I’ve been weaving for six years. In weaverly terms, that’s really nothing. I read articles, blogs, and posts on Weavolution by women and men who’ve been at this craft/art for half a century. Heck, my first weaving class was taught by a man in his 80’s who learned to weave rag rugs as a boy during the Depression to bring money into the house and never stopped. So six years is a drop in the bucket…one or two strands in a warp, a few throws of a shuttle…insert your favorite metaphor.
On the other hand, one common statement about how to get good at something is to do it for 5,000 hours. Many weeks I spend 30-40 hours researching, planning projects, sitting at the loom, or fringing and wet finishing. Even when I factor in the fact that some weeks that drops down to about 20 hours, my calculator tells me that I’ve worked at weaving for well over 5,000 hours in those six years.
However, in addition to weaving for only six years, I live in the sticks two hours from everywhere, so most of my weaving is very solitary and predominantly learned from books and the old trial-and-error method. While I may have woven miles of a particular weave structure, I may not have a clue about the correct terminology for that structure.
A case in point – drall. I’d seen it in print, read it on the net, attempted to have people explain it to me in words (unsuccessfully, I might add). It wasn’t until I was finally pointed to a draft for it and accompanying weaving resources that I understood. OOOOHHHH. Drall is a classic Swedish term for a particular arrangement of what others (me included) call a 3/1 vs. 1/3 twill. Took me a good two years to figure that out.
Similarly the term gebrochene. My reaction is gebro-what? What is that? How do I even pronounce it? How many harnesses does it take? Again, gebro-what?
Then not too long ago I purchased some magazines from a weaver who was downsizing her stash. One of them, Weaver’s from winter, 1997, had an article on gebrochene. Ahhhh….based on some historical weaving, gebrochene is a German term for a modification of what I (and others) call Ms & Ws. I’ve woven Ms & Ws plenty of times, and some modifications of it, to date always on my 4 shaft counterbalance loom. This article whet my whistle for an 8 shaft pattern on my Mac. So I sat down with my computer software, drew in a threading that pleased me, figured out that I’d need to use fine threads to get enough pattern repeats to make me happy, and then played with a variety of tie ups. I ended up using the following draft.
I wound a warp of 260 ends of 20/2 undyed silk (about 8,000 yards of thread to the pound) and got it on the Mac. Threading went smoothly, I was set to weave. For the first scarf I used a black weft. Although I’m not usually a black & white gal, this is my favorite of the three scarves. For each photo I’ve shown you the ‘front’ and the ‘back’ of the scarf. I can’t decide which side I like better.
For the second scarf I picked a Pacific blue silk that makes me drool. It’s so richly colored and has such a terrific sheen that I paid top dollar for it when I saw it in a store. Woven in this scarf, the mix of the white and blue really tones that color down more than I would personally choose. I’d probably like a scarf woven with all the blue.
Based on my experience with the blue, I picked a deep burgundy for the third scarf. This is lovely. (Not as red as it looks in the photo.)
I think the scarves may be a bit heavier than people will be buying in the summer, but I do expect lots of admiring lookers. Time will tell…
I really love the pattern and wonder if it would be possible to get a copy of it. Also besides silk would you use any other type of yarn for this type of pattern
Look in your email for the wif file, Michael. And I think you can use any smooth yarn as long as you set it correctly. I think fuzzy yarns might obscure the pattern to a greater extent than you might like.
Your silk scarves are absolutely stunning. I have a cone of silk that I just had to have that has been sitting on my shelf for too long. It is a deep Prussian blue similar to yours. I would love to attempt your draft. I see that many people asked for a wif, so I’m adding my request. I know it’s been several years and if you can’t locate the wif, I understand.
Look in your email for the wif, Jeannine. And enjoy!
This is stunning. Thanks for sharing. Its always lovely to see others work for inspiration. I love complex twills and would love to attempt this draft. Is it possible to please email me the WIF file? Thanks so much
Thanks, Haydn. I’ll send you a wif…as soon as I locate it on my computer. 😉
I would love to make this also. Please send me the draft. Thank you so very much.
Valerie Gleeson
Valerie – Thanks for visiting. Do you want a wif or a jpg?
Peg,
I am in love with your draft. Your work is really amazing! I would love a wif file via email. I will be following your blog from now on. REALLY INSPIRING! Thanks, Nancy deCastro
Thanks, Nancy. I’ll email you a jpg. FYI I sure didn’t invent this draft, it’s historical.
Peg,
I am coming very recently to your newsletter, having discovered your work on Pinterest. I have dyed some 10/2 cotton for warp and wanted to try this pattern using a black weft with it. I would absolutely love the .wif for this if you can still locate it and don’t mind sharing it one more time! I had never heard of Gebrochene until I read your article, but I see how it is basically a variation on Ms and Ws. Thank you for showing us your lovely creations.
Lisa
Lisa – Thanks for stopping by. I’ll send you the wif via email. Enjoy!
Jpeg request for your lovely scarf. I just purchased some lovely 20/2 silk and this looks like an interesting pattern to try! Yours turned out beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
I’ll email the draft to you, Ann. Silk is wonderful to work with.
Peg,
Thanks for sharing pattern for your beautiful scarves.
Please send me both jpeg and WIF?
Thanks very much!
Sharon
These scarves are beautiful. Can this be sent as a PDF file? I have some 20/2 silk coming that I would love to weave this pattern with. Thank you.
Check your email, Janet. I’ve sent it as both a jpg and a pdf for you.
Peg, your scarves are beautiful! Would you please send me the pdf file or jpeg file for this pattern? I have not been weaving for many years but I love a challenge because I learn so much more and your pattern is inspiring.
Check your email, Anna!