Shadow Weave Blouse Fabric
June-July 2015
Click image for enlargement.
|
|
Planning for the fabric began in January! I spent most of March and April making a "muslin" to try out the blouse pattern but wasn't really happy with the fit. In April I took a three day class on sewing with handwoven fabric - see Things we have been doing. But somehow May vanished so it was June 4th when winding the warp finally started!
(04:06:2015)
|
Four warp chains ready to go on the loom. The black yarn is rayon with a polyester "sparkle" strand and the green is cotolin (a cotton-linen blend).
(04:06:2015)
|
|
|
Part way through the process of spreading the warp in the raddle prior to winding it onto the back beam.
(04:06:2015)
|
All wound on ready for threading through the heddles.
(08:06:2015)
|
|
|
Threading in progress. There were 206 threads in each repeat of the pattern so threading took several days. The green and black threads alternate in a parallel pattern spread over 16 shafts.
(08:06:2015)
|
Threading complete. The raddle at the back still has to be removed so that the yarn goes over the black roller just below it.
(14:06:2015)
|
|
|
The reed is in place in the beater and all 976 ends have been sleyed through the reed.
(23:06:2015)
|
Tied-on to the apron rod at the front and weaving has begun.
(28:06:2015)
|
|
|
On my AVL loom the shafts to lift for weaving are controlled by the pattern in the computer. Each time a treadle is pressed the computer moves to the next row in the pattern and tells the dobby head with shafts to lift.
(28:06:2015)
|
Weaving happening. The weft is a mauve rayon alternated with the same black as in the warp.
(30:06:2015)
|
|
|
The pattern is supposed to represent the BC mountains. A simpler four-shaft version was done with the same yarn for a sample exchange at the time of Convergence 2002 in Vancouver. So the blouse has really been in the planning stage since 2002!
(01:07:2015)
|
No more room to advance the warp! Almost four yards have been woven. After all the months of planning, the weaving took just a week.
(03:07:2015)
|
|
|
The completed yardage traveled with us to Saskatchewan and then on to Prince George where Laura Fry put it through the wet finishing process and pressed it on "Puff."
(20:07:2015)
|
After a hard press it really feels like cloth. Now to get on with the sewing!!
(20:07:2015)
|
|
|
|