I have been wanting to try this technique out simply because I hadn't done it before.
I took a look at the draft again that was on her blog and started to plan. It has 12 treadles, nope I didn't have 12 treadles so I used my table loom .
Next step turn it into a lift plan, again something I had done before but it wasn't difficult at all. There is always a solution to a problem.
My table loom is an 8 shaft jack table loom , levers that raise the shafts , and I think it was made by a manual arts school down in N.S.W.
I have since seen one since on Gumtree called a Pagett loom which looks exactly the same as mine, but can't find any information on that.
and hanging shafts with springs on the bottom of every shaft 1 either side of each shaft.
It has metal heddle rods and metal heddles.
It has a 12 dent reed.
Okay I have enough shafts and I only have to worry about which shaft has to be lifted. So all is good there.
I put the draft into a weaving app but had trouble making it into a lift plan. I also tried the demo version of fibreworks and still it wasn't what I was after. So out with the pens and did it by hand.
I also drew up the threading plan for 1 whole repeat, counted how many heddles would be needed on each shaft and made sure i had enough and thankfully i did.
Okay onto the warping I used Bendigo 2 ply Classic Wool at a sett of 15 ends per inch. I wanted it to be about 27 inches wide . I used a sett of 1-1-1-2 in the 12 dent reed.
I haven't worked with this wool before but am finding it sheds a lot. I wonder if this is what other people have found. It feels great whilst weaving and I haven't had any snapping at all.
Loom warped, heddles threaded lots of threading errors later, I proceeded to weave.
What the!
First row of sheep back to front. Second row upside down but now changed to weaving on the right side so I can see them.
Where are the sheep ,oh thats right they are on the back side of my weaving, damn. Okay I want to see what I am weaving so back to the drawing board not only was I weaving them not facing me but those little sheep were upside down. Hence the original pink lift plan numbers changed to green
and finally here they are all in order right side up, on the right side of the fabric. Now they look really good.
This is a fun pattern and rewarding to watch weave on my loom.
What I am going to make out of this fabric I have no idea at this point. Update i still have made nothing out of this fabric yet. I wonder what i could make and for what purpose would it end up being for.
