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Backstrap Weaving--I think I like it

8/30/2016

 
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It has now been five months since I warped my first backstrap loom.
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Little did I know then that not only would fall head over heels,
but that it would awaken long neglected passions:
​ for  for balanced plain weave (27years),
for weaving with linen (23 years)
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and for making my own needlepoint canvas (never actually attempted, but considered for at least 10 years).
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I've only begun to learn about this way of working,
but here are a few thoughts from my limited but focused experience :
​1. It's magical to be part of my loom
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2. The extreme portability has meant lots of weaving outside.
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3. The simplicity of the equipment has allowed me to make things up on the spur of the moment wherever I am, and to avoid big investment while still messing around with something that might just be a fly-by-night flirtation. 
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4. The excellent shadows keep me endlessly entertained
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5. Working alternately on both ends of a warp was an unexpected treat
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particularly when I found I could use a 
different shedding mechanism on each side:

a hand made rigid heddle on the near end

string heddles and a shed stick on the far.

 6. A bunch of other minor pleasures I won't go into right now as I don't want to bore you to tears or say too many things I might regret later when further experience brings me down to the ground.
Also,  you might want to find some of the stuff out for yourself.


But before closing,I thought I'd include some comparative thoughts on the two shedding mechanisms I've tried. Three, actually.
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STRING HEDDLES and SHED STICK
advantages:
- quick and easy to make
-super simple yet secure
- does not require pre-threading
-can use any sett you want
-fabulous for tapestry/ discontinuous weft  (like using leashes, just reach up, grab and lift to open specific warp threads).  
-pleasant rhythm


disadvantages:
​-traditionally used for warp faced-fabric  rather than balanced structures, and can see why as I found it hard keep the warp spacing consistent, particularly with linen.  
I had better luck with wool warp, and no trouble at all  when weaving tapestry, so perhaps it is a matter of experience.
note: actually, this inconsistency is also an advantage as I rather like the look of the wonky fabric I've made...
-shed stick sometimes wants to fall out and, even if tied in place, can have a mind of its own.  Experience again, I'm sure... maybe make one and leave the bark on?

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RIGID HEDDLE
advantages:

-consistent sett
-consistent and even shed 
-even fabric
-works as shedding mechanism and beater
-a variety of sizes available
-doesn't fall out when rolling up the warp
-easy to use with very pleasant rhythm
-ability to store a long piece of unwoven warp in a chain because the heddle spreads it out well before the fell
-lots of stuff I don't know about yet but hope to learn
disadvantages:
-stuck with the sett of the heddle(s) you have (unless using two at once which I have yet to try but is on my project list)
-harder for very fine setts (see above)
-awkward for discontinuous weft -- again, this is personal but like most shedding mechanisms other than leashes/shed stick/ fingerpicking, the heddle feels too separate from the area of  action and slows me down.
-have to cut the warp to thread the heddle (unless doubling fine warp) so can't weave from both ends with 3 selvedge edges.

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FINGER PICKING:
advantages:
-quick and easy to set up
-extreme simplicity
-the system I'm used to
disadvantage:
- warp/loom rocks in an irritating fashion when scooping the picked shed, something that doesn't' happen on a fixed loom.
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That's all I can think of for now except to show you this band lock I just got from Vävstuga,
I am only a yard or so into its first outing so far, but can see many advantages, not least that the piece can get really really long without having to deal with an ever-increasingly and eventually awkward cloth roll at my belly.  I've just ordered the larger size (this is the medium), so stay tuned! 

So much for using only what is at hand, but who wants to be consistent?

Eventually, I hope to talk about the linen/wool question,
my anticipated band lock exploration,
and of course the bliss of needlepoint on my own canvas,
because backstrap is apparently no longer just a distraction,
but a part of my practice.  
Proof: I just added a new post category.
​ 
Who knew?
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golly - my cushion matches my mug and my backstrap.
Angie Simon
8/30/2016 04:12:20 pm

This such an enjoyable post about your backstrap exploration and findings so far. Are the five months a surprise to you? I think I am trying to ask if had you an intention (formal) to spend a season or two (or more) to study backstrap weaving or if it was a happy whim (informal) that led you to this interesting exploration?

And needlework fabric?! Wow.

Sarah
8/31/2016 12:40:42 pm

Hello Angie -- interseting question. The five months were a surprise --- that is to say, I have kept being surprised by the questions the loom generates, as well as my willingness to seek answers. I'm also surprised by what those answers prove to be. Indeed, it now feels like there is a whole pool of work, much of it involving a backstrap loom, waiting to be done and the only way to find out what the work actually is, is is to keep exploring.
That said, I had an inkling of this earlier in the summer, so in June, after my show was open and the Fiber Festival over, I informally committed myself to using only a backstrap loom for a time -- first just for the month of July, and then extended through August.
I now feel somewhat confident that my interest won't vanish, so I'm contemplating setting up a pipe loom and having a couple of weaving projects going at once -- unusual for me, but not unheard of. Each kind of loom has strengths and only by allowing each to be part of my current practice can I fully appreciate each for what it is....

That's probably way more than you wanted to know, but I guess I didn't know this till I started to write -- so thanks. Hope your work is going well.....

Angie Simon
9/3/2016 07:49:14 pm

Thank you, Sarah, for your interesting reply. My summer has been full of researching creativity, fear of, etc.; organizing a charitable quilt show; and making a few things, sporadically. The show is over now (whew!) and my intent is to spend time in my studio daily (after WI Sheep & Wool) and see what comes of it.

Gerri B
8/30/2016 07:55:47 pm

yes, all the color matching in that last picture is impressive!

I never thought of weaving needlepoint canvas. Will you starch it or just work with it in a hoop?

I've really been enjoying the backstrap explorations! The making do parts have been inspiring.

Sarah
8/31/2016 12:51:02 pm

Hi Gerri. So far I haven't sized/ starched the fabric I'm treating as needlepoint canvas, but haven't washed it either. It is pretty stiff right off the loom, though the holes are not absolutely fixed. My goal is to do what i call 'open canvas' needlepoint -- tent stitch but not covering everything-- so when I'm done I will wash it and it'll be more like regular embroidered fabric. Might try sizing some time, but not yet. I think the linen has enough structural integrity on its own. I think.

I'm not using a hoop because that would, I fear, distort the canvas too much when one part is pushed down over the other, but am using one of those wooden frames with rolling split dowels on teh sides. Can't think what they are called. This keeps the canvas square and tight and allows me to work my way along, rolling up the part I'm not currently using. I could simply hold the work in my hand, but I find gripping the fabric hard on my joints/ tendons -- plus Iv'e found there is more bias in the finished needlework than with a frame of some kind -- at least with commercial needlepoint canvas.

The BEST part of this is that even unwashed, the fabric/ canvas feels really good to my hands and makes even high quality commercial canvas feel a little plasticky and regular. Some of that is the sizing they use, which can come out, but the pleasure of my uneven holes and naturally colored linen is hard to describe. Worth a try!

Janet Kovach
9/3/2016 06:07:19 am

on 9.3.2016 Thank you so much for this super interesting post about your continuing experiments. At present I am reading through Runcie's novels on which the PBS series Grantchester is based. In the third book I am in now, he mentions the , or one of the , largest tapestries in the world of the Risen Christ. This hangs in the Coventry Cathedral in Britain. When I researched a little the info said the tapestry was woven by 12 women on a loom made of 2 tree trunks. I'm still trying to wrap, not warp, my imagination around that. Have you ever seen this tapestry? from Janet K way over East in NJ where the Hurricane Hermine is roaring up the Coast this weekend.

Sarah
9/4/2016 10:32:46 am

Hello Janet, Thanks so much for your comment and kind words. Though I don't know much about it I have certainly heard of the tapestry in the Coventry Cathedral and seen images. Called Christ In Glory it was designed by Graham Vivian Sutherland and woven in France, dated 1962. It is 78 ft 1 IN x 38 ft. 0 3/4 in .
There is a photo of it in the book GREAT TAPESTRIES (Edited by Joseph Jobé, translated by Pggy Rowell Oberson and published in 1965 by Edita S.A. Lausanne). I have also heard (from some source I do not remember), that the tapestry was extremely tricky to hang.
I'd love to see it in person as the photo in the book, though impressive, can't begin to give the feeling one must get by being near such a thing.

Hope the Hurricane wasn't overwhelming!

Dee Jochen
9/4/2016 01:46:47 pm

I can only thank you again for sharing your creative process! I find it so very heartening as I work away at finding mine.
Even weaving your own needlepoint canvas....my fingers want to feel it!

Margaret stone
9/5/2016 12:37:58 am

Thank you, Sarah, for being so inspirational. I have always wanted to spin my own silk thread for cross stitch but weaving my own cloth to stitch on would be amazing. I have always wanted to try back strapping after reading about it many years ago while homeschooling. Its on my 'to do' list and I have your wonderful posts to enjoy in he mean time.

Hugh S. Myers link
9/13/2016 01:05:02 pm

Just the summary has given me a herd of unruly ideas to manage. Not to mention those that snuck in while I was ideating. I'm currently multi-tasking with only one weaverly task. By now you've seen the remarkable PVC loom. I've undertaken a re-design in order to add things I deem left out. Drop by if curious, glad to see another Idaho resident make an impact!! https://www.pinterest.com/hughmyers75/a-pvc-loom-improved-upon/

Julia link
9/14/2016 06:48:16 am

Oh my goodness! It is delightful to see you having so much fun with the backstrap loom. What a wonderful post sharing your list of advantages and disadvantages of the two ways to create a shed. Very helpful. Brilliant of you to work from both ends of your warp!

Linen is such a beautiful fiber, simple weave is a perfect structure for it and your embellishments are only enhance it's quiet quality.

Here's one way to keep that shed rod in place: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/faq-index/k-faq-11-how-do-i-stop-my-shed-rod-from-moving-around/

I would love to share your experiences with members of the backstrap weaving group on Ravelry. May I link to your blog on that group?

Sarah
9/15/2016 12:05:51 pm

Julia -- thank you so much for this link to Lavern's blog post and video. Just the bit of information I needed. Lavern, indeed, is wonderfully generous with information and I so appreciate all that I have read and learned there.

And please do share anything you find interseting with the backstrap Ravelry Group. So glad to know it exists!

Julia link
9/15/2016 12:41:20 pm

Excellent Sarah! So glad you've found this helpful. I will certainly share with the backstrapers on Ravelry.

Laverne Waddington link
9/15/2016 08:01:56 pm

Hi Sarah,

Julia did share your post on the Backstrap Weaving Group on Ravelry so I came over to take a look. I am glad that you have found my blog posts on backstrap weaving useful and it is lovely to see your work with linen and balanced weave. Yes, it is hard to keep the warp spacing consistent for balanced weaves when using string heddles. I have a collection of lovely lightweight bamboo reeds that I use now on the fairly rare occasions when I do balanced weaves. With them, I can set up multiple sets of string heddles behind, if I choose, to create more complex structures. However, warp-faced fabric is my great love. As for finger-picking, I guess I am just used to having the warp move about. In fact, I may even like that. I make it go where I want it to go! But, I haven't really woven on floor looms and haven't become accustomed to a warp that stays still! Good luck with your adventures.

Sarah
9/16/2016 10:41:12 am

Hello Laverne! Thank you so much for coming to see what I've been learning. I much appreciate your thoughts --lightweight bamboo reeds sound both aesthetically delightful and useful for these balanced weaves I'm currently exploring. And the idea of multiple sets of string heddles behind sounds like a fantastic way to try more complex structures. I so appreciate your advice. The great thing about string heddles is that they free one up to use any sett at all, so I hope that over time I'll improve my control vis-a-vis the placement of the warp.

Having spent the last 27 years immersed in weft faced plain weave (tapestry) on simple pipe looms (I've long forgotten how to warp a floor loom!), I'm having a ball making fabric I can see through, though don't doubt that some warp faced bands will be in my future.

Such a magical thing, to be part of the loom.


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