S&W , Polychrome, Taquete

It seems as I work with single two-tie (summer and winter or double two-tie, or taquete, or S&W polychrome)...... that there just seems to be more and more that can be done.

Here are my two scarves plus all the sampling on the back porch trying to dry. The scarf on the left is woven in 1-2-2-1 tie-down order as regular summer and winter. The next scarf is woven in polychrome. That is S&W using two colors of weft plus tabby. The samples are my experiments with taquete, polychrome and regular S&W. I had already tied onto this warp once, so now it is time to stop and get ready for a workshop in June for this loom.

Things I have learned: 1. Weaving with one pattern weft and a tabby same size as the warp gives your scarf a nice drape.  2. Weaving with two same sized weft threads and a smaller tabby thread your fabric is a bit stiffer. 3.  Weaving with three wefts of the same size in Taquete produces a stiff fabric.

I think I could have helped the taquete drape if I had used only in the weft one large sized thread and two small ones. That "might" have helped the drape. Also with the polychrome the choice of weft size is important.

The main thing I learned is that you can put on one long single two-tie warp and have many-many different looks by changing the tie-up and/or treadlings.

S&W Polychrome to Taquete

Now I think I am going to be weaving Taquete.

Here is a small history lesson.
According to Summer and Winter, A Weave for All Seasons by Donna Sullivan - "summer and winter polychrome is 3 blocks of single two-tie and you rotate two or more colors of pattern weft with a tabby weft"

According to Harriet Tidball, Shuttle Craft Guild Monograph Nineteen 1966, "two differently colored pattern wefts follow each tabby shot."

Well, what is it if you don't use tabby?

Lilian Whipple says in her book, Summer and Winter to Taquete (A Lesson In How To Design And Weave In Two Basic Structures)  - "My definition of Taquete is summer and winter woven without the tabby thread." The tie down threads ( 1 + 2) must always alternate and all pattern blocks must be woven as pattern or floats will appear on the top or bottom side of the fabric."

So now, what I am doing is this... I am weaving using three colors in a set rotation alternating each of three different pattern shafts. I have 12 picks I must do before I can move onto the next block. There is no set three pattern shaft to use or what order to pick them... so I am having fun designing on the loom to find my blocks.

My sequence using three colors (pattern wefts):
1+ 1st pattern - mauve
1+ 2nd pattern - rose
1+ 3 pattern - turquoise

2+ 1st pattern - mauve
2+ 2nd pattern - rose
2+ 3rd pattern - turquoise

1+ 1st pattern - mauve
1+ 2nd pattern - rose
1+ 3 pattern - turquoise

2+ 1st pattern - mauve
2+ 2nd pattern - rose
2+ 3rd pattern - turquoise

*You will need to contact Lillian Whipple for her booklet..or it might have been a download.... and the Donna Sullivan book should still be available.

Double Two-Tie Polychrome

It helps to keep your shuttles in the same color order no matter which side you are coming from.

I am weaving on a double-two tie draft in the 1-2-2-1 order. This is considered Ploychrome.

I weave two pattern treadles with each tie down. My sources said to weave in 1-2-1-2 order because it was gonna be hard to remember which shuttle to throw when and that might cut down on the errors. Not one to do what others says..... smile..... I am using the 1-2-2-1 tie down order. There are two pattern color and one tabby color.

To weave one block I have 12 picks.
1+ 1st pattern
1+ 2nd pattern
tabby a
2+ 1st pattern
2+ 2nd pattern
tabby b
2+ 1st pattern
2+ 2nd pattern
tabby a
1+ 1st pattern
1+ 2nd pattern
tabby b

S&W to Double Two-Tie

sampling for bottom scarf

I have been playing around with a "double-two tie" draft. Double meaning that instead of the usual pattern shafts being on the same shafts, I have split the two pattern shaft threads and put them on different shafts. For instance: a normal summer and winter block is threaded 1-4-2-4, but I have threaded 1-4-2-8. This can make the edges of the block not quite so sharp.

Scarf not only finished, but mailed to friend. 

Now I am working on a different warp. I have tied onto the same threading as the above scarf. I am weaving it the usual summer and winter treadling of the "O" fashion. As you can see from the top photo, I have changed the treadling a little from the completed scarf.

New warp still weaving summer and winter.

Sample-Sample-Sample

I am still playing around with this double two-tie draft. I have tied onto this threading and am now finding the weft yarn.

This is some sampling on the original painted warp. I was tweeking the pattern some also.

I found this pink-ish bamboo and like the size, but it doesn't do much for me. I tried red too.... nope!

Now this I think I can go with. It is my 'go to' silk. I don't know what I will do when I run out of this stuff. I have put 8 yards on the loom, so I should have enough for sampling and a couple of scarves. 

p.s. Yes, I am still putting the white snowflake cotton warp onto the big loom. Slow and steady!

Painted Warp Scarf

This scarf I have just finished has been a very interesting adventure. First I wound the warp for a dye party. I didn't know how many ends I would need, so just wound 140 of 10/2 tencel. As this was the last warp I had to dye, I ran around to the others stations and used the dye colors that everyone else was using. It was a hit and miss kind of dye job. So the colors you see are the ones we all used at the dye party that day.

Next I wanted to work with a summer and winter draft to see how a painted warp would work with summer and winter, but ended up with a double two-tie draft instead. That is where instead of using just one shaft for the pattern shaft, I have used two different shafts. In summer and winter it is always 1 -X , 2-X... with X being the same shaft. In double two-tie you still have the tie downs on shafts 1 & 2, but your pattern shafts can be the same and different through out the draft.. 

Such as 1-4-2-8. 

 

As you can see here, I have the first unit as 1-3-2-4, the next unit is 1-5-2-6, the next unit is 1-5-2-6, ans the last unit is 1-6-2-7, (the 1-7 on the end is part of the next unit). The splitting of the pattern shafts is why it is called double two-tie.

So I developed my draft and sure enough, I needed more ends. I went to my stash and found some bamboo and added it to the edges. My pattern weft and tabby threads were silks I also had in my stash. 

I think this double two-tie draft does show off the painted warp. And the silk makes the drape yummy! This is going to a high school friend who likes color.