The Dornick Project

I decided to do something a little challenging, as a special gift to someone who has done a lot for me.  I asked her if she would like a table runner (YES!), and together we selected a twill pattern that pleased her and would be fun for me. She selected the colors: the warp an 8/2 cotton in camel (a lovely soft warm golden brown), and the weft, an 8/4 cotton in cream.  Finished, the runner would be 16 inches wide and five feet long, hemmed. 

The twill is a "broken" twill called Dornick's (perhaps to honor some long-ago weaver, as this is a very old pattern). A broken twill is one in which the twill lines are offset or "broken" in some way.  Here is the weaving draft I made up for the runner:

click for a larger view

As you can see, the angled lines of color do not meet.  I think this adds visual interest to the pattern.  The colors in the draft are not exact, but give an idea of how the pattern will look when woven, how it is threaded on my 4 shaft loom, and what treadles to push in what order!  It is really easier than it looks. 

Now, a quick review of the steps in making this project.  You'll find the same thing in any book on weaving, but I wanted to share my enjoyment in making this particular project by showing you pictures of it at various stages, thread to finish.  You won't learn how to weave from this, but I hope you will get a sense of my involvement and pleasure. 


The winding on of the warp: 

On the winding board

Warp shanks ready for loom

I divided the number of warp threads by 4, and wound four shanks on my board. The blue thread you see behind the warp is my guide thread.  It shows me where to wind and where to turn so that I don't have to think about it too much.


As I finished each shank, I chained it, and set it aside. You will see in a moment why I made up the warp this way.

Warp chains wound on breast beam

I am winding on front to back, so I wrapped the shanks around the front (breast) beam to hold them in place.  The looped ends are cut, and one by one, I thread them through the reed.  In this case, since the threads are smooth, I will also thread them through the heddles at this point, in the order called for by the threading draft.  I have four shafts, and each of them will be used. (My dream is to have an 8 shaft loom someday).  

Here is a photo of the other side of the shafts, showing the threads hanging in small tied bunches where they have already been threaded.  Others are waiting at the reed to be threaded into the heddles. 

Back of loom as warp is threaded

The next step after all the heddles are threaded is to tie on the bunches to the warp beam.  I somehow failed to get photos of this part!  I think I was anticipating the next part, which is a lot more challenging: winding the warp on all by myself while retaining even tension on all the warp threads.  Fortunately, there are ways....

Warp under tension using secret method

The secret: water-filled jugs!

Warp winding on

And voila, the warp is pulled to the loom evenly, with rulers inserted between layers to keep them separate and maintain an even tension during weaving.  Magic!

When the jugs are close to the loom, the warp can be untied and brought carefully to the breast beam.  Then it is tied in small bunches in front of the reed to hold it in place.  Each bunch is then carefully tied to the front apron rod, making sure to keep the tension even (this usually required retying 2 or 3 times). 

Then the weaving commences. First, some stray material is woven in to spread the warp evenly.  In this case, I used the dreaded blue warp. (Actually, I liked the effect of the darker stripe, and the next time I make a runner or mat using dornick's, I am going to try adding contrasting stripes at the ends.)

Spreading the warp for weaving

And the first few feet of dornick's twill emerges:

The red thread marks the first foot of weaving

And a few days later... voila!  The finished web:

It drapes well, don't you think?

And the finished runner, hand-hemmed and in the home of the recipient, who is very pleased with it.  That makes me happy!

Dornick's twill runner, hand-hemmed.

A close-up of the pattern:

Rag rugs and the warp from hell

My very first weaving project, in the fall of 2010, was a real rag rug, as in real rags.  I cleared out a bunch of old clothes from my closet, drawers, and stored boxes, and cut them up into strips. These were things I doubt even the thrift shop would want.  The resulting rug is a little rustic, a little uneven, full of bumps where I cut through seams.  But it was satisfying and fun to weave.  Attractive in a funky sort of way, and comfy, even with the bumps.  It is my bedside rug. 

The loom came warped wtih blue cotton rug warp (courtesy the previous owner), so I used it. That rug warp fought me every step of the way, hanging up and needing constant adjustment. I thought the problem was the way it had been warped (badly) by the previous owner,  Well, that was part of it.  Then when I went to use the same rug warp from spools that also came with the loom for two smaller rugs, I found out it was more than bad warping. It was bad warp.
 
I  combined the blue rug warp with some 3/2 orange mercerized cotton to create some contrasting stripes. Each rug was to be about 24 by 30 inches when finished plus fringe, making for a little over 3 yards of warp, a pretty short warp.  But the blue was so ... so ... um ... grabby (cheap, short staple cotton) that it tangled every inch of the way, on anything it could: itself, the heddles, the reed, me.  I finally liberally slathered hand lotion on my hands, and ran them down every inch of every warp thread.  It worked.  FINALLY I got the loom warped!  (This is not the ultimate warping horror story, however. That comes later.) 

Working on the first rug

The weaving was easy, and by this time I knew how to keep the selvages even.  The "rags" are commercial fabric factory mill ends, sewn, rolled and cut into rounds of  strips (from 1 to 3 inches in width), then sold by the pound.   I had acquired a box of these, mostly cotton, at the studio sale.  (And now know two sources for these wonderful rags.)  So here are the results, one a gift for one of my daughters and the other a gift for her daughter:

Darcy's rug, for the back door

Keely's rug, for her jungle bedroom

The "barrel" look is due to my camera: the rug selvages are straight, I am proud to say.

Also glad to say that the blue warp from hell has been relegated to utility string, and I now have several spools of well-behaved 8/4 rug warp.  Some of which is about to be warped up for two more rag rugs. 

By the way:  8 is the size of the threads, and 4 is the number of them twisted together, so it refers to the size of the yarn or thread.  Each material (cotton, linen, wool, etc) has its own sizing convention, so part of being a weaver is figuring out how the heck to pick materials that play nice together, and more or less turn out the way you expected them to.   Weaving is sometimes a surprise.