Quick post showing progress of work on the loom for the weaving But The Suiters Do Not Suit Her.
Try and remember to keep a visual record of all your work whenever possible, including some of the work in progress. It helps to put what you have achieved on the loom into perspective by reminding you of the time frame involved and the technical choices made. It keeps a record of the process and design involved in the making of that particular piece, what worked well, what challenged you, what made the piece relevant to you and the rest of your work as a whole.
I so wish I could figure this out. Coming up soon is the fiber festival here and I'm going to do my best to find a class. This is fabulous and I love the up close shot so I can see the texture.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful work! Are you weaving on doubled-up warp threads?
ReplyDeleteThis was woven using a beautiful flat cotton, sort of ribbon-like. I only have one cone of it so it must have been a magpie treat. It was divine to use.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that may be worth a look at is that if you look close enough you will be able to see where my vertical joins are joined as I weave and not sewn up with a needle and matching thread. I have always found it works better for me to join the slits every few rows by crossing the wefts as I weave up. What way are you taught to deal with these vertical joins, just by way of interest?
Oh, is *that* how you join the slits? We're taught to sew them in with needle and thread. I will definitely have to experiment with your method ... sounds less time-consuming ;)
DeleteI thought so. Well I think that is how most tapestry weavers go about it. Probably the traditional/historically correct way.
ReplyDeleteHowever for me the thought of chopping a piece off the warp at the end of weaving and then having to set about sewing up all the slits gives me the sighs just thinking about it. It really is worth having a play with. You are more than able on the loom to get the gist of it. I guess its just something I did automatically being self taught. However if your course stipulates a particular technique it would probably be wise to make sure you experiment on non-course material or find out if you can do it a different way. I would hate to encourage something that is not kosher. Like I said there is a right way, a wrong way and just another way to get the job done.
If you are going to have a play with the idea, I find that using the weft that goes UNDER the warp is the best one to use for grabbing. (ie. where the 2 wefts join at the slit, the weft that goes under the warp on its way back is the one that is that is best at keeping things secure and almost completely undetectable.
Some times I have both wefts meeting and going back over the top of each warp, sometimes both go under, and sometimes one goes under and one goes over.
I find this way less time consuming and an extremely secure way to join vertical lines in a weaving. Like I said please check with your course providers as they probably have a traditional or technical
reason for sewing up afterwards, rather than weaving the joins in. Be interested in any feedback Michelle.
I think I have read recently about how to do that interlocking weaving so you don't have to sew up the slits. I HATE sewing the slits. I have tried doing it as I go (many needles hanging and tangling) and after finishing (I did it after cutting it off the loom but have since been told to do it before cutting it off). I don't really like either way! But sometimes the interlocking just doesn't look right. Still, it is interesting to come across your discussion of ways to do things.
ReplyDeleteI recently was talking to my teacher (I did two semesters at RMIT (they don't teach it anymore) and said I had 'cheated' with a part of my weaving and was told that there is no 'cheating', there is just what works for you.
Other than my first couple of attempts (which I know I did sew up), I've never woven tapestry any other way. I think from memory that once I had done half a dozen tapestries joining as I wove, it became a bit of a no brainer for me. I liked the way the joins became an integral part of the whole.
ReplyDeleteI jumped straight from weaving kilim-type rugs into tapestry weaving. Crossing the joins was probably my way of differentiating between the two different techniques.