Thursday, April 25, 2019

Thrum Cloth

Thrum Cloth
Knotted thrums of random color and grist on every third pick


Loads of carpet warp fills my collection of thrums but lots of finer yarns are in there, too. I’ve been concocting  ways to put those finer ones to use.


Here is a very simple weave structure. Small weft skips lay between every two plain weave picks. The design came about by way of serendipity. As I wove the plain weave structure I experimented with frequency of thrum placement. Were they best included every other pick, every third pick, etc.


In the end I decided on a three-pick repeat but found the uneven number of picks difficult to maintain. I rely a lot on rhythmic shuttle movements. Once I am in the groove my mind is free to wander. The two picks of shuttle one, one pick of shuttle two kept throwing me off so I decided to throw the third pick, the thrum pick, on treadle #3. My previous tie-up was still in place so I just used what was there. It happened to lift two adjacent shafts. The result made me happy and made shuttle movements more predictable.



The resulting Thrum Cloth yardage is visually interesting with a nice hand. I’ll be considering it’s final use; perhaps a sewing project is in order.

Thrum Cloth
Swatch of my original sampling appears at lower right.


Next is a group photo of my three Deflected Double Weave towels. This structure would be great for scarves, baby blankets and lap robes, too. So much to weave, so little time . . .


Three Kitchen Towels

Spring takes me outdoors more and more, keeping me from the loom. But a study group project is in hot competition for time. A deadline approaches so I am deep into the study of a structure of which I know very little: Crepe Weave. Wish me luck!


Warp On/Weave Off,


RepWeaver