As I mentioned in a recent post, What can I do on a rigid heddle loom?, I have been going through my weaving books looking for patterns I can do on a rigid heddle loom. Or, more directly, that my children can do -- one heddle, no pickup sticks. I choose them by looking for patterns that use only 2 harnesses, or if they use 4, use a tie-up that is the equivalent of 2 harnesses; the hopsack in that last post, for example, has one harness on one tie up and the other three harnesses on the second tie-up, that's it. So, I know I can do the pattern with just a rigid heddle - or, as was actually done here, on a 2 harness loom.Handwoven Scarves
is one of the books I purchased to inspire myself when I started weaving. It's lovely. I was a bit disappointed about how many of the scarves are 8 or even more harnesses, at the time, as I had only a 4 harness loom. But looking it over now (and with an 8 harness loom) my only remaining fuss is that some of them are purely inspiration -- no drafts or sketchy instructions. That's all right, though, since I do like to think things out for myself. And I was quite pleased to find plenty of inspiring scarves that are simply plain weave -- rigid heddle material!!So, what are the scarves that are rigid-heddle-able in Handwoven Scarves? Here you go:
- Thick, Thinner, Thinnest, by Erica de Ruiter, p. 16 -- a great variant on Log Cabin. This is so on my to-do list!
- Natural and Terra Cotta, by Erica de Ruiter, p. 20 -- same draft, different color treatment -- very revealing for the color-challenged (raises hand).
- Rippling Water, by Gisela Evitt, p. 32 -- now this one is on my next up list ... amazing results from a simple plain weave. She spins (I spin! I can do this!) three strands together for weft then weaves a weft-faced plain weave. It's based on an ancient Chinese silk cloth. I'm going to try it with wool and see what happens ... maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. I know I'll learn something from it, either way!
- See-Through Blue, by Sonya Hasselberg-Johnson, p. 44 -- aah, gauze. This uses different twists, S and Z, definitely appealing to my inner spinner (who'm I kidding? I'm an out-there spinner if there ever was one. Have you seen my blog? (grin)) I bet you can find yarns like this at weaving supply shops, though, if you aren't a spinner. It's sett widely for the thickness of the yarns to make it gauzey and to let the twists collapse the fabric -- SHR says she was exploring collapse weave with this scarf. So, I'll add collapse weave to my list of things to look into more with these looms.
- Painted Warp Scarf 1, by Sara Lamb, p. 35. Definitely an inspiring combination of solid and multi-color stripes in the warp on this warp-faced plain weave (weft is fine and doesn't show much).
- Painted Warp Scarf 2, by Sara Lamb, p. 37. Another striping, this time of companionable multicolors. It's striking (a) how much the stripes show while (b) they meld and harmonize at the same time.
- Painted Warp Scarf 3, by Sara Lamb, p. 39. I could say, "and more of the same". But wow! sheesh. There are so many ways to play with solids, multi colors, and stripes. The mind boggles. And it's just warp-faced plain weave. I can so do that!
- Gray Chenille, by Robin Lynde, p. 62. Chenille -- how fluffy and soft it looks! Tempting, tempting.
- Blue Chenille, by Robin Lynde, p. 64. Playing with warp stripes and Chenille? Now that is a lovely combo!
- Cram and Space Scarf, by Ann Richards, p. 72. This one is an "inspire" rather than a set of instructions, though it is just plain weave ... the notes are there for me to give it a try, and it's not like the "crammed and spaced" scarves that are all the rage right now, but rather, something very different, starting with a crammed & spaced warp, but rather than cram & space on the weft, she uses stripes of high-twist and balanced-twist silks.
- Wrap Around, by Nell Znamierowski, p. 110. A plaid ... no color draft is given, so you're on your own there. But it's lovely, and makes me hunger to weave more plaid.
So, of the 52 scarves in the book, 12 use plain weave ... that seems like a nice chunk, to me! And, it's definitely a book you can grow into, if you think the rigid heddle is just the start of your own loom adventure.
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You can find more weaving posts under the topic Weave.
If you're interested in spinning/weaving/fiber-related books, I've started a new topic, called, appropriately, Books! I've been taking a peek over at LibraryThing to see what books others have as well, while slowly adding some of my own to it. Another interesting spot on the internet!
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Two years ago today, I posted about processing fleece, in How do you prepare wool to card?. I've since followed up with a popular flickr set Get Batty! from my carding class. I'll post some more on carding, tomorrow.
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posted 14 January 2009 at http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/
