Double Weaving

Not much writing done this first month, I have been busy with my double weaving homework.
I had planned to use lovely Venne cotton for my second warp, but decided to use stash yarn instead going for brown and orange cottolin.

First I made the mistake again (I did so with the previous double weaving warp too) not doubling the amount of threads. I knew the warp was double the amount, I just did not count correctly! I made another batch for the warp and started to dress the loom, only finding out that one half of the warp was upside down, so I had to add an extra warp thread in the middle and discard one at the end, to keep the correct colour sequence for each layer.

That sorted out the warp in the end.

But when I started weaving I did not like weaving with these colours. With the dark weather, they were not uplifting at all. It really was an effort to get on with this warp.
But I did get on and also introduced some other colours as weft, changing the weaving mood completely.

Here are my samples, in each photo, the left side was the front. The photos do not really show the subtle differences what is happening in the weave structures.

1. Above sample is what we call "Finish Double" weaving in Holland.
Lifting the colour from the under layer and pick up the threads for that row (making a design beforehand). Marian showed us using a knitting needle without knobs for this. Lower the under layer and you just have the pattern threads on your knitting needle. Next weave your top layer with the pattern threads raised. Take out the knitting needle and raise the top colour and take up the threads that are not the pattern on the knitting needle. Weave the under layer next and take out the knitting needle. So, it involves a lot of concentration to read out the correct pattern for the whole sample.
2. Here I wove the different blocks that I had threaded on the 8 shafts and in between I did some pick up Finish Double. It could make interesting possibilities with bigger blocks.
3. This sample is difficult to see in the photo what is happening. The lower part of the photo is a woven binding with a thread from the under layer in the top layer once every 4th woven thread. Also using another colour to see what is happening. From the 1st mark at the selvedge there is a binding in every 8th thread woven. First woven in the different colours and next woven with the warp colours.
4. In this sample, the bottom part of the photo shows a binding from a thread out of the top layer in the bottom layer every 4th woven thread. The top part of the photo is a binding by weaving an extra thin thread woven after every 4th woven thread. This makes an interesting strong cloth. Something you just cannot see in the photo.
5. Here again binding the top layer with threads from the bottom layer but making a design before hand and using the knitting needle again for pick up of the threads. Every time I finished a complete pattern I filled the space with fibrefill. I did not like the way it showed through. So for the last few rows I used brown fleece. I had never done any weaving like this before (filling up in between). You can also make a pattern without filling up in between. I now know this possibility.
6. Here I woven the blocks again making a design pattern. Here you can play endlessly using the threading and the size of the woven blocks.
7. More blocks but also weaving a thread from the other layer. This will have to be explored more with different colours.

Halfway through I cut the warp so that I could rethread for plain weave & panama.
8. In this sample the top layer is panama and the bottom layer plain weave. Again a binding thread from the bottom layer in the top layer every 4th woven thread.
9. In this sample the binding thread from the bottom layer in the top layer is every 8th woven thread.10. In this photo you can just see at the bottom a bit of weaving with an extra (very thin) thread again binding the layers together (like in sample 4).
All these different bindings between the top and bottom layer make interesting weaving that needs more exploring.
The blocks in this sample are showing the panama and plain weave.
11. In this sample are the panama and plain weave blocks again using different colours. About halfway in the photo there is the extra binding thread from the bottom layer in the top layer. The top block is using an extra thread as a binder again (like sample 4).

This week I had to cut of the warp again so that I was able to take the last woven samples to the course, but I still have some yarn left to do a few more samples.

This has been a learning curve for me: for weaving enjoyment I must go for colours that appeal to me at that moment. May be these colours would have been ok in the Autumn when the trees are changing into lovely yellow/red/brown colours.

For this course we get weaving instructions for the different possibilities and I just work my way through them. With the first warp I did not write enough information about how I had woven my samples resulting in not really knowing what I have done. Not so good when you look back at the samples so with this warp I have really made an effort to write my notes. And also marking them at the selvedge helps to see what I have done afterwards.