I have been learning how to get along with my four shaft counterbalance loom (who I call Wanda), she is an old lady who likes her own way. Recently I decided to make a scarf for a friend, my planning for the project went like this; I wanted to use Wanda to make a project, so I needed a four shaft, counterbalance friendly pattern (one that lifts two frames at a time, because counterbalance looms don’t open a big shed when only lifting one frame at a time). My friend reminds me of a Viking Shield Maiden (fierce and determined) so I went looking for Viking weaving patterns. I found one meant for tea towels (ie. much finer fabric than I needed), I decided to give it a go with soft wool rather than cotton as an experiment. Clutching the simple weaving draft, I went looking for wool in my stash to do the job. My friend loves red and black, so that’s what I looked for. I ended up with some black wool/acrylic blend warp and red/purple wool/acrylic blend weft (which means she doesn’t have to hand wash the scarf).
After threading up the warp using the draft… a new skill I am very proud of… I began to weave.
The weaving part of the project took two weeks of after work and evening weaving to complete. The finished scarf is lovely to look at and has a nice texture. I will have to soak it in hair conditioner as it feels slightly course (which often happens with woven yarn). Then it is off to the post office to send it on it’s way to New Zealand.
Every scarf needs a fringe of some kind, so I went looking for something nice to finish the ends. I found a tutorial on making twisted fringes on Youtube (where else?) and gave it a go. I think it came out really well.
By the way; I eventually finished the tea towel warp and ended up with 8 tea towels total from that warp (my calculations were out). I used as many treadle patterns as I could think of and a variety of cotton yarns I found in my stash as weft.
Love the work you’re doing on the loom Jude, very interesting and lovely patterns.
Thanks Vicki, I like to learn new things.
omg! she’s absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!! love her colours & her patterns!!
do you know the name of that pattern? i like it 🙂 like, does it have a specific name? .. our weaving is a ‘taniko’ pattern, but in carving, specific patterns or shapes have a name … just wondering x
and how freaking cool are you and wanda !! 🙂 x
This pattern probably has a name, but it is lost in the mists of time. It is thought to have originated in Kaupang in Norway (a trade centre of sorts) and was used for clothing from the 9th century. It is described as a 2/2 broken diamond twill- lozenge type weaving draft in the texts, I like to think of it as a women’s pattern. I’m glad you like her!! I will post her off this week.
https://www.ancient.eu/Kaupang/ (information on Kaupang)
https://www.academia.edu/…/Weaving_broken_diamond_twill_fabric_to_create_a_Viking_age_apron_dress (information about the pattern and traditional weaving practice)
i like it!!
reminds me of one of my favourite patterns : niho taniwha 🙂
https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/4410
https://www.facebook.com/weavingwithveranoahetet/photos/niho-taniwha-the-teeth-of-the-taniwhathe-taniwha-is-said-to-be-a-mythological-cr/337022453088203/
not sure if you’ll be able to see these .. but yeah, i love them ❤
thankyou xx
I managed to get them to open on the computer (the phone was not playing the game). I can see the resemblance; sharp edges and repeated shapes. Very beautiful, you can almost hear the echos of women’s voices in them. The niho taniwha is a pattern that represents family history (so the internet says) and it is possible that this pattern has a similar meaning. I was drawn to it while I was thinking about you, so I followed my instinct (the part that makes sense when we can turn off the ‘logical’ mind)
ahhhh the ‘wairua’ … i like that part xxxx
<3