This is how I did it. Inspired by the work of Dagmar Drinkler, I made a pair of sprang pants. Difficulties encountered had me reflecting on how I could do things differently, and this meant making a second pair of pants. The difficulties centered around three major problems: 1) My technique in adding those extra threads at the thigh left me with quite a sniggle-heap on the first pair. I was sure I could manage that addition better. 2) The crotch needed shaping. I had the opportunity to meet Dagmar Drinkler in person and the crotch shaping was one of the points I wanted to discuss with her. She said that she did not do any special shaping for the crotch of the pants she made for the mannequins, left them open a bit at the meeting point . I decided that, despite the amazing stretch that is natural to interlinking sprang, I did need to do some shaping for the pants to fit my shape. 3) I was unsatisfied with the waistband on the first pair, knew I could do better All this in mind, I set up a new warp. Reading in Peter Collingwood’s Techniques of Sprang, I found the perfect way to set up my warp. The meeting of the two ends of the warp happens around that knitting needle, taped to the dowel on the left. This is what I used for the dowel in the middle of Peter Collingwood’s design. The dowel on the right creates a shed for my first row. One thread had gone across the meeting point, instead of around and doubling back. Rather than unwind and re-do this, I added another thread. I then clipped the place of the error and tied two knots. This short-cut worked just fine. Work progressed on the warp nicely. The first few rows formed the ankles, and work progressed up the calf of the pants towards the knee. At about mid-thigh, I measured out another warp of threads exactly the same length of the as the yet-unsprung-warp. I found it was important that this new warp has its own independent suspension system. I’m not always successful at creating a perfectly even warp. This always causes me a bit of trouble over the first few inches of sprang work, until the un-evenness works itself out. This was the case again here. There was a slight unevenness between the two warps, as well as within the new warp. A very tight tension on the new warp when pushing the Z work to the S place helped. It was a couple of inches of work before things settled in. The two warps had been placed one on top of the other, and worked as double-cloth (Collingwood 167-173). The double layer of threads opens the opportunity to a wide variety of color designs. It also allows the piece to widen … a good idea for people whose thighs have a greater circumference than the ankles. You’d think that the double layer, one sitting on top of the other, that there would not be much difference in the width of the cloth, but my experience has it that this addition does widen the cloth considerably, especially when the threads are held together and worked in the same shed. Rather than cutting a finished rectangle of sprang, I dipped into my knitting experience, and decided to create exactly the shape I needed for the pants. I tied off threads to form that shape. How many threads did I tie off? Well, I guessed, based on my sewing experience, trying for the shape in a pair of stretch pants. Threads were cut, and then tied at both S and Z pieces. Getting to the waistline area, I worked to make the back of the pants a bit longer than the front of the pants. This would allow me to form a waistband casing. The knots could be located on the inside of the waistband. Threads were cut a couple at a time, and immediately tied off on right leg and then on left leg, closing in the waistband casing. Now it was time to go back to the very first rows, and pull out the thread that joined the two pieces there. This became the ankles. In interlinking sprang, if you are careful to keep the edge thread at the edge, you can create an invisible seam. Imitate the interlinking stitch with your sewingup thread. I sewed the pants from ankle to crotch. Sewing the crotch required a bit of creativity, keeping the knots to the inside, and trying to imitate the interlinking stitch on the outside … but then, I’m hoping people will not be looking at my crotch too closely.
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I’ve created a number of military sashes this summer. The sashes with the colored stripe are wool NCO (non-commissioned officer) sashes, and were typical in the British army in the 1700s and into the early 1800s. The solid colored red sash is silk officer’s sash. And in between, I’ve created several of these coin purses. Made of silk cord, they are modelled after the image in Downer’s book Nelson’s Purse, and hold quite a lot of coin.
Remember that sash I was privileged to view at George Washington’s Mount Vernon last September? Well, thanks to funding from the Winnipeg Arts Council, and the superbe cooperation of the Mount Vernon curatorial staff, and silk from Treenway’s, I’m ready to get started on a replica. The first step is to dye the silk to the right color. It came to me on cones. I am using an inkle loom as a frame to wind my skeins for dying. Silk needs to be thoroughly wet before dying. Here it goes into an enamel pot for 24 hours.
I attended the Textile Society of America Symposium Sept 19-22 in Washington, DC. The title was ‘Textiles and Politics’. Papers were presented on all manner of topics, textile work and the economy, textile work in emerging economies, dyestuffs, self-expression. My paper was on the subject of sprang and military sashes. I met textile experts from around the world.
While in the DC area I had arranged to visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Staff there allowed me to inspect the Braddock Sash. Of note, the beginning- and end-threads of the circular warp were tied to a neighboring thread at the middle meeting line, just like Peter Collingwood suggests (Techniques of Sprang, pg 259-261). And here I’ve been advocating that you remove that edge thread. I’ve been trying to keep up with my weaving while travelling. Luckily fingerweaving can go anywhere. Here I took a photo of myself working in my hotel room in Basel, Switzerland. I was in Basel, Switzerland in order to visit the AbeggStiftung. One of the curators showed me around and let me examine a mid-asian skirt. A major component of the skirt is worked in 2-2 interlacing. Some of the pieces of 2-2 interlacing are probably 3 meters long … yes, this is possible with fingerweaving. I made up a piece of 2-2 interlacing, using Peter Collingwood’s directions. I completed the sample and mailed it to the AbeggStiftung for them to compare with the original.
While in Switzerland I also visited with Noemi Speiser. I’ve been blown away by her books. Her Manual of Braiding, for example brings such order to a wide variety of structures. I had to meet her. She is a delightful character. I only hope I’m half as sharp, should I make it to her age. On to Munich where I met with Dagmar Drinkler. Over the past two years several people have referred me to Ms Drinkler’s article from the Archaeological Textiles Newsletter. She has recreated sprang pants, following inspiration in Greek painted sculptures. Now on to Holland where I hope to meet Blue (of denblauenswaen fame) and Fenny Nijman. Here I am in Copenhagen, Denmark. I’m here getting rid of jetlag before the Braids 2012 conference next week, and at the invitation of Katia Johansen, curator at the Danish National Museum, whom I met at the Textile Society of America Conference in 2010. The view outside my window gives you a bit of an insight into the daily life here. Lots of bicycle traffic. The whole point of my visit here is to view sprang articles in the collection of the Danish National Museum. Yesterday I went to their facilities just outside Copenhagen, located in an old textile factory. I was priveleged with an up close and personal view of sprang sashes which belonged to Danish kings, as well as two of those sprang hairnets described by Margrethe Hald, dating as far back as the bronze age. Of note, singles (mind you very fine and very tightly spun) were used. The Danish National Museum in downtown Copenhagen has some lovely hairnets as well. Exquisite! All done in fine, tightly spun singles! I am thinking that if you spin very fine and very tight (greater than 45 degree angle of twist) and leave the spool to set for a year, the yarn will then have forgotten its need to kink up on you. The amount of twist added or subtracted in the sprang work will be insignificant in relation to the amount of twist in the thread.
At any rate, I’m seeing fine singles in these pieces. I made a silk sprang sash earlier this year for a military re-enactor. Officer of higher ranks had sashes were made of silk, a very strong fiber. Now there are stories out there about people being carried on sashes. It seems that a person injured on the field could be carried back to camp on the sash. A client earlier this year requested a sash wide enough and long enough to try this out. So I made this sash, and then encouraged him to try it out, and send me photos. I even promised to replace the sash, should it not hold up to the claim. He has now sent me photos of the event: I was assured that the sash was not at all damaged by this test. The sash was seven feet long, and eight inches wide lying on the ground. When the sash was stretched laterally to support the full width of the body, it shortened a bit. I was told that another two feet of length (and probably a bit more width) would be desireable. I hear that the Braddock sash is 24 inches wide and 12 feet long, a very nice size for a litter.
I’ve been researching sprang, looking for evidence of this textile technique in North America. Archaeologists at the Manitoba Museum tipped me off to an experimental archaeologist in Minnesota. Grant Goltz has successfully recreated pottery using native clay. Normally the clay found across the American mid-west cannot be formed into the thin-walled large pots commonly found at sites of human habitation excavated by archaeologists. Mr Goltz, lead by the textile imprints in the pots, creates sprang bags, and then forms the pot inside the sprang bag. The bag supports the clay when wet and permits the creation of thin-walled vessels. The results are very accurate replicas of pots excavated from 900 year old sites. Bags made as a rectangle, folded in half will not work to re-create these artifacts. The markings on the pottery clearly indicate ‘decreases’, fewer threads at the bottom of the pot than at the rim. He told me that he initially tried to form the bag working from the rim down, tying knots as he removed threads. This did not yield satisfactory results. When he got the bright idea to work from the bottom up, he discovered that this method allowed him to create pots with markings identical to the pots from the dig sites. Now, I find this exciting for a couple of reasons. It is another piece of evidence suggesting that North American people were creating textile bags 1000 years ago. It suggests that one textile technique used could have been sprang. I love the fact that it is a loom-less version of sprang. I’m really wanting to re-popularize sprang. Mostly the instructions for sprang start with the description of the loom or frame required. I’m wanting to find the ‘no-tools’ method, get people hooked with the technique, and then they will be motivated to fork out for the frame.
Challenged myself recently to make a garment using the sprang technique. Using an egyptian cotton I began with a very large rectangular shape, working from hem to hem. At about armpit level I added warp to allow for sleeves. Yes the work was very wide at that point. I worked from right to left in sections, each tied off with a safety cord. I left a slit for the neck, and finished with a safety cord that goes from wrist to wrist, across the back of the neck. The finished garment was worn, seen by many at the Handweavers Guild of America Convergence in Albuquerque. At Congergence I kept hearing about the ‘Ancient One’s Shirt’. Finally tracked it down on the net. You can view it at http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/coll/peris2.shtml Based on images of this garment, I’ve spent the last two days working out the pattern. I’ve now created a scarf, playing with the design. While at Convergence I saw the perfect frame for smaller sprang projects. It’s called ‘Loom in a Tube’ from Rebecca Smith. She sells a set of plumbing pipes that fit together to make the frame. Adjustment as the cloth grows and shrinks are easily made with threaded pipe and screws. Check it out at http://www.loominatube.com/
Monday I stayed in Hamilton. A finger weaving student from London, Gloria, came to Hamilton for another lesson. We explored Hamilton in the afternoon, and then agreed to do the same in London on Tuesday. Gloria and I talked about taking in a play at Stratford. She phoned me bright and early on Tuesday morning, encouraged me to buy the tickets on line, to go to the Archaeology Museum, and then meet her for lunch. I ordered tickets to The Tempest with Christopher Plummer, for 2PM, and set out for London, Ontario. I found the Archaeology Museum right where my google map said it should be. Getting there just before lunch, I did not have much time to speak with the giftshop manager before they were inundated with a school group. Yes, the London, Ontario Archaeology Museum is interested in selling copies of Fingerweaving Untangled. I phoned Gloria to let her know I was on my way to her place for lunch. She suggested that I also speak to folks at the N’Amerind Center, as they should be interested in the how-to of fingerweaving. We met up there, and yes, indeed the London, Ontario, N’Amerind Friendship Center teaches all manner of native handicraft, and yes, they are interested in my book. Gloria had brought along sandwiches. She recommended I leave my car and ride with her to the Stratford theatre. I hesitated to leave my rental vehicle in such a small parking lot. The daycare would be needing the spots for parents fetching their kids. She agreed. We planned that I’d follow her to the outskirts of town, a shopping centre where I could leave my vehicle. A few blocks from the N’Amerind Centre the car ahead of me turned into a parking garage. I thought, “What a good idea. This is a nice, secure place to leave my vehicle.” Imagine my horror when the driver of the vehicle ahead of me emerged … NOT GLORIA! Oh No! I’ve been following the wrong car! I exited the parking garage and tried to find my way back to the N’Amerind Centre. Trusting that Gloria was ahead of me I had not paid attention to where I was going. Then my cellphone rang. It was Gloria. Whew! We met up again, drove together, me following the RIGHT car this time, all the way to a shopping mall. I got into Gloria’s car and away we went to Stratford, Ontario, and the Shakespeare Festival. We arrived at the Festival Theatre with 6 minutes to spare. Lucky I had pre-ordered the tickets on-line. I went to the wicket to redeem the tickets. The young lady at the window was struggling with her computer, said she’d been having troubles with some of the keys. Nevertheless, my purchase number worked, and she printed out my tickets. Four minutes to showtime we presented our tickets to the usher. “I’m sorry ma’am, these tickets are for Kiss Me Kate on the 26th,” said the usher. “Oh No!” I said. “This cannot be!” Back to the wicket went I. There had to be some mistake! I was quite certain I had clicked on the button for The Tempest with Christopher Plummer for today! If indeed I had made an error, there must be a way to exchange! Presenting the original credit card on which the tickets had been ordered, the problem was solved, two tickets for this afternoon’s show were printed, and we entered the theatre with one minute to spare. The director came out on stage to talk with us. Apparently this is still technical dress rehearsal. They are still ‘tweaking’ the show, our comments are invited. Then the show began. Spectacular! Ariel diving down from the ceiling, swimming to the bottom of the sea to retrieve something, and then back up to the surface. Then there are the mariners, fighting the elements on board a ship in a mighty thunderstorm. Suddenly it all stopped, the lights came on, and we were informed there had been a glitch, the trap door was supposed to have been opened. Please be patient. Wait a minute and the play will resume. Gloria said that she had intended to get us hearing devices. It was hard to understand the words of the actors. She went out quickly, figuring she’d have time to rent the devices and re-enter before the ‘glitch’ was fixed. Apparently not. Gloria did not return to the seat beside me until a few scenes later. She had missed the first part of the performance … BUT … Christopher Plummer had come walking past. He had to go through the lobby to get from stage right to the upper balcony, and walked right past her! The performance was spectacular. Those devices for the hearing impaired work great! (maybe I am hearing impaired?) Afterwards I said I wanted to take a photo of the two of us in front of the theatre for my blog. Gloria said we could go over to the stage door, and see Christopher Plummer as he left the theatre. I ran to the parking lot for my camera, hindered by a huge delivery van that was backing in to the theatre complex. Returning with my camera, I noted that the van had backed up to the stage door where Gloria was waiting, and was now leaving. “Christopher Plummer is in that van,” I said. Gloria replied that the Beatles would do such a thing, but not Christopher Plummer. Others had joined us, so we waited another few minutes, and indeed The Man, Christopher Plummer himself, emerged from the stage door. I took a photo of him speaking briefly with Gloria, and then she took a picture of me, and the little crowd that had gathered, around Christopher Plummer. What a day! Back in London, Gloria introduced me to her sister, Dolly. They showed me the sash that had been presented to their father at Fort William many years ago.
So, I had a great time with a girlfriend, met her sister, sold books, saw a lovely sash, and had my photo taken with Christopher Plummer! Sometimes The Universe just opens up and blesses us. What a day! |
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