Monday, April 23, 2012

Discontinuous Messenger Bag

This was a guild challenge issued in 2002. The parameters set out for us were: incorporate a diagonal in your design, use discontinuous weft (to be
loosely interpreted by those not actually weaving their piece), and use a monochrome-with-an-accent color scheme.  My colors, as I recall, were dictated by what I had on hand in my stash. I selected some blue wools and a little bit of orange as accent.  The structure of the cloth is simple; just plain weave,
with these insets using discontinuous weft inserted in a diagonal pattern.  I honestly can't remember where I found the idea to weave these insets, or whether I wove them hand-manipulated by counting warps or if it was loom-controlled. It's just plain weave in one spot on the warp for a few picks, and then you continue with your full-width weaving until it's time
to put the next set of insets, and the weft deflects around them. Since the pattern is a diagonal, eventually all the warps get the extra weft, and it all sort of evens out in the end. Fulling the wool a little helps as well. For the
handle, I chose a diagonal spiraled round braid to make from the same yarns. The bag is big enough to carry a large 3-ring binder.

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