Color and Shadow

When this journey began, the plan was for three wraps. You can read the first post HERE, and the second post HERE, and the third one HERE. When these wraps were complete, the box was not empty, so the journey continues.

When you sit down to your loom, you are the artist the dressed loom is the canvas and the weft yarn you choose is your paint. There are so many different types of materials and with so many design weav-abilities and combinations, it can be overwhelming. This project let me focus on creating many different patterns with the same materials.

You can get the Hippie Galazie Weaving Works Kit HERE.

A new warp:
Single ends of Maurice Brassard 8/2 cotton in black
12 dent heddle
80” warp
Width in heddle 15”

Weft:
8/2 doubled
Lola Bobble Box in Hippie Galazie all colors

Additional texture using black mohair (Zitron Extra Klasse) wound with one strand of 8/2 cotton on an additional shuttle.

This photo shows the beginning textural section. Using a measuring string pattern with every 10” marked helped me keep track of my spacing.

This project is using the colors in the Bobbel Box that are left from the first three projects. This example is to give you an idea for using the remaining yarn. The amount of yarn that you will have left greatly depends on the way that you weave and the width and length of the warps that you have already put on your loom.

This is just off the loom before wet finished to give you an idea of the color placement and texture sections. As you can see I was a little more generous with my colors at the beginning of the warp (the first colors are the yellow/orange group).

When I started weaving there was really no color pattern, also, I had more yarn in some colors. As I was winding shuttles I separated them into groups, I saw a fire section, rainbow section, an ocean and ocean sun section. One color group leads into another divided by textural shadows. This idea is only a place to start!

This project uses a technique called hatching. There are a number of different ways to create hatching. This technique is created with at least two colors and are overlapped or butted up against each other in the shed. If they are to butt up against each other both colors are used in the same shed. If they are to overlap only one color is used in the shed at a time. In this warp the colors are overlapped, I wanted a constant contrast of color and shadow, so the black weft always begins on the right and the color weft on the left in the warp.

When you are using this technique the shuttle will come up out of the shed in the spot you want the color to end. Beat the pick in place and change sheds, then send the shuttle back to the same side of the warp it came from.

For Example: the shuttle with the color will come from the left side of the warp and come up out of the warp at the spot you have decided upon. Beat the interrupted pick into place and change sheds. Send the shuttle back through the new shed to the same side (the left) of the warp, making sure to catch the warp thread closest to the thread where your shuttle came out of the warp. Beat the pick into place and change sheds. Now send the shuttle with the black thread from the right side of the warp and overlap the color, bring the shuttle up out of the warp. Beat into place and change sheds. Insert the shuttle into the new shed, again making sure to catch the warp thread, and out to the same side of the warp (right).

This project was inspired by the Sunset Shawl by Judith Shanagold

References for Hatching:

Handwoven Loom Theory rigid-heddle scarf collection (ebook) Sunset Shawl by Judith Shanagold

Tapestry Weaving by Kirsten Glasbrook

When weaving the black intermingled with color I used the 8/2 cotton and mohair wound together. In the black sections there are wide stripes alternating with 8/2 cotton wound double on a shuttle and the shuttle with the 8/2 cotton and mohair.

This wrap was designed as I sat down to weave, but next time I may do a little planning with colored pencils on graph paper to see other ways to apply the techniques of interrupted weaving.

Finishing the Wrap:

My vision for the wrap was a loose fitting somewhat poncho style wrap. Since the warp was lashed onto the front with no extra warp for fringe, I left enough warp at the end to use for twisted fringe. To add another pop of color I cut pieces of the Bobble Box yarn to add to the fringe. To make this easier, I will secure the warp with knots all the way across and then add the color to each section. You will need to cut the yarn double the length of the existing fringe, thread it onto a tapestry needle and thread it up and then down through the knot before twisting the fringe.