Sunday, June 9, 2013

Leaves in Summer and Winter

I spent a little time and yarn sampling on my table loom, using the structure known as "Summer and Winter", and made these leaf figures:


I want to use this structure to make a baby blanket, since Summer and Winter is a traditional weave for coverlets and throws.  I did the sample because I don't think I've ever actually done a project using Summer and Winter, and I wanted to test out the weights of yarn I thought I would need before ordering more (!) yarn.  I am using 10/2 cotton as warp and the tabby weft, and 5/2 cotton for the pattern weft, which is pretty standard I guess.  I think it is working fine.  I can see, though, that I am going to have to pay attention and make sure I am consistent in how I treat the selvedges in the real piece.


This weave is called Summer and Winter because, as it is traditionally woven, one side of the resulting fabric is darker than the other.  The other side of this sample appears as a white leaf motif on a green background.  The portions of white are where the white tabby weft is showing more, and the green areas are where the pattern weft is allowed to float over more of the warps.  There are several different treadling sequences that can be used, each giving a different shape to the little pixelated units.  Here I am using a sequence that gives each dot of color a kind of rounded shape.

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