Fabrics in the Schacht Handwoven Ad Oct/Nov 2006
Designed By: Betsy Blumenthal
Betsy created this weave structure by experimenting with several ideas for placing weft floats on a multicolored ground. Marguerite Davison identifies this structure as Barley Corn Weave, in the Handweaver's Pattern Book. It requires only four shafts and is easy to weave. The fabric pictured in the Schacht Spindle Company advertisement (Fabric I, left) was woven using Pattern I. The complementary fabric (Fabric II, left) was woven using Pattern II. Both of these fabrics are combined in a jacket also designed by Betsy Blumenthal.
Click here to download a ZIP file containing the WIF files for these fabrics.
Materials
Warp:
5/2 perle cotton, 130 yds per ounce, in the following colors and amounts:
Dark Turquoise #48: 880 yds, 7 ounces
Jade #135: 375 yds, 3 ounces
Pistachio #152: 240 yds, 2 ounces
Grass Green #154: 240 yds, 2 ounces
"Pixel" rayon novelty yarn, color orange #0020:
1 ball for warp = 176 yards = 1.75 ounces (need 160 yds).
Weft:
Background: 5/2 tencel, color = purple sage, Textura Trading Co., 12 ounces.
Pattern Floats: Shoshenshi 100% linen paper, Habu Textiles, color #115, one skein (280 yds / 2.5 ounces)
"Pixel" rayon novelty yarn (same as warp): 2 balls for weft
Weaving
To begin, weave a few rows of background tabby: a = raise shaft 1, b = raise shafts 2-3-4.
Pattern I
Weave for 2 ¾ yards of fabric.
Step 1. Repeat 7 times:
– raise shafts 2 & 4 – weave with paper weft
– weave tabby with background tencel weft shaft 1 vs. 2-3-4
– End with a final pick of paper weft on shafts 2 & 4.
Step 2. Repeat 2 times:
– raise shafts 2 & 3 – weave with Pixel weft
– weave tabby with background tencel weft
– End with a final pick of Pixel weft on 2 & 3.
Return to Step 1.
Note: there are no background weft picks between the paper float pick and the Pixel float pick.
Pattern II
Weave for 1 ¾ yards of fabric.
Step 1. Weave background tabby for 8 rows.
Step 2. Repeat 2 times:
– raise shafts 2 & 3 – weave with Pixel weft
– weave tabby, with background tencel weft
– End with a final pick of Pixel weft on 2 & 3.
Return to Step 1.
