Project 9 - Woven Structures

STAGE 1 - PREPARATION
I have never really done any weaving; it has never appealed to me, so I haven't got any equipment to work with.  I used a piece of stiff card and made a very simple loom to make a start.


STAGE 2 - BASIC TAPESTRY WEAVING TECHNIQUES
Using the very basic loom I warped up using a strong linen.  I tried weaving with all types of yarn just to see what sort of effect I was able to achieve with very little equipment.

I think this has been really successful.  I like all of the textures that have been created with the different yarns.  The row of bobbles and loops was created by crocheting the yarn first and then using the resulting yarn to weave with.  I like the effect of the variegated slub yarn and the wool roving.  The only thing I would change about using this very basic cardboard loom would be to wind the warp yarn around instead of up and down.  I didn't really leave enough warp thread to knot the ends together when I had finished the piece.

STAGE 3 - EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT MATERIALS
I had wanted to try weaving with different fabrics, I first cut strips of fabric and wrapped them tightly in yarn.  I then used the pieces to weave onto the loom.

STAGE 4 - DEVELOPING DESIGN IDEAS INTO WEAVING
Sample 1
I used one of the images from Analysing Colour, Texture and Proportion from an earlier exercise in Project 8 as a starting point for my sample. 

I chose yarn that I thought represented the colours in the image and made a yarn wrap, any yarn that was too fine I doubled or tripled up.  I had bought a loom, I warped up using a fine, very strong linen yarn making sure there was an even number so that I could knot them together when I cut the piece off the frame, and used this strong yarn to make the heading cord to provide a firm base to start weaving from.  I cut lengths of my chosen yarns and made butterflies with them ready to weave.  I didn't make a graph paper chart, I just worked by referring back to the image.

Curved or Eccentric Wefts
I used curved wefts to create shapes in my sample.

Soumak
I used the Soumak technique to create texture in my sample and to accentuate the curves created above.

Ghiordes Knot
I created these using some pieces of unspun, hand dyed wool.

I am pleased with my final piece.  I have never done any weaving before so it is a very basic sample, but I think it has worked well.