Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets



Wee Pine Tree Coverlets for Baby
Showing both top and reverse sides
Thanks to "Diane in Oregon" I know the original source for this Summer & Winter draft is Mary Meigs Atwaters' Recipe Book: Patterns for Handweavers. Thanks, Diane!

My previous Summer & Winter towel project was the warm-up act for these Wee Pine Tree Coverlets for Baby. The towels were 17" wide in the reed. These little coverlets were 37" wide in the reed for a finished width of 33" wide.

Pine Tree Coverlet, Detail
Wee Pine Tree Coverlet for Baby
To show tree trunk colors
Tough as it is to confess it, this was my most difficult warp or very near it. The tan ground yarn in both warp and weft was not quite strong enough and broke easily. It was a 20/2 unmercerized cotton mill end from WEBS.

Again I placed four darker brown ends and one subtly variegated end through the center of each tree trunk in both warp and weft. The resulting grid pattern is pleasing to the eye.

I began the warp weaving topside up, lifting five harnesses against three sinking ones. Never have I dropped shuttles as often. After the first piece I re-tied and wove the remaining three from the reverse side.

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets

The first three coverlets are all woven using 10/2 perle cotton as pattern weft. The bright, bright "sunburst" green coverlet was the final one of this warp. True to form, I waited until the last one to "go out on a limb" and try something slightly different. The bright green came from a friend of a friend who had been a machine knitter. At 14/2, it was an odd size for weaving. But it was cheerfully bright and soft so I tried using a double strand. The result is a soft blanket with slightly more weight than the others. It is slightly out of square but lovely none-the-less.


Wee Pine Tree Coverlets
Yes, these were trouble. In spite of it and of a few obvious errors here and there, these are four sweet Wee Pine Tree Coverlets. I hope four precious little ones enjoy snuggling sweetly beneath them one day.


Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

2 comments:

  1. I have this on my loom now, and have woven one runner with the trees along the sides, but I can't figure out how to get the corner blocks and trees at both ends. Might you be able to help me? I got the draft from an old Handwoven magazine. The first one came out quite nice-I really like what you have done with the trees at both ends! Thank-you, Suzy

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Suzy
      I did not know this draft appeared in the magazine. Would you mind letting me know which issue?
      Take another look at the draft paying special attention to the way each threading block can work as pattern or background. For instance, in my wee coverlets, all green blocks that work to form the selvedge edge trees are woven together to create the corner block. It seems almost like a magic trick, doesn't it? That's pretty general since I don't have the draft in front of me but I hope it helps. Good luck!
      RepWeaver

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