Challenged myself recently to make a garment using the sprang technique. Using an egyptian cotton I began with a very large rectangular shape, working from hem to hem. At about armpit level I added warp to allow for sleeves. Yes the work was very wide at that point. I worked from right to left in sections, each tied off with a safety cord. I left a slit for the neck, and finished with a safety cord that goes from wrist to wrist, across the back of the neck. The finished garment was worn, seen by many at the Handweavers Guild of America Convergence in Albuquerque. At Congergence I kept hearing about the ‘Ancient One’s Shirt’. Finally tracked it down on the net. You can view it at http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/coll/peris2.shtml Based on images of this garment, I’ve spent the last two days working out the pattern. I’ve now created a scarf, playing with the design. While at Convergence I saw the perfect frame for smaller sprang projects. It’s called ‘Loom in a Tube’ from Rebecca Smith. She sells a set of plumbing pipes that fit together to make the frame. Adjustment as the cloth grows and shrinks are easily made with threaded pipe and screws. Check it out at http://www.loominatube.com/
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Work is progressing on that replica of Elzéar Goulet’s sash. After matching up the colors in January, respinning the yarn all February, I started weaving in March. Elzéar’s sash was very loosely woven, only 6 wefts per inch in a very fine wool. My theory was that this could be produced using the false weave, creating two sashes at once. I calculated 13 feet to produce the 10 foot sash. Twice this, 26 feet of warp, was tied between two pillars in the Atrium of the St Boniface General Hospital where I work. The original sash has some fill-in at the top of the sash, to mitigate the pointiness at the upper border (I sometimes call this the fish-tail effect). Note the ‘short rows’ that make the first green lightnings start much lower than the first blue lightning. So I did this bit of weaving before taking the warp to the Atrium, tieing off each row carefully. Installed in the Atrium, I attempted to shove each false row twenty feet down the warp. I have to confess failure. A certain amount of mixing up of threads happened in transit from my warping mill to the Atrium site, what with the slight elasticity of the threads and small differences in lengths between individual threads, and perhaps insufficient tension on the whole, it took me over an hour to clear the first shed. I worked on it all afternoon, figuring that once I got it all lined up it would start working more smoothly. I then realized that as I cleared the shed, the threads were jangling around behind me. I am thinking that a team of several people working on this, one shoving the shed, and two others, stationed on either side of the first person, assisting, could do the job. But this would seem to defeat the purpose. This would be much less efficient than weaving two sashes. In the end, I cut the 26 ft warp in half, and now am weaving two sashes, one tight and the other loose. Now, I’m not yet ready to totally abandon the theory of the false-weave sash. I’m rethinking this. I figure I’d need several things:
-measure out the warp IN THE SAME SITE as I will weave, no releasing the tension, folding it up and transporting -much more tension on the warp -lots of warp sizing -extra personnel to keep the threads from jumping around -shorter lengths for experimentation (indeed I have been successful shoving the false weave 4 feet, why not 20???). My next experiment will attempt to shove the false weave 10 feet. The fingerweaving method tends to create a tangle of threads at the lower margins of the work. This is commonly called the ‘false weave’, and a person can spend many hours per sash periodically untangling this mass.
Occasionaly people have said to me, “Too bad you can’t use that somehow.” I have spent some time thinking about this. My work with sprang teaches me that it is possible. Indeed, sprang was done alongside fingerweaving in certain parts of Quebec in the 18oo’s. Whenever I travel anymore I try to scout out as many examples of sashes as possible along the way. I’ve met with some success requesting permission to examine sashes and record data. Over the past few years I have come upon some spectacular fingerwoven sashes, and five very loosely woven ones. The loose ones intrigue me. How does a person weave that loosely and at the same time keep it even. I have some experience dealing with the ‘false weave’, creating ‘art pieces’ which incorporating it as part of the work. More recently I have conducted experiments, working with the false weave. Working on a 12 ft sash, I sat myself on a high chair and pushed the false weave as far down, close to the floor as possible. Using this method I’ve been able to pack as many as five repeat patterns before untangling. It seems that, if you start out with the threads knotted together to keep them even, that a mirror image of the sash pattern is created. a mirror image pattern can be seen in the falseweave At one point I took my weaving to the Manitoba Museum and compared the false weave with a loosely woven sash there. They matched up quite nicely. Travelling last Summer, I examined sashes in Edmonton, Alberta, and found three that my data would declare to be in the loosely woven category: fine thread comparable to 2/8 worsted wool, and fewer than 7 threads per inch lengthwise. The sash of a local hero, Elzéar Goulet, is preserved in the Musée de St Boniface Museum, a few blocks from my home. It is an example of such a loosely woven sash. There is interest in a reproduction of the Goulet sash, and I am intrigued to explore a technique that would yield such a loose weave. Last Fall, I made a successful proposal to the Manitoba Arts Council for a Craft Grant. Subsequent to receiving approval I have proceeded to match yarn and dyestuffs to the original. Last week I made up a sample to verify my success at matching the colors. The curator snapped a photo of my sample alongside the original. sash color comparison You will notice that my sample, the one on the left, is wider than the original. The next step is for me to re-spin the yarn, eliminating its ‘fuzziness’ and compacting it down. My calculations indicate that this final step will allow me to make a very close copy of the original. The respinning will occupy me (along with a few other projects, like the local Winter carnival, Festival du Voyageur) for the month of February. In early March I will measure out an extra long warp. I will then set myself to weaving a sash. The false weave I will push, row by row, to the far end of the warp. If all goes as expected, I will weave two sashes at once, one a nice tightly woven sash, and one the falseweave, packed into a replica of the Elzéar Goulet sash. I’ll keep you posted. That bit of sprang that I started for the Viking Weekend in July 2008 has been sitting there, calling to me. So I finally finished it. Having learned from this experience, I’d do the next one a bit differently. The tablet woven band was wider where I left the weft for the sprang, and tightened up when I began weaving them separately for the ties. Next time I’d have two wefts going while I’m leaving off lengths for the sprang. I’d have one weft of a very fine thread (to hold the tablet weaving tight, and a second one to be shooting from one band to the other, making the warp for the sprang.
Joining the two tabletwoven bands at the back of the neck was another challenge. I am thinking that that fine weft would also help me to make this join. My most recent excitement comes from SUCCESS in a ‘sprang’ experiment. I have been intrigued by images in Peter Collingwood’s book The Techniques of Sprang. Diamond and zigzag patterns in sashes pictured there are pretty straight forward. I’ve developed a method for mapping out the patterns on graph paper, then translating the graphs to written patterns, such as 6 singles, 1 double, 4 singles, etc. The challenge to myself was to work out the pattern for the two-headed eagle from the 1700 Dutch piece at the back of the book. I am Thrilled to report that my experiment was a success! The material is a medium silk cord from Treenway’s. I dyed it with a ‘plum’ Landscapes dye. I will bring this piece along with me to Mississinewa 1812 in Marion, Indiana, this October. Stop by and have a look. Now I didn’t start out with this piece. I’ve been working on this mapping and pattern-writing technique for sprang, creating ‘neck scarfs’. Folks might want to know, the sprang always wants to curl at first (the red and yellow one at the top of the picture). I find that if I wash it, and pat it flat, and leave it to dry, then it ‘forgets’ the need to curl. Guess it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, and there are a few other things to report. I attended the Manitoba Living History Society’s Fall Gathering, September 5 to 7. I had prepared some indigo dye and took advantage of the space and time to dye some two dozen skeins, mostly white, but some were yellow. As predicted, they came out a variety of blues and greens. A magic transformation as they emerge from the pot, changing from yellow to green to bright blue, it was lovely to see. and then it immediately starts turning blue By the end of the weekend I had a lovely set of blues On Sept 12, a new park was dedicated to the honor of a locally prominent Métis, Elzéar Goulet. What an honor to see my sashes all around. Of the 6 sashes visible in this photo, I had a hand in the creation of 4 of them. As well, I’ve been busy on my loom. A desperate call from a friend, the need for a sash for another inductee into an esteemed position, requiring another sash: Working on a woven silk ‘officer’s sash’.
I’ll be in Marion, Indiana, Oct 10 to 12 for Mississinewa 1812. November 7 to 9, I’ll be in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for the NAVC Fall Gathering. Meanwhile, there will be another ‘Beginning Fingerweaving’ class at the Musée de St Boniface Museum, starting Sunday afternoons. Contact the Musée for further information. info@msbm.mb.ca While in Edmonton last week, I had the honor of examining 5 sashes that were fingerwoven in the 1800’s. Very interestingly, 3 of the 5 were strikingly similar. All of the 3 had stories consistent with having been manufactured between 1860 and 1900, all had the same bright colored thread, and a very similar pattern. Striking to me is the looseness of the weave. I’ve been collecting data on sashes. I calculate the number of threads across the width of the sash. Often this means counting the number of threads per ‘lightning’, and multiplying it by the total number of lightnings across the width. I add in the number of threads in the central arrow and voila, total threads. This number, divided by the average width of the sash gives me ‘warp threads per inch’. I find that 20 to 30 threads per inch is common among modern sashes woven with knitting yarn. Tightly woven sashes in museums tend to have 50 to 57 threads per inch. The tightest I’ve examined had 66 threads per inch. I’ve woven a small band with some wool given me by a weaver friend that ended up at 80 threads per inch … something I’m not too keen to repeat. Even more telling is ‘weft threads per inch’. I calculate the number of rows to complete each pattern, and multiply by the number of repeats. (For example if it takes 9 rows to complete an arrow, and there are 60 arrows in the sash, then there are 9 x 60 or 540 rows in the sash. Number of rows divided by length gives me ‘weft threads per inch’. Tightly woven sashes have upwards of 12 wefts per inch. The 3 sashes I speak of in Edmonton had 4 to 6 wefts per inch. I have seen similarly loose sashes in other collections. I find little information in the litterature concerning the origin of these. Has anybody out there noticed this. Anyone have a theory about the origin of these? I find it darn difficult to weave that loosely. Two of the 5 were exquisite, fine thread, tightly woven, excellent condition. One was the sash from the Southesk Collection, recently acquired by the folks of the Royal Alberta Museum. The other was a silk sash, also collected and taken to England by a gentleman, then returned to Canada.
I finished the last fringe on those 8 samples I’ve been making for the Manitoba Museum. This project has been sponsored by Manitoba Culture Heritage and Tourism, by Manitoba Artists in Healthcare, and by the St Boniface General Hospital. They were woven using a fine 2/8 worsted wool (with one exception). I’ve been working on this since September of 2007 The 8 samples, again, close up, include
The David Thompson Brigade arrived on a beautiful day at the Forks in Winnipeg, June 11, 2008. I was there on the Quai to greet them. It was a pleasure to speak with these dedicated folk who have paddled from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, en route to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Still working on those pieces for the Manitoba Museum. I completed weaving the third sample of the Assomption variety. This one is sewn down the middle: Saturday morning I give a fingerweaving workshop at the Bibliothèque de St-Boniface, the St Boniface public library, then I head out to Convergence 2008.
Sunday, June 29, I will be in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, Historic Fort Snelling to be exact. I will be demonstrating and teaching fingerweaving. And it’s a booklaunch. During the month of July I will be teaching basic fingerweaving to French teachers at the St Boniface College here in Winnipeg. I’ve been having internet trouble. Ended up having to get a new modum, and the new one seems to have a mind of its own, cutting out at times. Luckily it was working last evening when I received a special e-mail. I initially thought was a hoax. So glad I responded, because I had a lovely chat later in the evening with Ray Mears of the BBC in person in downtown Winnipeg. He’s on a reconnaisance mission for a BBC series on Canada. A most interesting chap. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I just got back from the Center for Rupertsland Studies Colloquium in Rocky Mountain House. So much information! Such interesting people! Now back to work on that 3rd variation of the Assomption Sash. This is the one that’s done in 2 parts, with a seam down the middle. The colors were hand dyed. I did a bit of back-and-forth to the museum, comparing with the original. The colors are not a perfect match, but pretty darn close. Yes there’s a hot pink in the original sash at the Manitoba Museum.
In my ‘spare time’ I’ve been working on some sprang. I’m hoping to finish a multi colored shawl, trying out various techniques and patterns. I think if I set a row of tassels along the lower end, it should hang open when I wear it. Booksales are going well. Over 400 sold in less than 3 months! Get your copy now while supplies last. Only 1000 were printed. Well, I finished that Assomption swatch, and did another one of a related pattern. Both Manitoba Museum and Musée de St-Boniface have sashes that are very loosely woven, in the Assomption (arrowhead and lightning) pattern.
The sash I wove last year has been framed beautifully and installed in the hallway of the St Boniface General Hospital. Included inside the frame is a plaque describing the project “Fragile threads when combined become very strong cloth, thus the sash symbolizes the uniqueness of the individual and the value of teamwork.”
I’m putting together my presentation for the Centre for Rupertsland Colloquium in Rocky Mountain House next week, May 14-16. I will present the paper I wrote for the Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly, Spring 2007, that is, how to distinguish fingerwoven from loomwoven. And I’ll get to see the mountains again. The end of June I’m planning on attending the Handweavers Guild of America’s Convergence 2008 in Florida. I’m looking forward to learning lots of new techniques. |
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