Circular warp sprang requires a very even warp. Slight variations in tension while setting up results in slight differences in length. This warp is 15 ft long, and took almost six hours to set up. Slight variations occurred. We did take a couple of breaks for tea. I also noted weaknesses in the yarn, and some small knots. If there had to be knots in the warp, I wanted them to be all lined up in a place where the warp would be separated into the two fringes. Perhaps the pause to deal with these flaws also introduced small variations in tension and length. At any rate, after the first few rows, I KNEW that some threads were longer than others, and these were causing all kinds of trouble. In desperation, I went through the warp, and pulled the longer of these to the center. This resulted in what looked like a mess. Most every circular warp of any length that I have worked has had this issue to some degree (mostly a much lesser degree). In my experience this always evens out over the length of the cloth. Indeed, over the next few rows, the loops diminished, and the unevenness worked itself out. Working several hours a day, after ten days, I’ve got 5.5 inches of work done, resulting in 11 inches of cloth. The unevenness in the warp has completely resolved.
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I’ve begun work on that replica sash. The first row was very slow, took over an hour. Then there was the challenge to move the work around the frame and back to the starting place. Note that stepladder beside me. I thought the warp had been set up with even tension throughout. Think again! Guess it’s nearly impossible to maintain exactly the same tension for almost six hours. Very slight differences in tension mean different lengths of thread within the warp. Different lengths in the warp cause no end of trouble in pushing the work around.
And yet, this is to be expected. I have not yet worked a long sprang piece that has not had this trouble. The first several rows, the first foot, are always difficult. Eventually the warp evens out, and it goes more smoothly. As they say in German, “aller Anfang ist schwer,” beginnings are always difficult. Looking for smoother weaving ahead. Warping Day. The silk is now the right color, or as close as I can get. Still tied in sections to prevent tangling in the dyepot, I’m leaving those ties to try to avoid troubles un-reeling. Here you see the sprang frame. It consists of two 2x4s, one on the floor, and one on the seat of chairs. There are convenient holes drilled every foot or so. Holding the 2x4s together are 1.5 inch dowels at either end. Small pipe straps hold finer dowels for the cross. To make it easier to see the cross, we placed my cutting mat behind the cross. Usually I set up the sprang frame by myself. In honor of the size of this warp and the fine thread, this time it is a three-person job. One person manipulates the umbrella swift, preventing tangling at that end, another winds the thread around the sprang frame. The third person keeps track of the cross, makes sure it is laid in correctly. This third person also keeps track of the number of warp threads, lets me know when we’re done. It required six hours to set up the warp. Whew! Glad that part is done. The 2×4 that was on the floor gets placed on top, and then the frame is turned and lifted. Enough work for one day.
According to Dominique Cardon, a common recipe for red in the 1700s was to dye first with madder, and then overdye with cochineal. Cochineal gives a luscious color but was quite expensive. Using this recipe, very little cochineal is needed. I used this recipe to dye the silk for the sash, hoping for a color that is very close to the original. Madder is quite sensitive to temperature. Too hot and the color shifts to an orange brown. I kept a thermometer in the pot to keep tabs on the temperature. The skein looks dark here, but the color is always more intense when wet and in the pot. I had several little sample pieces that I could take out and quickly dry to check the color.
Now I wait for the skein to dry. Tomorrow I’ll set the warp on my frame. 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.
Last October I had the opportunity to visit the Cleveland Art Museum. They were just about to open an exhibit of ancient Andes Wari art. My weaver friends urged me to enter a proposal for the Tunic Project. Now, according to Mary Frame, sprang was known to pre-Columbian people in what is now Bolivia. I entered a proposal for a sprang tunic with a design inspired by the face-fret patterns in the Cleveland Art Museum exhibit. Initially I ordered some baby alpaca and silk yarn from KnitPicks. I set up my tunic and started work. The yarn was quite soft and fuzzy. After struggling for a couple of inches and plenty of warp sizing (a whole can of spray starch) I decided to abandon this warp, set it aside for now, and turn to a tried-and-true worsted: Bockens Mobelatta. I submitted a proposal for a sprang tunic. This is a circular warp. I figure I am working from the neck down. When the cloth is finished, I will open up a slit at the center for the neck hole. The tunic needs to be finished before Christmas, to get it to Cleveland by early January. The weaving on the circular warp completed, I cut it apart at the knees. I tied the loose ends into fringes. The whole thing curled quite badly (as to be expected) Blocking is required for sprang garments. This means a soak and then squeeze out in a towel. The tunic seemed to need side panels. This will ease the closure under the arms, attaching front to back. I set up a figure-8 warp. Big news! My ‘tunic’ took second prize at the Cleveland Museum of Art. It will be on display in their atrium starting January 15. A big Thank You to Haley for the great job modelling!
See a video that features some of the ‘making of’ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=xDPPLzRKR_Q The North Shore Weavers and Prairie Weavers Guild near Chicago had invited me to visit and present sprang. I gave two workshops while in Downers Grove, in the Chicago area. On to Marion, Indiana, where I attended Mississinewa 1812. Sprang instruction was high on the bill. Then on to Ohio, the Cuyahoga weavers invited me for a workshop. Meantime, taking inspiration from a pair I saw last Summer, I set out to create sprang mittens. The wrist was worked in interlinking. I doubled up the threads so the fabric would be narrower at the wrist. For the hand I switched to an interlacing technique. This means wider, a bit less elasticity, and a denser fabric. Listening to my daughter’s advice, I used a serger and a strip of woven tape to finish off. The first pair (in green cotton) was too small. The second one, white, done in alpaca, was too large. The next one will be just right.
Just last week I was in northern Alberta. I taught fingerweaving in a couple of local schools, and presented a fingerweaving workshop for adults at the Fairview Arts Center. Check out the article reported in the Fairview Post: http://www.fairviewpost.com/2012/11/06/finger-weaver-shares-skills 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. Manchester UK was the site of the 2nd International Braiding Conference. It was an amazing opportunity to meet top experts from a variety of braiding techniques. I attended Joy Boutrup’s class on loop manipulated braids, and made several myself. Simple braids can be made by one person. We learned how to work together making even more complex braids. It was then my turn to teach sprang. We spent a day at Macclesfield, learning about the English silk industry. I also visited Platt Hall and the Stockport Hat Museum. Very interesting. On to Lyon where I was treated to backroom tours of the Guimet Museum and the Textile Museum. I was priveleged to view some sprang bonnets associated with mummies in these collections. I am going to have to set aside some time now to try to replicate some of the designs. Presently I am in Bern, on my way to visit the Abegg Stiftung. They call themselves the Confederated Helveticans.
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