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​Dabbling with Turned Twill: Finding my Cat’s Pajamas

6/16/2018

26 Comments

 
It all started with a beautiful skein of variegated yarn - a gift from my friend Sue - and a memory of seeing a scarf that had  weft-wise stripes on one side of the scarf that magically disappeared on the other.

The yarn I wanted to use was a 10/2 mercerized cotton called "Boot Camp", handpainted by Claudia Yarns.

The magically striped scarf remained a complete mystery until recently when Jane Stafford dropped a hint on one of her early videos that unlocked the key for me: the scarf can be woven in a turned twill and the trick to the disappearing stripes lies in the tie-up.
Picture
"Boot Camp" by Claudia Yarns

​My favorite weave structure happens to be turned twill (also known as block twill).  I love this structure because there are an endless number of ways to vary the threading, tie-up and treadling, and the structure lends itself very easily to color changes in both threading and treadling.  A veritable weaver’s wonderland! 
​
Here is the draft for a 2 block twill that I use frequently for scarves (click on the draft to zoom in):
Picture
Picture
The Tie-up for a traditional 2 block turned twill
Block A in the above draft is threaded on harnesses 1-4 and Block B is threaded on harnesses 5-8.  
With this tie-up, when treadles 1-4 are weaving the following happens:
  • 1/3 weft-faced twill (blue) is created in the Block A sections on harnesses 1-4 while
  • 3/1 warp-faced twill (green) is created in the Block B sections on harnesses 5-8
When treadles 5-8 are weaving the following happens:
  • 3/1 warp-faced twill (gray) is created in the Block A sections on harnesses 1-4 while
  • 1/3 weft-faced twill (blue) is created in the Block B sections on harnesses 5-8

Picture
This is a tencel scarf that uses a very similar draft with several colors in the warp, including one variegated yarn.
Picture

​Now, for my magical scarf.
​I wanted my scarf to have just 2 warp-wise stripes, so I changed the threading so I had only one Block A and one Block B, like this:​
Picture
Nice, but there are two things here I wanted to change:
  1. The twill lines are going in opposite directions on the two sides of the cloth
  2. The stripes appear on both sides of the scarf

Next I changed the tie-up so I had the continuous twill line that I wanted across the whole scarf:
Picture
Picture
Angle of the twill line changed in both warp-faced tie-up quadrants

Finally I changed the tie-up to make the horizontal stripe disappear on the right side.  In the above draft,
  • Treadles 1-4 are creating exactly the kind of cloth I wanted (warp-faced in Block B and weft-faced in Block A) so I did not change the tie-up for those treadles (left upper and lower quadrants)
  • Treadles 5-8 are creating the stripe I want in Block B on the left side of the scarf, so I did not change the tie-up for that section (upper right quadrant)
  • The only area of the tie-up that I needed to change was the lower right quadrant which was creating the stripe on the right side of the scarf
Picture
Picture
Changed the face of the lower right quadrant (Block A) tie-up
By changing the face of the right lower quadrant of the tie-up from warp-faced to weft-faced, Block A (harnesses 1-4) will weave the same way whether it is being woven with treadles 1-4 or with treadles 5-8.  The stripe in Block A has disappeared!

The Cats' Pajamas Scarf
This scarf is the result of these experiments.  The warp is 10/2 cotton - One side is the "Boot Camp" handpainted  yarn by Claudia Yarns, the other is a solid green.  The weft was a turquoise 30/2 silk.  I wove regularly placed stripes on one side of the scarf for the first half of the scarf and then wove the most of the remainder of the scarf with just a few scattered stripes
Picture
Picture
Available in my SHOP

Now I wanted to weave a second scarf with stripes on the other side.
Further modifications to the tie-up allowed me to weaves stripes on the variegated side of my warp (in Block A on harnesses 1-4) while keeping the solid green side of the warp consistently weft-faced.
Picture
Picture
The first half of the scarf was woven with treadles 1-8.  Then treadles 5-8 were RETIED and the second half of the scarf was woven with only  treadles 5-8.​
Remember Block A = Harnesses 1-4 = Right side of this scarf
                        Block B = Harnesses 5-8 = Left side of this scarf
For the first half of the scarf
  • Treadles 1-4 weave weft faced cloth  on the left side of the scarf and warp-faced cloth on the right side 
  • Treadles 5-8 weave weft-faced cloth on the left  side of the scarf and weft-faced cloth on the right side 
  • This results in continuous weft-faced cloth on the left and stripes of alternating weft and warp faced cloth on the right.  Note in the tie-up that only the lower right quadrant is tied up for warp-faced cloth.  That quadrant control treadles 1-4 and harnesses 1-4.
For the second half of the scarf the ONLY tie-up that is needed is the new tie-up for harnesses 5-8, shown in blue above;
  • This tie-up now produces warp-faced cloth on the left side of the scarf and weft-faced cloth on the right side
  • Note that the angle of the twill line has remained the same throughout the cloth

Mossy Stones Scarf
This scarf was woven on the same warp as "The Cat's Pajamas".  The warp is 10/2 cotton - one side is the "Boot Camp" handpainted  yarn by Claudia Yarns, the other is a solid green.  The weft was slightly variegated gray 30/2 silk.  I wove regularly placed stripes on the variegated side of the scarf for the first half of the scarf and then wove no stripes for the remainder of the scarf.
Picture
Picture
Available in my SHOP

These experiments with the tie-ups for turned twill have taught me a lot and opened up a world of possibilities for more experiments with shapes and colors.  I have another color block experiment going on to the loom now.  I will shared the results in the near future!

-- Pattie Lamb

26 Comments
marcella
6/17/2018 06:05:25 pm

Thanks so much Pattie - Such beautiful scarves - as usual.- I love the color combinations.

Reply
Pattie
6/18/2018 10:33:29 pm

Thanks, Marcella!

Reply
Joanna
6/18/2018 07:45:48 am

Thank you for posting this!

Reply
Pattie
6/18/2018 10:34:09 pm

You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed it!

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Denise Hofer
6/18/2018 12:40:24 pm

Very inspiring. I look forward to seeing more of your discoveries.

Reply
Pattie
6/18/2018 10:35:01 pm

Thanks, Denise!

Reply
Melissa
6/18/2018 06:52:43 pm

This has never made sense to me and now it does!! I never understood how to play with the tie-up other than by following a pattern. Now I've learned what all the lines mean. Thanks!!

Reply
Pattie
6/18/2018 10:36:44 pm

I am so glad it was helpful, Melissa. I never know when I write something if it will make sense to someone else. Of course it always makes sense to me. :-)

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Jenny
6/28/2018 07:12:18 am

Thanks for the great explanation.

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Pattie
6/28/2018 08:43:56 am

I am glad it was helpful!

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Nancy M
7/8/2018 10:09:49 pm

So beautiful!! Thanks so much for sharing the process!!!

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Pattie
7/8/2018 10:12:03 pm

You are quite welcome. I love turned twill. It was fun finding a new variation on it. I know I didn't invent a new wheel - just new to me!

Reply
Denise Hofer
8/14/2018 01:25:44 pm

I thought I might play around and try this draft in towels. Would the structure work in a towel? If I changed it to 8/2 cotton would 10/2 cotton be an appropriate weft? Thank you for helping me "stretch" my mind.

Reply
Pattie
8/14/2018 03:30:01 pm

Hi Denise,
I think this would be a great structure for towels. In fact I am getting ready to plan a set of towels to use for a class I want to teach. I have not done this with 8/2 cotton but I know it would work really well. 8/2 cotton has the same yards/pound as tencel so I would be inclined to sett it the same as I do tencel - at least to start. Of course you would sample first, right :-) ? I sett the tencel at 27. I would start there, especially if you are going to weave with a finer weft like 10/2 because you will probably like this better if it is slightly warp emphasis. If it is too warp emphasis you can always sett it a little closer - maybe 24 - and wash both samples, and see which will work better for towels. I have to do samples myself in preparation for the class I am planning! Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Reply
Denise Hofer
8/15/2018 10:13:01 am

I think you meant sett it a little looser at 24? I noticed you wove with 30/2 silk & I know 10/2 is heavier, I was just concerned this would make a bulky dish towel. I greatly appreciate your response. I’ll keep you posted when I go forward with the project.

Pattie Lamb
8/15/2018 12:44:26 pm

Aargh. Yes I meant start with 27 epi and then try setting it a little looser at 24.

Mind you I have not tried this with 8/2 cotton yet. The scarf in this blog was woven with 10/2 cotton and sett at 30 epi. I wove the scarf with 30/2 silk because I wanted a really light hand because it is a scarf and the cotton is stiffer than I usually want for a scarf.

When I weave a scarf with 8/2 tencel, I sett this at 27 and I weave with 8/2 tencel. That gives me a lovely hand and I probably get about 22-24 picks per inch.

I weave towels with 22/2 cottolin (same size as 8/2 cotton) sett at 24 epi in plain weave all the time and they make lovely sturdy towels but not too bulky. So I do not think the 8/2 towels will be too bulky sett at 24-27 with a finer weft with a light beat, but that's why you sample!

Reply
Denise Hofer
8/15/2018 01:19:29 pm

Awe yes, sample is the key. I’m going to have a beautiful washcloth, or 2 to match. Thank you for the additional information I will add this to my project envelope info.

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cine
4/1/2019 11:13:54 am

I love all your scarves. I keep looking at them every day for an inspiration. I just bought an 8 harness floor loom and I was looking for easy kitchen towels to start with but I watch your blog and I find it so interesting. I will keep you site in my favourites.
Thank you very much for your explanations and I will try the wedding shawl because I think it's nice for all occasions

Reply
Pattie
4/1/2019 11:32:02 am

Well your comment made my day! Thank you very much. I went to the blog to respond and realized that I have not written a blog post in close to a year! I guess I need to get busy! Do try the wedding shawl. I love weaving lace weaves in Tencel. It is a very satisfying experience, and they feel so good!

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cine
5/22/2019 10:01:40 am

I look forward to your next posts. I really enjoy reading them. We come from different countries but we share the same passion. Thank you
P.S. Can you tell me how many threads do you twist together for your fringe (with tencel)

Reply
Pattie Lamb
5/22/2019 12:31:29 pm

I have been delinquent about posting lately. I hope to post more in the next few months. Glad to know that people are reading them! :-)

When I do fringe with 8/2 tencel, I usually twist 8 threads (4+4) to make one bout. I might vary this a little if there is a color pattern that begs to be fringed differently. If I am using finer tencel (10/2) 8 or 10 ends works well. Even finer tencel (20/2) usually 12 ends (6+6).

In general I like the fringe bouts fairly fine so it is not too much bulkier that the thickness of the cloth. I hope that helps.

Pattie

Reply
cine
5/22/2019 01:05:24 pm

yes it helps. Thanks

Reply
Jean Oxley
6/12/2019 02:30:02 pm

HI Pattie, I saw the pictures of your scarves on FB, loved your ideas and instructions, so I went to your blog.Also loved reading the turned twill information. You have inspired me to step out more from my comfort zones and try more things. I have, for years, woven and designed Scottish tartans for kilt yardage and other items, taught weaving and woven a number of items like towels and bags and totes and pillows etc So thank you for the pictures and I will try to get back to your blog as well.

Jean Oxley

Reply
Pattie
6/12/2019 10:36:52 pm

Hi Jean,
Glad you enjoyed the blog post. It sounds like you are a busy woman! Are you on Instagram? I would love to follow your work. I am @lambweaves on Instagram.

Reply
Maureen Janda
9/22/2019 09:45:34 pm

I have been looking all over for a book or article that I could learn turned twill from, with no luck, so I was very happy to come across this explanation. I'm printing it out to see if I could attempt your scarf. Do you know of a book or magazine that teaches the theory?

Your beautiful blog is an inspiration.

Maureen

Reply
Pattie Lamb
9/23/2019 08:20:46 pm

Hi Maureen,

I’m glad you like the blog. I honestly don’t know of specific resources for this exact technique or turned twill. I think I wrote the blog to help cement the ideas i had worked through into my head!

Reply



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    Pattie Lamb

    I have been happily weaving since my son was born in 1988.

    All pictures on my blog are "zoomable" - just click on them to enlarge.

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