tartans were invented after 1800 CE. Roman descriptions of
many years before attempt to define the "checked" patterns you get when
you weave the same pattern in warp and weft.
Alizaunde, Demoiselle de Bregeuf, writes in response:
> Three factors:
> Weavers are creatures of habit. Plaids make this worse. Working with
>a horizontal stripe or a plaid, it's easy to tell how much you've woven at
>the end of the day; weavers like that. They also like having such an easy
>way to tell good work from bad...
>Cloth can't be dyed with plants that don't exist. Each area of
>Scotland is very much stuck with its native dyeplants, and thus with colors
>those dyeplants can produce. This means that each region has a set of
>"Common" colors which the experienced can peg evey time.
>Setting up a loom is a very wasteful process, and used to be more so.
>Nobody did it more often than was absolutely unavoidable. This means
>that a man ordering plaid for a group is going to have the same plaid for the
>whole group, so that the loom only gets dressed once, and the waste is
>minimized.
>Result: Each weaver has plaids he weaves, each region has colors it
>uses, each lord has his men dressed in the same plaid for long periods of
>time.
This fellow fiber-fan has reached my own conclusions and added a few fine
insights of her own (from experience, I suspect), thus cutting down my
need to point these things out.
From my readings 20 years ago on the subject, Scottish weavers before the
Acts of Proscription recorded their patterns on "sett sticks," which
displayed the thread colors and counts in order (an easy way to record the
quadrilaterally or bilaterally symmetrical patterns used). Since the very
weaving of tartan was prohibited by those acts for more than a generation
(enacted 1746, repealed 1782 or 83) and (like all other things in the
acts) made a transportable or hanging offense (only two strikes and you're
out!), such small items as little colored sticks were pretty thoroughly
lost. If *I* wanted to try to investigate pre-'45 tartan patterns AND had
a nice, juicy grant to support me, I'd spend a year or three talking to
the oldest families in the remote NC and TN and WV Appalachian hill
communities and just see whether any of g'g'g'g'g'-granny's old weaving
junk came this-a-way with her and survived in some fiber-traditional
family.
Mistress Deporodh of Rannoch, O.L., called Dis Stigandi
inactive
From: wildgoose at gateway.ecn.com (Keith Cunningham)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Family tartan
Date: 19 Jul 1995 17:44:06 -0700
Organization: West Coast Computer Products
A long series of modern myth repetitions concerning Tartans has again
surfaced.
Some of them are true, some are just myths, and some are outright saxon lies.
The saxons lies
1] that family tartans are a modern invention.
2] that sett sticks are lost
3] that you can't produce the same color from one year to the next or
that you can't produce a dyestock with out the right materials grown locally.
Gael truth
1] family and district tartans go back hundreds of years. The
registration and publication is a modern affectation.
2] Sett sticks are lost. There is a musuem in the Striling area that has
huge numbers of these sett sticks on display.
3] The was/is a thriving cross channel trade in dye stock.
I have heard these and others till I am sick of them and would just like
to drive a stick thru their heart before they rise from the dead again.
Slante'
Keith Cunningham
From: priest at vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Weaving and the SCA
Date: 11 May 1996 00:19:38 GMT
Organization: Vassar College
Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
Tamar the Gypsy (dickeney at access1.digex.net) wrote:
>>I was thinking more about what kind of looms are available, what they
>>cost, how to construct them, what yarns were available/period for use,
>>etc...
>
>Period yarns include wool. With a possibility of goat hair (Kashmir,
>other goat herding areas) and cow hair (I believe a pair of cow-hair socks
>were found, but they were needle-knotted rather than knitted or woven) and
>perhaps other animal hairs in isolated circumstances. IIRC the surviving
>woolen materials are fairly coarse -- the thinnest cloak found in an
>oak-tree burial was woven of the equivalent of modern knitted worsted.
That may be true for the Bronze Age hewn-oak coffin burials from
northern Europe, but it is definitely not true for wool textiles in the
centuries that most SCA personae inhabit. Many surviving woolen materials
from northern Europe in the so-called Dark Ages, for example, are
significantly finer than this suggests. Some sample thread counts from
Viking Age finds follow. For each pair of numbers, the first number
represents the number of warp threads per centimeter, the second the number
of weft threads per centimeter.
Birka 18x9, 30x16
Hedeby 33x18, 24x15
Jorvik 14x10, 14x11
Kaupang 36x15, 19x10, 15x11, 19x13
Oseberg 30x14, 27x23, 19x13
In order to weave any one of these particular wools, you'd have needed to
start with a singles warp yarn that is significantly thinner than 1mm in
diameter. Anything thicker than 1mm will yield you a warp thread count in
the single digits per centimeter.
Period yarns also included linen, hemp, silk, and even some ramie and cotton (in specific times and places).
One of these days I hope to find the time to web up a bunch of my
bibliographical materials on early period textiles. For now, contact me if
you need a reference for the above.
***************************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
priest at vassar.edu Frostahlid, Austrrik
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
***************************************************************************
From: wiltshir at sover.net (S. Wiltshire)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: New hobby- weaving
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 05:37:16 GMT
Organization: SoVerNet, Inc.
Lord Whoever wrote:
> I am considering learning a new skill, weaving (yes, everyone in my
> household, especially my lady, thinks I've finally lost it, but...). I
> don't plan on anything too elaborate, just some 24" wide tartan. The
> question is, where to get the loom (or plans to build it). I should be
> able to live with a simple fixed heddle loom,
Well, as you've already been informed, you'll need at least a 4
harness loom to do a proper tartan. Plans do exist, a source in
general of good textile books is Unicorn books in Petaluma California
1-800-BUY YARN, and I think they may have a book or two with
plans.
BUT... this is quite the undertaking, and you may care to hang out a
bit, or post a note over in rec.crafts.textiles.marketplace, that
you're looking for a cheap, used 4 harness loom. Also put word out
locally, in your papers, and check with any local weaving guilds. If
you need to find a local weaving guild, try picking Handwoven
magazine from a Barnes and Noble. They often keep listings. I have
stumbled onto many the cheap (and even free!) loom, often when not
really looking too hard, and most often in my own backyard.
Oh, and lastly, if you do hook up with a local weaving guild they may
even have a loom you can borrow! :-)
Good luck!
Sadia
From: foxd at ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu (Daniel Boyd Fox)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: New hobby- weaving
Date: 14 Jan 1997 06:06:22 GMT
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Mary Shafer <shafer at spdcc.com> wrote:
>In article <5bah62$hs2$3 at gryphon.phoenix.net>,
>Lord Whoever <deadpool at phoenix.net> wrote:
>>I am considering learning a new skill, weaving (yes, everyone in my
>>household, especially my lady, thinks I've finally lost it, but...). I
>>don't plan on anything too elaborate, just some 24" wide tartan. The
>>question is, where to get the loom (or plans to build it). I should be
>>able to live with a simple fixed heddle loom, but if I knew I probably
>>wouldn't be asking. I need to be able to do 24" by a minimum of 5
>>yards. Is there a good way to learn about this stuff?
>
>Pick up the latest issue of "Handweaving", put out by Interweave
>Press. Between the Interweave Press books and the ads in the
>magazine, you'll find everything you need to select a loom, buy or
>build one, find your threads, and weave your tartan.
>
>My local Waldenbook sells the magazine, so it's not hard to find.
>--
>Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer at ursa-major.spdcc.com
>URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html
Good plug except the magazine is called _Handwoven_. Their address is:
Interweave Press
201 East Fourth Street
Loveland, Colorado 80537
(800) 645-3675.
Ask for a catalog of books. I especially recommend _Learning to Weave_
by Deborah Chandler. It's a good, easly to follow guide for beginning
weavers.
Audelindis de Rheims
From: dalton at ea.net (Nancy Dalton)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: New hobby- weaving
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 13:06:21 GMT
deadpool at phoenix.net (Lord Whoever) wrote:
>I am considering learning a new skill, weaving
<snippage>
>Is there a good way to learn about this stuff?
Greetings,
At the risk of repeating other's good information here are my
twopence.
Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler is a good beginner's weaving
book that covers everything from planning to warping to weaving to
finishing. Unfortunately I have no recommendations for books on
weaving tartans, but they do exist and can probably be found either in
the library or a bookstore.
Guilds are good sources of information as has already been mentioned,
but there is also a weaving list. To subscribe send an email to
majordomo at quilt.net with subscribe weaving in the body of the email.
Until just recently Peter Collingwood was on the list and even though
he's taking a weaving break there are very knowledgeable and helpful
people still subscribed.
Nancy Dalton
ska Earnwynn van Zwaluwenburg
From: theducks at greenduck.com (Steve Urbach)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: New hobby- weaving
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 18:09:16 GMT
Organization: Green Duck Designs
foxd at ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu (Daniel Boyd Fox) wrote:
<snip>
>Good plug except the magazine is called _Handwoven_. Their address is:
>
>Interweave Press
>201 East Fourth Street
>Loveland, Colorado 80537
>
>(800) 645-3675.
You folks are giving us all the fun.
Green Duck Stocks the below mentiond book:
Stock No IP03 $21.95
>Ask for a catalog of books. I especially recommend _Learning to Weave_
>by Deborah Chandler. It's a good, easly to follow guide for beginning
>weavers.
>
>Audelindis de Rheims
Derek
_
| \ Steve Urbach
| )erek
____|_/ragonsclaw theducks at greenduck.com
/ / / http://www.greenduck.com
From: theducks at greenduck.com (Steve Urbach)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: New hobby- weaving
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 18:12:39 GMT
Organization: Green Duck Designs
dalton at ea.net (Nancy Dalton) wrote:
>deadpool at phoenix.net (Lord Whoever) wrote:
>>I am considering learning a new skill, weaving
><snippage>
>>Is there a good way to learn about this stuff?
>
>At the risk of repeating other's good information here are my
>twopence.
>
>Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler is a good beginner's weaving
>book that covers everything from planning to warping to weaving to
>finishing. Unfortunately I have no recommendations for books on
>weaving tartans, but they do exist and can probably be found either in
>the library or a bookstore.
The Green Duck here again: We have a book Published by Robin & Russ Handweavers
Scarlettt - Tartan weavers Guide (hb) 228 Designs $16.95 Stock code
SW078
Derek
_
| \ Steve Urbach
| )erek
____|_/ragonsclaw theducks at greenduck.com
/ / / http://www.greenduck.com
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hoerning grave (Danish ca 1000)
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 21:15:46 -0800
Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> Maggie Mulvaney <mulvanem at fp.co.nz> wrote:
> >
> >...According to the source it was a woman buried on
> >a cart, in an early Christian burial. The interesting thing is the
> >remains of her garment. All that remains is a rather wide band of
> >silverworked tabletwoven braid, which lies loose on her left side and
> >is wrapped around her right arm. ....
>
> Based on what I've read, I suspect the woman was wearing a common
> Germanic early-period garment sometimes called a "tube dress" or
> "Haengerock." This resembled (to some extent) a Greek peplos,
> and consisted of a tube of fabric (apparently fabric could be
> woven in a continuous tube on a warp-weighted loom, don't ask
> *me* how they did it), say four feet in length and maybe four
> or five feet in circumference.
Yes, it's possible-- double-cloth is, to my knowledge, a four-harness
structure, and would be extremely tiresome to execute on a warp-weighted
loom due to the vertical orientation of the warp together with the
typical lack of a reed. (For non-weavers, warp-weighted cloth is done
from the height of the weaver's reach down to the floor, pushing weft up
into the newly formed cloth). The Hallstadt graves have some stunning
twills done with multiple-shaft techniques-- see the cover of the
paperback edition of Professor Barber's "Prehistoric Textiles", for
example.
This is a threading draft for double-cloth, which assumes a pair of
selvedges along one side of the loom. To read the graph, I've used a *
for a spacer. This assumes a straight draw double-sleyed through the
reed (translation for non-weavers: two warp strings through each space
in the reed/beater of the horizontal loom, then threaded 1-2-3-4 in
sequential order through the heddles hanging from the shafts or
harnesses).
***B
**A*
*B**
A***
I believe you'd treadle 1&3, 2&4, 1&3, 2&4 etc., as you wove. A would be
the top layer, B is the lower layer; you'd have to make sure that you
caught the warp correctly along the fold edge before turning back. The
cloth would be formed in the shape of a sideways "U". So, harnesses or
shafts 1 and 3 weave one layer, harnesses or shafts 2 and 4 weave the
other.
<<more snippage>>
> Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
> Mists/Mists/West Albany, California
> PRO DEO ET REGE djheydt at uclink
And before someone gets the bright idea that weaving two separate
lengths of cloth warped on the loom simultaneously is practical with
either a new-fangled horizontal loom or a warp-weighted loom :) :
"I remember thinking how clever it would be to weave two sets of
placemats at one time, sone set on each layer. And while it would seem
as though I was weaving one, when it came off I'd really have two sets.
I thought about that for a little while, and I began to realize
potential problems. First, errors are more likely in the bottom layer
because you can't see it. Therefore, my bottom placemats mibht need a
lot of repair work. Then there's the matter of speed. While weaving
two sets off at once might seem efficient, the contant shuttle exchange
consumes more time than you might possibly save. Using one shuttle and
weaving off a warp twice as long would be faster. And finally, a warp
twice as long would have one set of loom waste*, whereas a double-weave
warp, with twice as many warp ends, would have twice the loom waste.
About that point in my pondering, I abandoned the idea of weaving off a
double-weave warp as two entirely separate layers, for placemats or
anything else."
Deborah Chandler, _Learning to Weave_, revised edition, Interweave
Press ISBN 1-883010-03-9
*loom waste is the inevitable parts of warp that cannot be woven due to
position of the warp on the loom. By its nature a warp-weighted loom has
less loom waste than a horizontal loom-- there's no restriction on the
position of the fell line (translation: where the actual cloth is formed
by the insertion of weft) due to presence of a reed. For example, my
loom has about 20" of loom waste, no matter how long my warp is, due to
the fact that I have to tie the warp to both the back beam and the cloth
beam. I have to start weaving at a particular point away from the
initial knots on the cloth beam, then there's only so far I can advance
the warp onto the cloth beam before running out of travel space. A
warp-weighted loom has weights tied to warp bundles instead of a back
beam.
I hope this explanation makes sense!
ciorstan
(by no means anything near an expert weaver...I like card weaving the
best right now!)
From: foxd at ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu (Daniel Boyd Fox)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hoerning grave (Danish ca 1000)
Date: 25 Jan 1997 00:45:56 GMT
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
If I remember correctly Margrethe Hald, in _Old Danish Textiles_ is of
the opinion that the Huldermose garment (The "bog dress" which is the
only extant tubular dress we have--haengarock's being _wrapped_ not
tubular) was not woven on a 4-harness loom (which didn't arrive in Europe
until much later) or a warp-weighted loom. It was woven on a special
type of loom with a tubular warp.
Geijer shows how these looms work in her _A History of Textile Art_.
Audelindis de Rheims
From: priest at vassar.edu (Carolyn Priest-Dorman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Weaving URLs
Date: 19 Feb 1997 21:04:20 GMT
Organization: Vassar College
Greeting from Thora Sharptooth!
Today I have posted two bibliographies on my website.
"Bibliography of Sources for Information on Period Tablet Weaves"
(http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/tweavebib.html) is an annotated
bibliography of print resources that deal with tablet weaving during
the period of the SCA.
"Just What Exactly is "Whyt Samyt" Anyway?"
(http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/textilebiblio.html) is an
annotated bibliography of technical information for handweavers on
divers weaves and setts of the Roman Empire, Middle Ages, and
Renaissance.
Both are available from my Textile Resources page,
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/textileres.html.
This notice has been posted to the Rialto and the East Kingdom
list; I will also be sending a separate notice to the CARDS e-list.
Please feel free to share this notice more widely.
*****************************************************************
Carolyn Priest-Dorman Thora Sharptooth
priest at vassar.edu Frostahlid, Austrriki
Gules, three square weaver's tablets in bend Or
*****************************************************************
From: Don Humberson <dhumbers at sunlink.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period looms and weaving?
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 22:48:27 -0500
Iain mac Griogair wrote:
> If any one as any information of period looms and weavings I would be
> appreciative. I would like to attempt to make a plaid.
Milord mac Grogair,
Any 4 shaft loom should allow you to weave plaids. The Scots' clan
tartans are basically plaids woven with the same design in the warp and
woof.
Go back far enough and the loom was a stick at the roof and a bunch of
weights tied to bundles of warp threads.
If you live close to the Manning's, or can get access to a modern
4-shaft loom some other way, try a simple 2/2 twill for a few feet. A
plaid or tartan needs multiple shuttles loaded with different colors,
and will go better if you are already making good even selveges and are
comfortable weaving a smooth twill.
If you would like citations for actual setts, books on weaving tartans,
or just general info on weaving, let me know.
Ragnar Ketilsson,
East, Aethelmearc, Endless Hills
Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 08:26:04 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Fraying
Irene leNoir wrote:
> Mel commented:
> > only very open weave linen behaves this way
>
> I have to disagree here. I have some very high threadcount fine linen garb that is slowly fraying itself apart at the seams. (made before I got my serger BTW.) The looser weaves will fray more quickly and obviously, but I've found that they will all fray over time.
And I will add that a fraying fabric is primarily caused by the way the
weft was inserted into the warp by the machine that wove the cloth.
Fiber composition is pretty much irrelevant most of the time. Even
loosely woven cottons, wools and silks will fray.
With a hand loom, the weaver pulls the reed, a slotted device, firmly
back towards the cloth to force the weft into the warp, which in
weaver's terminology is called 'beating' (or in the case of a two-beam
or warp-weighted loom, the weaver uses a fork-device, a tapestry beater
or a weaving sword to beat the weft into the warp). Literally. The
overwhelming majority of modern cloth is woven on high speed machines
that do not beat weft into the warp the way a hand loom would.
(Incidentally, see the trade-off for cheap, vast quanties of cloth? and
highly beaten cloth takes more raw goods, the thread to weave, meaning
more expense for the manufacturer...) The firmer the beat, the less of a
tendency for fraying and raveling.
All fabrics will ravel to some extent, unless there's been some
finishing applied to prevent it-- for example, wool cloths that have
been fulled or even partially felted. The trick is anticipating how that
cloth is going to behave, and head it off at the pass before it starts
to self-destruct.
ciorstan
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 00:35:32 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Looms & weaving
Miesje Devogel wrote:
> Does anyone have any references for constructing an authentic loom, or
> even for how to weave different patterns/ appropriate cloth?
>
> miesje
Grump, grump, grump. I had spent an hour composing this really cool
reply with links and fun stuff, but Netscape crashed. I'll try again.
*sigh*
Miesje, you're in Australia. I'm limited in my references to sites and
citations I've found here in the United States, nonetheless I hope this
will give you some pointers-- and I hope you won't find my reply too
ethno-centric on USA/Europe.
I haven't done a whole lot of active research into these topics, but I
am a web-wanderer and avid reader and have wended my way through
information you might find of interest.
Firstly, you have three very broad requests there, the last one is
relatively easy to give a link. Mistress Thora Sharptooth (Carolyn
Priest-Dorman) is a weaver interested in period fabric construction
(though admittedly primarily tablet weaving...). She's found at:
http://www.vassar.edu/~capriest/
and her textile bibliographies are very extensive!!
Interweave Press has a book called A Weaver's Book of Eight Shaft
Weaving Patterns, ISBN 0-934026-67-, edited by Carol Strickler, that
contains a lot of undocumented-though-conjecturally-period drafts and
drawdowns for gorgeous twills, perfect for the Society handweaver. Check
out samples 270 and 271!!
Your second request involves information on building a loom. If you've
been reading the discussion earlier on warp-weighted looms vs.
horizontal looms, primarily you want to decide what kind of fabric you
want as an end product.
With respect to constructing a warp-weighted loom, a good illustration
of a simple warp-weighted loom in business is located at Master Gerekr's
page:
http://www.users.aol.com/gerekr/costume/html#warp
and another, encyclopedic page (Ullarbladid) showing several pictures of
more elaborate warp-weighted looms with explanatory parts listed in
Icelandic and English at:
http://www.dmv.com/~iceland/vefstadur/vefstadur.html
a weaver's source page is maintained by Ruthe Stowe at:
http://home.netinc.ca/~rstowe/weave.html
with links to Ullarbladid, Robin and Russ, Halcyon and many more sources
of yarns, entire pre-made looms and parts. This cryptic remark will make
sense in a moment. While we're on the subject o warp-wieighted looms, a
Navaho-style loom could be easily modified to a warp-weighted loom by
omitting the lower apron rod. I mention this as my late step-mother, a
professional weaver by trade, built herself a big one out of metal
plumbing pipe and lumber, on which she wove (amongst other things) an
incredible 5' by 8' tapestry of hand-spun and -dyed wool.
I do not have a handy link showing a 'modern' floor loom with all the
parts labelled, alas, so if my following answer is too technical, let me
know and I'll gladly translate.
I am not a particularly experienced weaver, however I've enough that I
have already formed definite opinions about what I want in a horizontal
loom-- and what I don't want. Building a horizontal loom would be a
more massive undertaking than a warp-weighted loom due to the simple
fact that as a piece of machinery, it is a more complicated device than
the warp-weighted loom. At a minimum, the hard parts to construct would
be the pulley system in the castle, foot pedals, shafts and
heddle-races, and the reed-- which parts are crucial to the operation of
a horizontal loom and to some extent, define the horizontal loom. At a
minimum one needs two shafts/harnesses to form a shed (that's the
opening in the warp threads used to insert the weft, thus forming fabric
at a point called the fell line). I've seen commercial looms advertized
for 2-, 4-, 8-, 12-, 16- and even 24-shafts/harnesses. Mine own loom
hath eight-- and ten pedals (this allows one to tie up plain cloth, or
tabby, in addition to an eight-shaft draw-down, or in the alternative, a
ten-shaft pattern and no tabby. I digress.) and it weaves 21" cloth. *I*
think it's perfect, for now. :)
Then there's the reed. On a commercially-made horizontal loom, the reed
is the metal dingus that beats the weft into the shed. It also serves as
an alignment device for the warp as it travels from the back beam,
throught the heddles to the fell line. In period it was constructed out
of, well, reeds, which I presume were probably the same reeds used in
period corsetry, called bents. In the eastern United States it is
possible to luck out and buy a barn with the ancient barn loom still
contained therein (usually in questionable condition)-- and its reed, or
find a barn loom for sale as an antique. I have personally never
examined an antique reed, so I cannot comment with any authority theron,
other than to say that I once read an article by a production weaver who
did use a barn loom with antique reed to weave American
Revolutionary-style cloth; she preferred the vegetable reed for this
type of cloth over a modern steel reed for reasons I don't remember at
this point other than the recollection that her reasoning made perfect
sense at the time.
Robin and Russ Handweavers, Inc., sell loom parts.
I personally have two stainless steel reeds for my loom (no rust!), 6-
and 12-dents to the inch, and I'm currently lusting after a 10- or
20-dent as I really want to weave some fine linen, like 40 or 60 ppi.
Eventually. :) My current project is a wool/silk blend that after one
inch of weaving has already suffered two broken warps out of 199 total;
the yarn is relatively hairy and is hanging up in the heddles and reed.
This goes back to my earlier comment on knowing what you want to produce
as a final product-- a warp-weighted loom would be easier on wool due to
its lack of reed and string heddles; bast and cotton are easier on a
horizontal loom. My silk/wool is double sleyed 24 picks per inch in a
12-dent reed, which is easier on wool warp, but...
At any rate, I need to get to bed, so I will stop yacking! I hope this
helps, though it's very general, as I said.
ciorstan
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 11:45:42 -0500
From: Wendy Robertson <wcrobert at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: 16C Irish Looms & Leine
There is an interesting article about early Christian Irish loom widths.
This is much earlier than the 16th century, but I thought it might be of
interest anyway.
Hodkinson, Brian. "A reappraisal of the archaeological evidence for weaving
in Ireland in the early Christian period." Ulster journal of archaeology,
3rd ser., v.50 (1987):47-53.
The article states that there is a noticeable lack of looms weights from
Ireland, so the warp weighted loom was probably not heavily used. "The 120
sites which are included in this survey (and which probably represent over
90% of the settlement sites published up to and including 1985) have
produced a miximum of 20 loom weights." (p.47)
Instead of warp weighted looms, the author suggests two beam vertical looms
were used (introduced from Romans) and backstrap looms were used.
Backstrap looms would produce a very narrow cloth. "There are few
surviving Early Christian textiles with both selvedges; the only examples
known to the writer are single pieces from Lagore and Balinderry 2, both of
which are narrow, with widths of 34.5 cms (13 1/2 inches) and 25 cms (10
inches) respectively. . . . The simple tabby weaves of the Lagore textiles
are perfectly possible on this type of loom" (p.48)
The author suggests that later use of narrow cloth in Irish garments may
come from this weaving tradition.
Ailene nic Aedain
Shire of Shadowdale, Calontir
wcrobert at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 10:07:38 -0600 (CST)
From: "Donna Holsten" <holsten at nature.Berkeley.EDU>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: RE: inkle weaving & warp faced band weaving
I remembered to look at my books last night! I found a bunch of examples of
garters, belts, and otherwise unidentified tapes, in _Textiles_, some
costume/textile books I have, as well as in several jewelery books my
husband has. (They have close-up pictures of buckles, many of which still
have some fabric attached.) The items ranged from early AD to 16th Century.
(Just to make sure we're working from the same vocabulary, because a couple
times I've gotten the feeling that maybe we aren't quite, <G> "tabby"
simply means over-one, under-one. It's a weave structure, not necessarily
an end result. Tabby can be "weft-faced", like in tapestry, or 50/50, or
"warp-faced", or anywhere in between. _Textiles_ uses the term "tabby" to
differentiate the items from "cardwoven" or otherwise produced--not
necessarily as a description of how the piece ends up looking.)
All the pictures of *patterned* items (except the tapestry-woven
Coptic/Byzantine strips) look to be card-woven. In fact, the only
non-card-woven tapes/belts/garters I saw were in _Textiles_ and a
Viking (?) belt that was leather with a loose 50/50 tabby silk over
the leather.
There are a couple pieces in _Textiles_ that are 50/50 tabby silk
strips--but I'm not really sure if they're tapes, or strips cut from a
larger piece of fabric. The pieces shown on page 142 are warp-faced.
In fact, if you look at the chart on page 141, the tapes they found
range from (threads per cm, warp/weft) a 30/30 evenweave to a 48/13
*very* warp-faced fabric.
While it is possible to do elaborate finger-manipulated weaves based on a
rigid-heddle tabby, you're right in that it's a bit easier to do it with
card-weaving. (Which, I imagine, is why most/all the extant pieces with
elaborate patterning are card-woven... That, and the fact that you get a
somewhat sturdier fabric.) _Textiles_ says that the examples
they have seem to be of all one color, although "similar silk ribbons
stitched to vestments show that many were made with multi-colored stripes."
(Page 142) And then, on page 144, it talks about garters made with "a long
warp...set up on a narrow band loom", one of which has red and black
stripes, in a slightly-more-complicated-than-tabby weave. (I can't tell
from the picture, though, whether it's 50/50 or warp-faced.)
I think, as a safe general statement, if an item was to be very patterned,
or used as a belt, it would have been card-woven. 50/50 *and* warp-faced
tabby strips were used as facings, garters, trim, or maybe tie-ribbons.
Most of the tabby strips would have been monocolor, but some were striped or
patterned.
> ...I was wondering if there was any evidence for bands of the type that could
> be made on an inkle loom. It would be nice to be able to say that such
> weaving was actually period.
I would certainly say, yes, used for the appropriate purpose, it was.
(The finished product is, even if the loom used maybe isn't... <G>)
And, something I have to keep reminding myself, is that even though
_Textiles_ is exhaustive and a wonderful resource, it only covers London
from about 1100-1400. It doesn't even *touch* other times or places.
Actually, IMHO the *biggest* problem I see with most of the inkle/card
weaving people do, is that the yarn is *way* too coarse and/or
overplied. Now, granted, for the first few projects people
aren't exactly going to be able to use embroidery thread or reeled silk,
but a heavy crochet-cotton cord just doesn't quite give the right
results. ;-) If you look at the chart in _Textiles_ on page 141, the
coarsest tabby-woven braid they have is 28/12 warp/weft threads *per
centimeter*. (And that also happens to be the only wool tape listed.)
Which means about 70/30 threads *per inch*. Quite frankly, if you
manage to inkle-weave a tape that fine, probably less than one percent
of the people who see it are even going to be able to tell whether it
was inkle- or card-woven! ;-)
I hope this helped a little...
Joanna Melissa Ronsivalle
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 1997 08:37:31 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Inkle Weaving
Laurie Luczyk wrote:
> I have been inkle weaving for a while now and have a question on the
> best methods to finish the ends after a piece is removed from the loom.
> Currently I am just braiding the fringe, but am very unhappy with the
> way it looks. Also, if I decide to us it as trim this method will not
> work.
>
> Any suggestions/comments?
> -Lady Anisah Sahar
I tend to think that a finishing method I would recommend for use as
fabric trim would be dependent on what fiber you're using in your inkle
bands. Is it wool? Cotton? Linen? Slippery silk? How thick is the band
(which is not to say, how wide or long...)?
As an example, my one and only inkle length to date is of fairly thick
wool (tablet weaving appeals more to my sensibilities... personal
preference. Besides, the design possibilities are greater! ;) ). I
haven't bothered finishing the long ends yet as it doesn't seem to have
any raveling going on. If I were to use it for trim (leine bands for
sleeves seem to be its destination), then I'd hand stitch the long edges
on, I'd knot the band's raw edge off using a lot of little knots to
avoid bulk, carefully turn under the raw edge of the band, perhaps give
it a light glob of Fray Check where no sins would be seen between the
fabric and the band and hand-stitch the opening shut. Some variation of
this idea would most likely work.
ciorstan
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 11:42:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Charles J. Cohen" <charles at eecs.umich.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Inkle Weaving
>From a friend of mine - Midair
From: TLBougher at aol.com
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 11:18:39 -0400 (EDT)
<< I have been inkle weaving for a while now and have a question on the best
methods to finish the ends after a piece is removed from the loom. Currently
I am just braiding the fringe, but am very unhappy with the way it looks.
Also, if I decide to us it as trim this method will not work.
Macrame is an option for finishing ends when using as a belt.
If the inkle is to be used as trim, there is no need to finish the ends at
all (unless you just want to prevent unraveling in storage -- in which case,
you might just tie the loose warp threads into a knot or run the ends of the
woven section through the sewing machine).
Another option for finishing the end of the woven section is to cut the weft
about a foot from the finished piece. Place a tapestry needle onto the weft
and thread the weft back through the last three picks of weaving. Doing this
at the beginning of the weaving is a good idea as well. This will secure the
weaving and prevent unraveling. I learned this trick from Mistress Alexis.
Either of us could demonstrate it for you if my explanation is insufficient.
Anne Marie de Garmeaulx
(avid inkle weaver)
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 12:50:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: SNSpies at aol.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Inkle Weaving
Remember that with tabletwoven bands, you just do not have the problem of
fraying at the ends. The weft might loosen for a row or two, but you won't
lose the whole weave. Just tucking under the cut ends and sewing it all down
will hold everything nicely.
Nancy (Ingvild)
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 14:12:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: SNSpies at aol.com
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Inkle Weaving
<< I have been inkle weaving for a while now and have a question on the
best methods to finish the ends after a piece is removed from the loom. >>
I can tell you how at least tabletwoven bands historically were finished, if
that helps.
If used as belts or cingulums, they were either left fringed, sometimes with
another small band across the end to cover the space where the weaving ends
and the fringe begins, or the end warp threads could be knotted and/or
tasseled. I actually don't remember seeing any braided bands, but then I've
only really looked at tabletwoven bands. If sewn to another textile, then
the ends were turned under and the whole band sewn down.
Nancy (Ingvild)
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 07:25:27 +0930
From: "Melinda Shoop" <mediknit at nwinfo.net>
To: <sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: Re: Inkle Weaving
Greeting, good lady! I was browsing last night on the web and found a site
which describes (and has a photo of) a pretty method of finishing ends of
tablet and inkle weaving with small beads. the site is
http://www.mtsu.edu.kgregg/SCA/cards/finish.html
I hope this helps.
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 10:25:34 -0500
From: caroline at netusa1.net (mystarwin/Moira)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Warp Dress for fine singles wool
>One of the things that's obvious, to my eye, when looking at photographs
>of migration era wool fabrics (usually a four-harness twill type woven
>from singles), is the quality and evenness of the spinning. The person
>who spun the wool consistently knew what the end result was going to be
>and selected her wool accordingly for the cloth she had in mind. The
>wool was then processed with a consistency I, as a fairly new spinner,
>can at this point only envy.
>ciorstan
>(who has had to replace about twelve selvedge threads in her current
>project due to shredding from the reed-- and will try the beeswax trick
>suggested when she gets back to the loom tomorrow morning)
The beeswax does work.... you may try taking some very fine (0000) steel
wool to the reed, and then waxing it.... my reed needs replacing, it's too
rusty to use right now...
Moira Breabadair, MoAS
Shire of Narrental
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 09:01:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Catherine Harper <tylik at eskimo.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Warp Dress for fine singles wool
A bit ago I experimented with using flax seed lotion to shore up some hand
spun singles that weren't quite holding up to the beating I was putting
them through. It seemed to work fairly well. (No, I don't know if this
is a period method -- I just had a lot of flax seeds on hand.)
To produce flax seed lotion, put two tablespoons of flax seeds in a cup of
water, and simmer until about the consistency of egg whites. You can
apply it with a sponge -- or even spin it in. (I used to use it when
spinning flax, mostly because it was a little easier on my hands.) It
washes right out.
Catherine
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 19:23:45 GMT
From: mmy at fp.co.nz (Maggie.Mulvaney)
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Warp Dress for fine singles wool
>A bit ago I experimented with using flax seed lotion to shore up some hand
>spun singles that weren't quite holding up to the beating I was putting
>them through. It seemed to work fairly well. (No, I don't know if this
>is a period method -- I just had a lot of flax seeds on hand.)
I've rattled on about this before; but when I translated the article
about the Viborg shirt, the author speculated over the sheer mass of
linseed found in scandinavian archaeological digs. She suggested
(purely as an aside) that perhaps linseed oil was produced as much as
linen - both for eating and other purposes. Since then I've
experimented with weaving on the warp-weighted loom, and applying
linseed oil to the weaving helped no end with the problem of the
sticky shed. It also changed the hand of the fabric - even when
washed.
/mmy
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 13:52:34 -0800
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Warp Dress for fine singles wool
>>I made some tartan scarves last year with larger singles and ran into huge
>>problems with that until I dressed it. They clung to each other, I couldn't
>>get a good shed-worse than mohair. When I advanced the warp, they would grab
>>each other and pull their neighbors through the wrong heddle eyes, and snapped
>>all over the place, What a mess, had to start over. I'm wanting to avoid the
>>same problems.
You might also want to check your heddle positions in the shafts. If
they are out of alignment (i.e., the eyes don't face a consistent
direction in the same shaft) then they will tend to aggravate
advancement of the warp by drag. I spent one evening going through 8 x
90 steel heddles (on rusty heddle bars, ick!), marking every tenth one
with bright pink for easy counting, and making sure that every last
blasted one was facing the same direction. I was thoroughly tired of
having to count each shaft's heddles for centering every time I
threaded-- now I only have one number to remember (90, eventually 100
heddles per shaft) and since they're consistently marked by tens, I can
count 'em by pink flashes instead of one by one.
ciorstan
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 18:52:09 -0700
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Tablet Weaving to edge garments [SCA]
Gwen Morse wrote:
*snip*
> I didn't realize what they meant at first, until I read through Candace
> Crockett's book a second time. It mentions that tablet weaving was used to
> attach the warp threads for some sort of weaving technique (not a weaver,
> and don't have the book in front of me...maybe warp-weighted looms?).
Yes. A common way to prepare a warp for a warp-weighted loom was to
execute a tablet-woven band with either an extended fringe on one side,
which, voila, magically turned into warp when 'stitched' to the cloth
beam of a w-w loom, or interlock a supplementary warp into one side of
the band's weft as one wove the header/tablet-woven band.
If you can get a hand on Marta Hoffman's "Warp Weighted Loom", there are
pictures scattered throughout of the Tegle Find, which, amongst other
things, shows a tablet-woven warp prepared in this fashion. The Tegle
warp find apparently was deposited exactly at the point where the
weaver's next step would have been to attach the band to the top of the
loom. The warp has been divided into two sheds by that favorite weaver's
knot-to-hold-tangled-messes, the overhand.
> I was considering how to add fringes to tablet woven bands when I
> "realized" how this would be done. What I'm curious about is this...
>
> What was the purpose of going to all the trouble of weaving a tablet-woven
> band just to use it to weave a whole length of cloth? Were these bands
> woven simply (simple = without ornamentation) in order to get on with the
> weaving, or, would they be decorated in their own right? Was this a
> "weakness" of this specific type of loom...that it needed a guide for the
> warp threads to be strung through?
All of your purposes, except for decorative function-- and that could be
done, too, on very high-end luxury cloths (if memory serves, NESAT II
discusses a decorated band that was stitched onto a cloth post-weaving).
> If bands of cloth were narrower than they are today, does that mean that
> the tablet weaving would end up a vertical line somewhere on the garment? I
> assumed even if if was used as edging it would be turned sideways. But,
> people keep mentioning the smaller widths of woven fabric. Or, was this the
> type of loom that allowed wider widths?
The tablet-woven header band would be one selvedge; one could also carry
a pack of cards down either side of one's warp-weighted weaving project
to make firm, long-wearing selveges down the sides of one's cloth, and
then finish the bottom edge by tablet-weaving across, using the cloth's
warp as tablet-woven weft, and fringing off the short ends of the
warp/tablet weft at the very end. Thorsberg Prachtmantel I was made this
way.
If I were attempting this on a warp-weighted loom, I'd have each shed on
its own separate weights, and the decks of cards on either side on their
own weights, too.
> Would they be woven out of the same "thread" the cloth was woven out of
> (would linen bands be the warp guide for linen cloth and wool bands the
> warp guide for wool cloth)?
I think it's safe to say 'yes'.
> I *still* don't have access to "Ancient Danish Textiles" (which apparently
> has a whole chapter dedicated to this sort of info), although the
> librarians assure me they put the ILL request through properly this time.
> So, any information would be appreciated in the meantime!
I got Cal State Fullerton's copy of Hald from my local library via ILL
day before yesterday. ;) I read it Saturday night for dessert, and I'm
back for snacking already.
> This is really more of a generic weaving than tablet-weaving set of
> question, which is why I ask here instead of on CARDS-L. Oh, yes, and I
> realize there's the whole "No extant examples of clothing from 5th century
> Ireland". I'm speaking more in generalities right now, of when tablet
> weaving would be an integral part of the weaving process. I'm sure it's the
> same the world over, once people understand what I'm trying to ask (unless,
> of course, it ISN'T the same, which is just as possible).
>
> Gwen Morse
Well, that I'll leave up to you and your level of comfort/discomfort
when faced with an absence of concrete evidence either way. ;) Using
tablet-woven header bands was pretty much SOP for warp-weighted loom
dressing, and even the two ladies who dressed a warp-weighted loom and
wove a blanket for the benefit of Marta Hoffman in the (um) fifties
(from knowledge passed down in generations of their family) used a
header band made with a rigid heddle. I can assert with some confidence
that starting off a warp-weighted loom textile with some type of narrow
band and extended fringe that turned into warp is a technique used for a
Very Long Time all across northern Europe. I do not know when
tablet-woven header bands turned into heddle-woven bands, though, and
early period textiles are, to my knowledge, made universally with
tablet-woven headers rather than rigid-heddle (tabby) headers. There's
even an example of a sprang cap made with a tablet-woven band with a
weft fringe that turned into the sprang body of the cap (Crockett has a
reproduction of one towards the back of the book; check out Barber's
"Prehistoric Textiles" for the actual find, plus Hald, once you lay
hands on it). And, there's a theory out there that the neat looking
longish cap thingies with, sometimes a tassel, shown so commonly on
women's heads on Greek vases are really sprang.
ciorstan
Subject: Re: Card Weaving
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 10:24:45 EST
From: SNSpies at aol.com
To: stefan at texas.net
Hello, Stefan.
<< Could you send me the list again by email? >>
Certainly. It would be my pleasure. Actually, I had found one error, so this
will be a corrected list. Your Florilegium site is a goldmine of wonderful
stuff, by the way. I hope that others will enjoy this list of suppliers as
much as our tablet weavers have. Sometimes it's really difficult to find good
sources for fine silks or appropriate metallic threads when all you know
about is JoAnns, so I am very pleased to be able to help. Thanks for asking!
Ingvild
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SUGGESTED LIST OF SUPPLIERS
1. Aurora Silk, 5806 North Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 (503)
286-4149 - silk threads
2. BeggarÕs Lace, P.O. Box 481223, Denver, CO 80248 (303) 722-5557
lacelady at rmii.com - silk, linen, cotton threads
3. Bob Patterson, P.O. Box 424, Orinda, CA 94563 (925) 943-5243 - silk,
linen, and cotton threads
4. Books in Transit, 2830 Case Way, Turlock, CA 95382 (209) 632-6984 -
out-of-print books
5. Carolina Homespun, 190 Eastridge Rd., Ridgeway, VA 24148 (800) 450-7786
homespun at kimbanet.com - tablets, shuttles, belt tablet-weaving holder, looms, warping pegs, books
6. Daisy Chain, P.O. Box 1258, Parkersburg, WV 26102 (304) 428-9500 -
silk, metallic, real gold and silver threads
7. Earth Guild, 33 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC 28801 (800) 327-8448
inform at earthguild.com or catalog.earthguild.com - square cardboard
tablets, belt shuttles, books, linen, cotton, and wool threads
8. Fiber Hut, 2316 Crestwood Rd., SE, Calgary, Alberta T2C 0C6 Canada
(403) 279-2658 - square cardboard tablets, books, silk, linen, cotton, and wool threads
9. Fibrecrafts, Style Cottage, Lower Eashing, Godalming, Surrey GU7 2QD
England (48) 342-1853) - square cardboard tablets, warping pegs with clamps, shuttles, books
10. Halcyon Yarns, 12 School Street, Bath, ME 04530 (800) 341-0282 -
square cardboard tablets, warping pegs, books, silk, linen, cotton, wool, and metallic threads
11. Handweavers Studio and Gallery, 29 Haroldstone Road, London E17 7AN
England (81) 521-2281 - square and hexagonal cardboard tablets, warping
pegs with clamps, shuttles, silk, linen, cotton, wool, and metallic threads
12. Hedgehog Handworks, P.O. Box 45384, Westchester, CA 90045 (888)
670-6040 - silk, linen, cotton, metallic threads
13. Linda Hendrickson, 140 SE 39th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214 (503)
239-5016 lindahendrickson at cnnw.net - square cardboard tablets, shuttles, kits, books, video
14. Heritage Looms, Route 6, Box 731-E, Alvin, TX 77511 (409) 925-4161 -
tabletop looms, square cardboard tablets
15. Frank Herring & Sons, 27 High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1UP
England (30) 524-4449 - square plastic tablets, warping pegs with clamps, shuttles
16. HowellÕs Weaving Emporium, 4832 Salmon Drive, Paradise, CA 95969 (503)
877-4539 - tabletop looms, shuttles
17. Klotz Country Crafts, 908 E. Eloika Rd., Deer Park, WA 99006 (888)
447-7675 - card weaverÕs surf-board loom
18 LACIS, 3163 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 (510) 843-7178
staff at lacis.com - silk, linen, cotton, and metallic threads, including Gtermann silks and color card
19 Lout, P.O. Box 267, Ogdensburg, NY 13669 (613) 925-4502 - square wooden
tablets
20. Laura Morgan, 1633 Stoney Creek Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22902 (804)
984-0537 - handmade wooden tablets
21. Needle Arts, Inc., 2211 Monroe, Dearborn, MI 48124 (313) 278-6266 -
silk, linen, cotton, metallic, real gold threads
22. Nordic Needle, 1314 Gateway Drive, Fargo, ND 58103 (800) 433-4321
needle at corpcomm.com - silk, cotton, and metallic threads
23. Bob Patterson, P.O. Box 424, Orinda, CA 94563 (925) 943-5243
Bob at threadshop.com, www.threadshop.com - silk, linen, cotton threads
24. Robin and Russ Handweavers, 533 North Adams Street, McMinnville, OR
97128 (800) 932-8391 robin&russ at onlinemac.com - square and hexagonal
cardboard tablets. shuttles, books, videos
25. The Silk Tree, 20297 Stanton Ave., Maple Ridge, BC V2X 9A5 Canada
(604)465-9816 aurum at axionet.com - silk threads
26. Otfried Staudigel, Hppnerstrasse 108, D - 47809 Krefeld, Germany -
floor-standing looms
27. Textile Reproductions, Box 48, West Chesterfield, MA 01084 (413)
296-4437 - silk, linen, cotton, and wool threads (early vegetable dyes used)
28. Things Japanese, 9805 NE 116th Street, Suite 7160, Kirkland, WA 98034
(206) 821-2287 - silk and metallic threads
29. Treenway Crafts, 725 Caledonia Avenue, Victoria, BC V8T 1E4 Canada
(604) 383-1661 treenway at coastnet.com - silk threads
30. Unicorn Books and Crafts, 1338 Ross Street, Petaluma, CA 94954 (800)
289-9276 - square cardboard tablets, belt shuttles, belt tablet weaving holder, books, videos
31. The Weaving Works, 4717 Brooklyn Ave., NE, Seattle, WA 98105 (206)
524-1221 - square cardboard tablets, shuttles, warping pegs, belt tablet
weaving holder, books, videos
32. WEBS, P.O. Box 147, Northampton, MA 01061-0147 (413) 584-2225
webs at yarn.com - silk threads
33. Yarn Barn, P.O. Box 334, Lawrence, KS 66044 (800) 468-0035 - square
cardboard tablets, shuttles, warping pegs, books
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 07:23:55 -0400
From: Honour Horne-Jaruk <honour at banet.net>
Organization: Maison Rive Historic Clothing
To: Lissa McCollum <lissamc at primenet.com>
Subject: Re: a question for the weavers
Lissa McCollum wrote:
> I have a question for the weavers in the group...
>
> I found a Pendleton 4 heddle 40" floor loom at a
> garage sale today, that seems to be in quite good
> shape. For $20 (don't hurt me) I wasn't going to
> pass it up, even though I know next to nothing
> (yet) about weaving.
>
> So...what are some good basic introduction to
> weaving texts? And what are some good historical
> research books on weaving to keep my eyes out for?
> Are there any web sites I should know about?
>
> Gwendolen Wold
Respected friend:
Get a copy of _Warping all by Yourself_, by Cay Garrett.
ISBN 0-930670-01-9, it's available from Interweave Press. I have no idea
if the technique is period, but it really does make it possible for you
to put a smooth, even-tensioned warp on the loom all alone.
--
Honour Horne-Jaruk
Maison Rive Historic Clothing
Subject: ANST - Weavers
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 13:48:11 MST
From: "Russell Husted" <husted at hotmail.com>
To: ansteorra at ansteorra.org
Here is an absolutely wonderful site on beduin weaving.
http://www.beduinweaving.com/toc.htm
mahee
<the end>