XXVI Braiding and Weaving Four and Six Strands — Weaving on Looms
Braiding or plaiting can be done in any materials and may be used for shopping bags or circular rugs. Raffia, corset laces, heavy silk floss or rags can be utilized for the braiding.
It is extremely difficult to conceal the ends when three strands are used so for that reason I have selected four strands to commence with.
When working with cords or very long strands of material, knot the four ends together. Pin the knot to your knee and proceed to weave. Take the extreme left-hand strand and weave under the next strand. At the same time weave the extreme right-hand strand over the next. Cross the two strands in the centre. (See Figure 222.) If a knot is not desired at the start the cords may be commenced as shown in the Figure 223.
To braid with six strands take the extreme left-hand strand and weave under and over to centre and with the right-hand strand weave over and under to centre and cross the left-hand strand (see Figure 224).
After the braid has been made it can be sewed together for a mat. In joining a strand insert the new piece so that it extends a little beyond the braid. If a long braid is desired it is best to have the strands of different lengths so that the joinings will not be all in one place (Figure 225).
When braiding or weaving with rags cut the strips about three quarters of an inch wide. Old rags can be used for this, cutting out the weak parts. Cheap cotton fabrics when new make excellent mats.
Weaving on frames is very interesting and not such a difficult task as you imagine. There are hand and treadle looms. The following instructions will be for the former. A stretcher such as artists use for painting can be used or four pieces of board twenty-four inches long by four inches wide and one inch thick. Take the four pieces to form a frame.
Buy three half-inch dowels or long round sticks; which may be bought from a hardware shop; and sand-paper till they are quite smooth. Screw in four large picture rings two on each side of the frame, one at each end. Slip one dowel through the rings at each end and tie to picture ring.
The warp may be cord which is sold by the pound or a heavy soft twine. A wholesale cord or rope house will be the best from which to buy the warp.
A thin board such as you have in your window shades and to which the string is attached makes a good shuttle. Cut it so that it is twenty-two inches long and wind the warp on it lengthwise.
Tie one end of the warp thread to the lower left-hand picture ring.
Lay the warp threads over the lower dowel, up through the frame and over the upper dowel. Remember always to lay the thread outside and over each dowel. The first six threads are placed very close to each other. After that the threads are laid half an inch or a little more than a quarter of an inch apart. The finer the weaving the more warp threads will be needed. The usual allowance is from four to eight threads to an inch.
Two plain boards that are as long as the dowels and three inches wide by a quarter of an inch deep will be required now. Slip into one of these boards at each end between the warp threads and bring the boards to the centre and tie together to keep them from slipping.
Take a piece of cord nine inches longer than a dowel and tie to the throat of the lower left-hand screw. Make a knot at first warp string and slip it over dowel. Twist the double thread two, three or four times. Repeat slipping over dowel and twisting between every two warp strings until you reach the right hand screw. Tie the threads to the screw. This is called pairing the threads. Repeat the pairing at the other dowel. When the pairing is finished slip the lower dowel out of the rings and tie the dowel again to the screws.
To space the warp threads an upholsterer’s needle and carpet thread will be needed.
If the weaving occupies the full size of the frame, hitch or tie the carpet thread to the lower left-hand screw, while if the warp threads do not extend very far over place an extra screw on the outside of the frame where the warp threads begin.
Buttonhole stitch over the dowel keeping the lower thread down and the upper thread on top.
Hold the warp threads apart with finger of the left hand while buttonholing. Pull your stitches tight. Two or three stitches should be made between each two warp threads. The stitches must be an eighth of an inch apart.
Now we are ready for the bridge.
Two feet, as they are called, will be necessary to support the bridge. A carpenter will make them for a small amount. They should be seven inches high by three inches wide at the base (Figure 226). One foot is placed in the centre of opposite sides of the frame and the third dowel run through the holes.
Loosen the two boards at the centre and place them close to the dowel. Place the bridge over the set of threads nearest you. Take a six-inch piece of cord and catch up first warp thread. Tie thread to bridge. All knots should be made like a weaver’s knot. The loop should not extend lower than two inches below the bridge.
This completes the setting up of the loom. To weave, the material may be cut as stated before or raffia or Indian fibre may be used. If the weaving is to be in one colour only, it is well to join the pieces together and wind on a long shuttle. If short pieces are used a hook will be required. It can be made of a strip of wood taken from the hem of window shades. Notch one end of it.
A selvage will be necessary at the beginning and the end of the weaving and is done in a fine cord.
Start at left-hand corner and tie the thread to warp. Pass the shuttle to right-hand side between the threads. Lower the bridge and pass the shuttle back again between the threads to left-hand side. Raise the bridge again and repeat as just explained. It will be best to comb down the woof to keep it straight and regular. A regular weavers’ comb can be bought, but a coarse hair comb may be substituted. Six rows will be sufficient for the selvage. The regular weaving is worked the same only in coarse warp. Remember the bridge must be lowered every other time.
In weaving a new thread or strand commence a little way back from where the last strand stopped.
Learn to weave and you get much more artistic effects in rugs than ordinary rug or portière weavers obtain.
Beautiful cushions and other useful articles can be made by weaving.
It is a great mistake to think that all cast off clothing can be woven into handsome rugs or portières. True it is possible to weave them, but it is almost a hopeless task to get artistic effects from old coats or a lot of dark articles.
The modern rug weavers get a few yards of cheap muslin in two or three shades and make a rug that can be sold for two or three dollars. Silk is not like old woollen materials, it can be utilized to the last thread because it is soft and works to good advantage.
Two old silk petticoats will make two pillow tops that are artistic as well as useful. One of the most beautiful examples of silk weaving was a cushion I saw made from two old silk petticoats; one was sage green and the other Delft blue. The strips were about one inch wide. All the worn parts were cut out. No piece was considered too small to use.
Every pattern of rug has a name given it by the weaver. The most common pattern is the hit-and-miss. The name aptly describes it. There are never two hit-and-miss patterns that are exactly alike. To look at a collection of hit-and-miss rugs one is reminded of the Croton shrub which has no two leaves alike. As children, we used to call them Match-me-if-you-can trees.
A hit-and-miss pattern is a good one to learn on.
Do not weave first one green strip then one blue and so on, because you will get a jumble of blue that is neither interesting nor pleasing. Decide on which colour you would like for the background, then use most of that shade.
I have heard an old weaver say that when she works the hit-and-miss pattern she will carry first one stripe of the background the entire way across and probably start the second row. A little strip of the second colour is then used and then the background again. The good worker never cuts her strips all the same length but strives to get the effect of little slashes of colour against a solid background. A rug made of medium blue and white rags suggests the sea with white caps on it.
When an Indian weaves a rug, he sits on the floor and weaves, till he has to stand to work.
Tapestry is woven almost the same as described for rugs; instead of the loom having a bridge that has to be moved by hand to regulate the threads, a treadle is used.
The wrong side of weaving is always facing you on the loom and all ends are fastened afterward with a needle and thread. Perhaps you would be interested to know how a weaver makes a set design in tapestry. Usually an artist designs a piece, say a design for the back of a chair. Often the artist is the weaver himself. He will make two sketches in colour one to put under the warp threads and the other to keep in sight. He then starts to weave the design in as many colours as desired, then the background is worked.
A piece of hand-made tapestry is a possession that only the very wealthy can buy for it is indeed exceptional to find an ordinary weaver who can make tapestry. To the French is given the honour of being the most clever weavers in the world. As a general thing in France weaving is an inherited trade. You will find, if you ask the weaver what his mother, his father and his grandfathers were, he will tell you—weavers. The hands of the men are almost as small and soft as the women’s.
I have seen a beautiful screen that represented a pansy field, if you can imagine such a thing worked in over two hundred shades of silk. Every conceivable kind of pansy was worked in it. It was made for a man who loved pansies. It took four weavers three months in which to make it, working eight hours each day.
Too much thought can not be given to the right colour for your rugs or whatever you intend to weave on your simple loom. Study to get harmonizing effects rather than contrasting ones. Gray is probably the most pleasing of backgrounds and can be combined to advantage with almost any other shade. Remember that a dark room needs a cheerful colouring while a bright airy room can stand subdued shades.
Red excites the nerves. Lavender is depressing. Blue is a cold colour and should be combined with other colours to be effective. Green is restful to the eyes in any shade, while yellow seems to reflect light and for that reason is to be highly recommended for use in a dark room. One of the prettiest rooms I know, which is ordinarily a very dark one, is one that has bright yellow and chestnut brown for its decoration. The minute you enter that room you are impressed with its cheerfulness and warmth.
No matter how pretty and beautiful are the hangings and other dainty touches of a room, a rug remains the chief attraction. It is to a room what a vase is to a flower. A rug is not absolutely necessary, but unless it is the right kind your room looks patchy.
As in everything else practice makes perfect and as soon as you become accustomed to weaving you will plan regular designs that will make the work more fascinating. If you have a large quantity of undefinable shades of silk or wool or cotton rags I would recommend that you dye them all one shade.
One ten-cent package of a dye will colour a couple of pounds of rags. Get a dye that is good for all three kinds of material as sometimes a dye that changes the colour of silk may not affect cotton at all.