Friday, May 27, 2016

Reversing Anglo-Saxon Diamonds

I will eventually add this to my handout (available in a previous blog post), but I don't want those who have asked me how to do this, to wait until I get around to it.

It works best if you start this at the end of a diamond (I'll post what happens if you don't at the end).  Your threads should look like this, and you should have passed the weft from left to right.


Next you will flip all the cards on their verticle axis, keeping them in the same packs.  This is equivilent to changing the direction that you roll the cards, but you can continue the motor memory that you have established because you will continue to roll away from your body.  This will remove the twist that has built up.

Starts in this postion (or reversed).
 Ends in this position (or reversed).

Next you will take the cards at each end, and slide them into the opposite pack.  There will be two cards next to each other at the outermost edge of your packs instead of one.

 If you are using the end card to keep track of which pack to use (i.e. which one will lock the weft thread in at the selvedge because it is at the outermost edge of the band), you just roll the pack with the appropriate end card away from your body.  Then pass the weft.  Basically you have reversed the order of odd and even packs in their rotation.  For example, the last card on the right hand side used to be in the even pack, and is now in the odd pack.  Initially the cards in the center will float, but after a few passes they will be drawn back into the weave.  You can see the transition below.

 If you decide to change in a different spot, it become much more noticeable, because it breaks the pattern.