Doubleweave Plus

patterning with an extra warp

B A R B A R A WA L K E R

Float length is often a restriction when you are designing fabrics with a supplementary warp. The pattern threads have to oat on either one side or the other. If long oats are placed on the back, the fabric is not reversible and the oats may be unstable. With doubleweave, the pattern warp can oat securely between the layers when it is not needed on either face.

oubleweave can be thought of as a two-fer structureyou can weave two cloths with entirely different designs on the same warp. Why not take this idea one step further by adding a supplementary warp that interacts with both cloth designs? Think of such a fabric as a unique form of stitched double cloth. Not only can a supplementary warp stitch the two layers together, it can also produce major design elements in both. Color considerations For this runner, two plain-weave cloths are produced, one on top of the other. In the top layer, narrow silver stripes are spaced evenly in the warp. In the bottom layer, silver threads are used as a border to frame the runner. The main warp color in one layer is natural; the weft is white. The colors are reversed in the other layer. Consider designing your own cloth using colors in each layer that contrast more strongly with each other than these.
Barbara Walker of
Salem, Oregon, explores the creative possibilities of supplementary warps and teaches them in workshops and lectures.
Handwoven magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved.

The threading The two plain-weave cloths require four shafts. The supplementary warp is designed to produce offset rows of black squares on both sides of the runner. To do this, each group of black threads creating the squares must be able to oat both on the face and on the back and to be hidden between the two layers. Since two sets of squares do this independently of each other, the supplementary warp requires two additional shafts, one for each set (one on shaft 5, the other on shaft 6; see Figure 1, page 3). The tie-up and treadling The best tie-up to use with this structure is a skeleton tie-up that arranges the treadles so that one foot operates the two layers of cloth and the other operates the supplementary warp. In Figure 2, treadles 13 are used for the supplementary warp, treadles 47 for the two ground-cloth layers (T = top-layer treadle; B = bottomlayer treadle). When supplementary warp threads on shaft 5 show on the face, treadle 3 is raised, treadle 2 for shaft 6. To make the supplementary warp threads oat between layers, shafts 5 and 6 are lowered for top-layer picks, raised for bottom-layer picks.
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S T E P S F O R W E AV I N G T H E D O U B L E W E AV E R U N N E R
1. Draft for runner
7x
T B TB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 6 5 5 N N N N S N 4 N N W W W S W W 3 3 3 W W N N N N S N N N 2 N W W W W S W W W 1 1 1 W N = doubled black (supplementary warp) T = top layer B = bottom layer S S N S S 2b. Warp colors divided by layers N N S S 8x N N 14x 2x 20x 2x 14x S S N W S W S W top layer, shafts 1 and 3 S S S N N N S bottom layer, shafts 2 and 4 N S S N W W N W W N N W W N N W W N W W N W W N N W W N N W W N W W N W W N N W W N N W W N W W N W W N N W W N N W W N W W N W W N S S N S S N N S S N N S S N S S N S S

8x

7x

S W S W

N S N S

N W N W

N W N W

N W N W

N W

N = natural

W = white

S = silver

4x

2a. Warp color order

8x 14x 2x 20x 2x 14x
1 1 1 46 1 silver 1 178 1 natural 1 1 188 1 1 white 412

3x

1x

Step Wind the doubleweave ground warp following

1 2 3 4

Step Thread both warps following Figure 1. Sley 4 ends

2x

Figure 2a. Wind 2 ends together (one for the top layer and one for the bottom). These directions are for warping back to front; see Weaving Resources at www.handwovenmagazine.com for specic warping steps. to the back apron rod. Spread the warp in a raddle at 48 ends per inch (24 epi per layer). Beam the warp under tension and secure lease sticks in a comfortable position for threading. 20/2 black pearl cotton. Place lease sticks in the cross and secure the warp to the apron rod of the second warp beam if available. Separate the warp into 16 groups of 6 ends each spaced evenly in the raddle. Beam the warp under tension and secure the lease sticks slightly above the rst set.

of the ground warp in each dent of the12-dent reed. In areas with supplementary warp, sley the doubled black ends with their adjacent groundwarp ends (6 total working ends/dent).

3x

3x 40x (40") 3x

Step Tie the ground warp in 1" sections to the apron

Step Place lease sticks in the cross and secure the warp

6 7

Step Wind a supplementary warp of 96 doubled ends

rod, then tie the supplementary warp between the ground-warp sections. (If you are weighting the supplementary warp, tie so that their tails are even, but do not worry about tension. Then, at the back of the loom, untie and separate the supplementary warp into eight bouts of 12 ends each. Attach lm canisters lled with coins to each group.) ing Figure 1. Then allow 2" for fringe and weave the runner. To avoid mistakes, label the shuttle with the natural weft top and the shuttle with the white weft bottom. To join the selvedges of the two layers, move the top weft under the bottom weft on each side before entering the top weft in its shed. Keep a small mirror handy to check the shed from time to time. Hemstitch both ends of the runner including 2 weft picks and 4 warp ends of both layers in each stitch.

3x

3x

3x

Step Practice by weaving a sample for about 8" follow-

3x

2x

Step If you dont have two warp beams, you can weight

1x

the supplementary warp. Beam the doubleweave ground warp as described above. Secure half of the supplementary-warp chain to the back beam at one side of the ground warp and the other half to the other side in a position allowing enough supplementary-warp length for threading. Place lease sticks in this cross above the lease sticks for the ground warp so that you can see both sets as you thread at the front of the loom.

3x

4x

Step Remove the fabric from the loom. Wash by hand

in warm water with a mild soap. Lay between towels and squeeze out water until slightly damp. Press until dry. Trim fringe.

PROJECT AT-A-GLANCE
Weave structure for runner
Doubleweave with a supplementary warp. 448 yd (78 oz). Weft: 10/2 pearl cotton (4,200 yd/lb), white, 311 yd (1316 oz); natural, 303 yd 116 oz); and silver 13 yd.

Warp and weft spacing

Warp: 48 epi (4/dent in a 12-dent reed, 24 epi per layer) in areas without supplementary warp; 72 epi in areas with supplementary warp (6/dent). Width in the reed: 835". Weft: 48 ppi (24 ppi/layer). Woven length (measured under tension on the loom): 4212".

Equipment
6-shaft loom, 9" weaving width; 12-dent reed; 2 shuttles.

Yarn sources
10/2 and 20/2 pearl cotton are available from most weaving retailers.

Yarns
Ground warp: 10/2 pearl cotton (4,200 yd/lb), white, 439 yd (1710 oz); natural, 416 yd (135 oz); and silver, 107 yd (25 oz). Supplementary warp: 20/2 pearl cotton (8,400 yd/lb) used doubled, black,
Handwoven magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved.

Warp order and length 508 total ends 213 yd long following Figure 2
(allows 3" for take-up, 36" for sampling and loom waste; loom waste includes fringe).

Finished dimensions
After washing, amounts produce one runner 8" 40" plus 34" fringe at each end.
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