New Adventures with Chenille: Diversified Plain Weave Wow!

One of the many projects I've had simmering in the studio for a while has been a Diversified Plain Weave scarf using rayon chenille and cotton. Diversified Plain Weave is a clunky term for an elegant weave structure that produces a lovely, supple rayon and cotton fabric. You can use other materials including wool or silk, but rayon and cotton is what I have around, and (especially the cotton) need to use.

Diversified Plain Weave (hereafter referred to as DPW) has been around for a while. Klara Cherepov produced a small book on it in 1972, which I checked out from the university library. I found it cryptic and unreadable, much less something I could actually use in the studio. This "classic" DPW relies on pretty strict rules concerning threading and weaving. Each pattern block consists of two shafts, in addition to two tie-down shafts. Odd and even shafts must alternate.  Many other rules must be applied. 

Madelyn van der Hoogt's article titled "Thick 'n Thin Again"  in Weaver's Magazine (Summer 1997) is an excellent summary of "classic" DPW, the pros and cons. However, in this article she introduces a new and improved DPW that eliminates all the hassles of the original, and this totally got my attention.

In this new and improved version, blocks are threaded and woven independently of each other, and do not have to follow a prescribed order. In other words, DPW was transformed into a true block weave. Each block consists of two thin tie-down threads on shafts 1 and 2, and a thick pattern thread on a third shaft.  For my scarf I used 1200 ypp rayon chenille in black for the thick warp and 40/3 cotton in black for the thin warp. For the weft I used 1200 ypp handpainted rayon chenille for the thick weft, and 40/3 cotton in black for the thin weft.

Here is a shot of the scarf on the loom:

It was threaded 24 ends per inch, 2 thin threads and 1 thick thread per dent in my 8 dent reed. I added a floating selvedge on each side. I made the warp 9" wide, and wove 70", not including fringes. When I got it off the loom it had shrunk to 8 1/4" in width and 68" in length. After zigzagging the ends I soaked the scarf in the sink, rinsed it, and spun out the extra water in the washing machine. At the laundromat (don't own a dryer, never have) I dried it only until damp-dry, then laid it out flat at home to dry the rest of the way. It had shrunk to 6 1/2" x 60", a whopping 15% shrinkage in length, and 18% shrinkage in width. That was quite a surprise, but good to know as I plan to do a lot more of these!

Here is a shot of the finished scarf:

The underside of the scarf is the opposite of the top side: the black becomes handpaint and the handpaint becomes black. It's pretty cool.

What I would do differently: 

• I would wind the two tie-down warps together from two separate spools along with the thick pattern thread, thus eliminating the need to stop and cut the warp every time I change yarn. (I may have been weaving for 40+ years, but I can still do stupid stuff with the best of them.)
• I would put the handpainted yarn in the warp instead of the weft, thus eliminating the stripey effect that handpainting yarn naturally causes.

Here is the profile draft that I used:

Each block  in the threading represents 2 tie-down threads and 1 pattern thread. Each block in the treadling sequence represents 2 "tabby" shots and 1 pattern shot. (Please note that you do not get a true tabby with this threading.)

And here is a sample of my actual drawdown:

The threading sequence goes: tie-down thread on 1, tie-down thread on 2, pattern thread on 3, 4, 5, or 6. This three thread sequence can be repeated at will and you can follow any pattern block with any other pattern block, odd or even. 

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Sideways

Here's a sweater that I just recently finished knitting. It's called the Allegra Jacket and you can get a free copy of the pattern here. I used Madelinetosh Tosh DK in the colorway Cherry. It was a real splurge, but well worth the investment I think. 

I got the yarn for it in two different batches. The first batch was in California at Yarn Dogs in Los Gatos.  I'd never seen the Madelinetosh in person before (I know, Iowa.....), so when I spied it I had to have some to take back home. After I bought the yarn, then my brain started to churn on what pattern to make with it. I had the Allegra Jacket in my list of favorites on Ravelry, and the yardage fit the pattern, so I decided to go ahead with it. Trouble was, I still needed four more skeins (ouch!), so I ordered them from Webs. Turns out the Madelinetosh doesn't use color lots. So Cherry was Cherry, even if it came from the opposite side of the U.S.

I'm used to knitting sweaters top down, so the sideways construction was kind of a mind bender at first. Not only do you need to get your stitch gauge, but it is highly recommended that you get row gauge as well. I was kind of oblivious, to this bit of trivia. The stitch pattern is called "Roman Stitch", which is nothing more than two rows of seed stitch, then four rows of stockinette. You start at the edge of one sleeve, and by increasing and decreasing, binding off and casting on, you eventually knit your way to the edge of the other sleeve and then bind off for good.  Picking up stitches around the front edges and then neck, you add about 2 inches worth of seed stitch, bind off again, and then you are done.

The Madelinetosh yarn was wonderful to work with, and it relaxed a bunch during wet blocking. I couldn't believe how soft the hand was and it feels so comfy to wear. Compared to the original patttern, which is a cropped length, doesn't meet in the front, and has three-quarter length sleeves, I like mine a whole lot better.  Oh and yes, it covers my butt.

Clearly, I didn't get row gauge, but since I erred on the larger side (my brain can't quite compute whether I got more rows per inch or fewer, but it doesn't matter much), it's all good.

Weaving: There's an App for That

My history as a weaver includes a stint in a Master's Degree program at Iowa State University in the 1980s. They used to offer a degree in Craft Design, and because I was already living here in Ames, I decided I should take advantage of it. I focused on computer applications in handweaving. It was 1984. Microcomputers by makers like Commodore, Apple, and Atari were hot. Programs were being written and published in weaving magazines that did rudimentary drawdowns. I wanted to get in on the fun, and I explored designing with weaving software and weaving on a computer-driven loom.

After I graduated in 1987, I continued using weaving software. I went from the Apple IIe to a DOS-based program in the early 1990s, and then I used a windows based program that was freeware. That was ok for designing but it always crashed when I tried to print from it. Then came the chenille period, which continues to this day, and you don't really need weaving software to make plain weave scarves with handpainted yarn. I finally purchased a new weaving software package about 2 or 3 years ago, which I am quite happy with. I use it on my laptop, and print out the occasional drawdown.

For instance, I used my software (Pixeloom, BTW) to help design this rayon twill scarf drawdown:

Now software packages have become "apps" and there's a weaving app for the iPad, iPhone, and Android device users called Wif 'n Proof from Sandoz Software. I became aware of it from the weaving email discussion group I subscribe to, and I immediately had to give it a try. This isn't an app you buy at the App Store in iTunes. It really is software that you buy a license to use, and then download, kind of unusual in my iPad experience. I tried the free demonstration version, and then went on to buy a license.

Wif 'n Proof is able to display drawdowns that I make and save as wifs. First I have to move them to an intermediate "bucket" like Dropbox. In Dropbox I open the wif, copy the code, and paste it in Wif 'n Proof, which then generates displays for the threading, liftplan or treadling, the tie-up, and the fabric. Here's that same drawdown you saw above, in the Wif 'n Proof display. The first screen is the threading:

Then the treadling sequence with the tie-up at the top:

Finally, a display of the fabric which you can view at three zoom levels:

While not the "classic" drawdown display, the purpose here is to aid the weaver in keeping track of where you are in the threading sequence, or in the treadling sequence, especially if either one is very long and very complicated. I haven't actually used this app in my own work yet, but I am planning a Diversified Plain Weave project and I will definitely use it when threading and weaving. The design that I am planning would require, if I actually printed it out from Pixeloom, several pages of paper draft. If I can keep it on my iPad, and just scroll up and down or back and forth when needed, I have saved a bunch of trees, plus I have moved my weaving software "Jones" into the 21st century.

P.S. Wif 'n Proof now has a design feature which allows designing directly on your device. I haven't used it yet, but plan to very soon.

Some Go for the Wine: I Go for the Yarn

My husband and I made a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area in earlier this month to visit old friends and old haunts. We both grew up in the Bay Area, and it had been five years since we last visited. The last three days of the trip were spent in Los Gatos and Santa Cruz with dear friends Sylvia and Rudy. Sylvia has been a knitter as long as I've known her, and I've been a weaver as long as she's known me. (A long time, don't ask.) I wasn't a knitter when we visited in 2006, but I am now, and thus we took this rare opportunity to visit as many yarn stores as we could.

Day One: Yarndogs in Los Gatos.

I soon realized that these California yarn stores are chock full of yarns that I've only ever looked at on the internet.

I found this Madeline Tosh DK and quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to resist the softness and squishyness. After consulting my favorites and queue on Ravelry, I decided that the Allegra jacket would be work well with this yarn, so upon returning home, I found four more skeins at Webs. That was a big splurge!

Day Two: The Golden Fleece and The Swift Stitch in Santa Cruz

The next day we drove over the coast range from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz. There we dropped in the Golden Fleece, and again I spent a lot of time touching the yarn and marveling at the textures and colors. At the Golden Fleece I found a nice skein of sock yarn handpainted by Radioactive Rabbit.

At the Swift Stitch I was sucked in by all the cones of Habu silk that were everywhere. But I managed to escape with just a circular needle that I needed when I got back home. I used it in finishing this sweater for my grandson:

Day Three: The Very Knit in Los Gatos

The next day we were leaving in the afternoon, but in the morning we squeezed in a little more yarn shopping at the Very Knit in downtown Los Gatos. The Very Knit is distinguished by the unusual practice of arranging a large wall of their yarn by color, not by brand or size. A very inspiring visual feast. This is the only store that I managed to escape without actually spending money, but I did take note of some Noro yarns that I didn't know about: Noro King and Noro Retro. King is a fine fingering that spoke to the weaver in me. I think it will do nicely as a scarf warp sometime in the future. Retro is an ultra soft yarn that is not variegated in the usual Noro fashion, but comes in solid colors with a kettle-dyed effect.

Too fun!

So long, Structo

(I know what you're thinking. Another blog post so soon?)
Last week I put my 20" inch Structo Artcraft table loom up for sale on eBay. I used to be a regular seller on eBay, but hadn't wanted to continue, instead opting for Etsy as a better venue for my handpainted yarns. But, eBay is a lively marketplace for used weaving equipment, so I went back to the old sod. I haven't woven on it for years. I need space in the studio. Plus, I have a 12 harness Leclerc Dorothy table loom, and one is really enough.
Putting a desirable item up for auction on eBay is really fun. The watchers started almost immediately, and bidding started soon after, continuing all through the 7 day period. In the end, the loom sold to a nice lady in Wisconsin whose husband just happened to be in Iowa for a state-wide bike ride called Ragbrai. On his way home this morning, he zoomed through Ames and picked it up. No shipping! yay!
I bought this Structo from the Iowa State University College of Design in the 1990s when they closed their weaving studio. It is a mid-20th century loom, and a real work horse. If you have a chance to buy one, do so, especially if you are a beginning level weaver.
Here are some pics:

I Need a Beer THIS BIG

Or, Flight 5172 Where Are You?

Or, is Gate C1 the new Bermuda Triangle?

Or, Another Month, Another Cancelled Flight

So, my husband and I have a very nice trip planned to visit friends in Atlanta. We get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time, like good little passengers, and no sooner do we get through security and sit down with our coffees than we get notified of a flight delay. Ok. It's a direct flight. No connections. We'll wait it out.

The flight delay gets extended. We hear it's due to mechanical problems, so we get some lunch vouchers, and go down to the brew pub on the "concourse". We come back to the gate. This is a flight that originates in Atlanta, flies to Des Moines, then heads back to Atlanta. The Delta website says the flight is in the air.

We wait. The flight arrival time keeps getting pushed back. Then we hear that the flight had to go BACK to Atlanta. Hmmm.

We keep close to gate C1. The lady there is very apologetic. Our departure time, which was originally 11:17 is now 4:18. Meanwhile delta.com keeps offering conflicting information. The flight is in the air, then it's delayed, then it has landed in Des Moines. I still don't know if it ever left Atlanta the second time. (Not sure if I would want to get on that particular aircraft anyway.)

At approximately 3:00pm we had been hanging around gate C1 for 6 hours, and were finally cancelled. Thank goodness someone finally made a decision.

So now we are in a hotel in downtown Des Moines waiting for our rebooked flight which departs at 5:50am tomorrow. I'll believe it when it's in the air.

Obligatory fiber content:

While I sat waiting I worked on this sweater for grnadson Jack. It helped a little, but I'm a very nervous traveler, and the only thing that really helped was a very large beer.

Hit me.

Undulating Twill Scarf - the Next Iteration

I've been traveling a bit this summer, and will be traveling some more before it's all over. Sometimes it feels like traveling is the norm and my studio projects are tucked in and around the trips.

I took the undulating twill draft that I used for woven shibori, changed the tie-up, and wove a rayon scarf, using stash yarn and some handpainted yarn. The warp and weft are 6 ply rayon that was once available from Webs, but no longer. It weaves up into fabulously drapey, soft fabric after wet finishing and pressing. I'm really pleased with the results!

So here are a couple of photos:

I'm toying with the idea of writing this pattern up as a PDF, but for now, here is my draft. I wove it without the tabby. My sett was 20 epi.

Writing this while watching the final round of The Open Championship. Go Phil!