Contains content related to projects.
Its been four months since I finished the cloth for the Rus kaftan and, this past Sunday, I finally made time to beam a new weaving project on my floor loom – a pair of leg wraps (wicklebanders or winningas) in dark blue and yellow for a viking reenactor friend.
In January of 2013, I decided to branch out from my usual early period research and crafts. I have several friends who do Landknecht really well and I though it would be interesting to give it a shot.
Several years ago, a friend taught me to naalbind using what is commonly known as the mammen stitch. Naalbinding is an ancient needle looping technique that predates knitting for string manipulation. It was used in the Viking age, but also dates to ancient Egypt, I believe.
I have been able to do a little weaving on the patterned gauze weave sample currently on my rigid heddle loom.
Yesterday, I pulled the Rus kaftan cloth off the loom. There is something so lovely about an armful of handwoven yardage. I prepped the cloth for wet finished by pulling out the float warps (I use fishing line), checking for snags, and snipping off loose threads. I cut a piece off to save for my weaving notebook and tossed the entire lot into the washing machine. A few of might be horrified to know…
I spent a good portion of yesterday on the rigid heddle loom, measuring the warp and warping the loom. I am indebted to the information contained in Betty Linn Davenport’s invaluable book “Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving“, without which I would probably still trying to get the patterned gauze sample on the loom. The key piece of information I learned during this process is that when tying on, the heddle has to be in…
It immediately became clear, upon graphing the gauze weave draft, that the rigid heddle loom was going to impose its own limitations upon this effort. Not having any direct experience with weaving with a rigid heddle, that had not occurred to me until that point. Each line in the paper pattern at right represents 4 warp threads. My rigid heddle is 10 ends per inch and is 21 inches wide, giving me a maximum warp…
I’ve a friend who studies the Scythian and Pazyryk cultures and she introduced me to a book from an Abegg-Stiftung exhibit in 2001 called “Fabulous Creatures from the Desert Sands“. The book details woolen textiles from the tombs of Shanpula in Xinjiang, China. Textiles range from gorgeous polychrome horizontal tapestries, to pile rugs, to wide, multi-strand flat braids used as flounces on skirts to embroidered textiles and my current obsession, hand-manipulated lace cloth. I’ve been studying…
I am so pleased to have completed the weaving of the Rus kaftan cloth warp. Started back in April, this cloth posed unexpected challenges and new learning opportunities. The finished woven length is 11 and 2/3 yards. I had hoped to make 12 yards even, but that was not to be as one of the sheds became too narrow to throw even my low profie shuttle through it. Through out the weaving, I consistantly struggled…
I have completed weaving eight yards of the madder warp/brown weft combination. That is enough, I feel, to make the Rus kaftan. The rest of the warp is being woven with a higher contrast light brown/old gold weft. I have set a goal to have finish this project on the loom by the end of the year. This project has been quite challenging and not very fun as evidenced by the many months it…
