Strings and Things

Friday, July 29, 2016

Kivrim (Ram's Horn) handout

I have sucked at uploading my handouts. However, rather than rebuilding them here (which is challenging since the origional handout pictures are sometimes years old), or fighting with uploading a pdf, I have discovered that I can just add a bunch of screenshots. Maybe I will be better about uploading all my handouts in the future. ;)

It has probably been at least 5 years since I taught this class, so I'm adding a diagram that may help explain something in the handout, since I'm not physically there to explain it.

I base S and Z on the direction that the thread passes through the card (others base this on the tilt of the card). Either can be remembered by thinking of the center of an S (\) or a Z (/). S and Z can be changed by flipping the card on the vertical axis:

When you flip the card this way, changing it from S to Z, or vice versa, you are in effect changing the rotation direction of the card. So, if you aren't comfortable flipping the card, you can also move them in the opposite direction from the rest of the pack. In this pattern, I think flipping two cards on the axis every four turns and rolling the entire pack 4 forward (away from you) and 4 backwards (towards you) is easier than remembering that two cards continue to roll forwards throughout the band (and Crocket's version makes this even more complicated), but I realize that not everyone feels that way. Do what works best for you. There is no one true way in weaving.

*incomplete notes at the end about the problems dating this pattern*

The rest is my old handout:

*The next three images overlap, so it is easier to connect them*

*Additional notes.

Controversy over antique kilim rug finds http://www.marlamallett.com/chupdate.htm

I did find a picture of an ancient kilim rug that had a motif similar to kivrim from a differnt source when I initially wrote this handout, but it was not exact, and I have not had time to access that hard drive, to see if it is still there. As with most people I know, I like to think that I have a good memory, but I also understand that much of memory is false. Until I find that picture, which should also have my notes on where I got it from, consider kivrim motifs being ancient unclear.

I can date the pattern to the 17th century on Armenian rugs, so the pattern is earlier than 18th-19th century. However, I'm not going to dig out those pictures tonight, or probably for a few weeks, but at least those are recent enough to be on my current computer.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Posament handout version II

Pictures of the Birka posaments can be found at the Swedish History Museum website (http://historiska.se), along with a link to several resources, including Birka III (the textile finds).

Posament group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/679673238710312/

Ethni from Northshield has a lovely spreadsheet of posament finds, relevant links, and she has started adding tutorials. http://eithni.com/posaments/

Tenntråd comes in various dimensions, with .30 mm being fairly common. The percentage of silver versus pewter also varies. I recommend the following links to purchasing:

Pewter and other metals http://www.pewterofsweden.com/en/

SCA member in AnTir who also carries my favorite Epic Wool

https://timeless-textiles.com/

Ethni’s etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheExcellentFrog?ref=hdr_shop_menu

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.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Basic posament handout from my 2016 Collegium class

Basic how to pictures for a few of the knots. I plan on including some of the wire posaments, as well as instructions for trichinopoly chain in future handouts.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Using your cards to keep track of direction

One of the simpliest ways to keep track of your card direction is to split your packs. If the card rolls away from you it will be in the pack furthest from your body, and towards you in the pack closest. However, sometimes you need to move multiple cards in different directions, and moving cards between packs becomes a hassle. Instead, I don't fully split them. This allows me to know where I am in a pattern, even when interuptions force me to leave in the middle of it. If the cards are partialy split across the pack, that means the row was just finished. If I have shifted all but the beginning pattern card/cards into a single pack, it means that I am about to start that row.

This is the one-pack method for 3/1 Twill using four of the same color threads in each pattern card, and two border cards on each side which move independent of the pattern cards.

Rotations for the 12 pattern cards (all threaded S or Z):

2 F, 2B repeated for the entire line
1 F, 2B, then repeat 2 F, 2B for the rest of the line
2 B, 2 F repeated for the entire line
1 B, 2F, then repeat 2B, 2F for the rest of the line

Ready to start, with border cards shifted away from the body (will be rolling in that direction, until it gets tight, then flipped on the vertical axis, so they can continue rolling the same direction but remove twist buildup).

End of the first row (2 F, 2B repeated for the entire line). The direction turned will naturally offset the cards, until you move them back into a single pack.

Shifted into one pack, except for the first card which indicates which line you are on. 1st card will roll away from you, so it must be row 2 (1 F, 2B, then repeat 2 F, 2B for the rest of the line).

End of second row.

Ready for the third row (2 B, 2 F repeated for the entire line).

End of third row.

Ready for forth row (1 B, 2F, then repeat 2B, 2F for the rest of the line).

Forgot to take a picture of the end placement on row four, but hopefully it is not needed.

End result:

Friday, July 3, 2015

Guntram's Leaf Pattern?

I have a Mac, so I can't use GTT. This was charted from a picture of a band that used that pattern, and might be different. If you use GTT, please let me know if it matches the pattern found here: http://www.guntram.co.za/tabletweaving/patterns/threaded_complex.html

4F/4B except the two cards that only roll F

28 white

28 Green

While this pattern is 4F/4B, I do not recommend counting the turns. Instead, you know when to change direction when the top of the leaf comes to a point, and the white fleck shows up in the center on the other side.

If you don't catch those, it will become very obvious when you roll too far, because the color will change abruptly.

In this case, it was a mistake, because changing the rolling direction will change the direction of the leaves (which I did not want). However, if you want your leaves to change direction, it will also remove twist because the always F cards change to always B.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Diagonals sun, aka eye of Sauron.

I wound up weaving this while playing with diagonals, but it matches elements of one of the patterns that I had looked at from Applsies and Fox noses, so I am not going to take credit for it. It matches the one I had previous looked at, but the author of that book was kind enough to give me permission to share the pattern I made. Diagonals are really easy to manipulate, so I will try to be good and post a how-to chart patterns using diagonals blog entry at some point. The basic part of diagonals is that you change directions in pairs, which means that three cards with the same color showing on a chart will have two in the same direction with any third card of the same color moving in the opposite direction. So // \, \ //, \\ /, or / \\. Not a full explanation, but hopefully enough to get you thinking about how patterning works for later.

Set up is half S and half Z as you would usually do for basic diamonds. You need the X part, but your diamond part is modified by the direction changes. / is forward or away from you, and \ is backwards or towards you. You can choose either color for the pattern.

What it looks like

I did a border with two gold and two red in adjoining holes, and mirror imaged. I matched them to my start direction which means it gives the bend on some parts, and totally doesn't match on others (double bend), but I kind of thought it would be interesting, and wound up liking the effect. Most of the time I am boring and do solid colored borders, so this was kind of fun.