Weaving: Hand Loom

Yesterday I continued on my hand weave- I am enjoying this process so much. Here are some photographs of my updated weaving samples- cannot believe this is my last week in weave, the time has just flown by. I am however, very excited for my knitting sessions to begin.

Weaving: Hand Looms

This week I have been back in the studio, carrying on with my weave. I've started to experiment with new weft colours, and weaving patterns. I have learnt today that wool is VERY sensitive to harsh conditions- resulting in some of my warp yarns snapping! oh dear.  I'm not a fan of the bright blue weft yarn- I think that it takes away from the colour scheme of the warp.  Currently I am in the process of doing a warp weft- which will hopefully end up with a wonderful checkered pattern.

Dye Workshop

Today I have has my first tutorial in a dye workshop, as part of the construct course. I've wanted to try this since starting at MMU- especially after learning about the dyeing process/ different types of yarns in a-level chemistry. Using a cotton hank, we went through the process of 'direct dyeing',  starting with the technical science-y part of measuring weights of yarns, dyes and salts. Then after choosing our colours soaked the yarns in water baths, increasing the temperature every few minutes to achieve the best results. 

I found the process very long winded, however when my yarns were taken to be dried I was actually very proud that I'd learnt the process. I shall definitely be trying this process again in the near future, as I think it's very satisfying knowing that you've created your own colour yarns to add to your samples.

Weaving: Setting Up the Hand Looms

It has been the most wonderful day in the studio. Now that the loom is all threaded up I've been able to start the actual weaving. When I first saw the levers and combinations to making the different patters on the loom my heartbeat was racing- it looked absolutely terrifying! In reality, once I'd got my head around the process there was no stopping me! In comparison to the threading up, weaving seems to be much easier and a lot less time consuming.

I have absolutely loved creating this first sample- so far I have experimented with just a plain weave, and another called 'floats'. I just cannot wait to get back in the studio next week to carry on experimenting!!

Weaving: Setting up the Hand Looms

As the next part of the weaving process, I needed to thread up the loom. First each yarn needs to be separated into the amount of ends per inch you started with, mine was 16. These were measured out onto the mill. Then the fun started. Using our warp plans, every single yarn (in the right order) had to be separated and placed into the right pattern through a heddle. This was really tricky, especially having blended some of my colours- remembering to do light blue then dark blue then light was an absolute nightmare! Luckily it all worked out in the end though after a lot of concentration!! When the 160(!!) ends were passed through in the correct order, the same process had to happen again through a comb, just to make sure that each yarn was unknotted, making it easier to begin weaving.

The whole process overall seems rather time consuming, however I have to say I really did enjoy learning each step. I have no idea if i'll ever be able to remember all of this again, but I'd definitely like to try! Tomorrow I am able to finally begin my weave. 

Weaving: Setting Up the Warp

This morning I have sorted my warp plan out, and managed to produce my warp on the mill. I worked out that I have 160 ends to my warp, so that meant wrapping my warp plan ten times- lots of counting involved. It didn't take me too long to suss out a quick way of working the mill and was finished in no time. My only regret was choosing to do an eight colour scheme, as I had to keep changing the yarn colours every few wraps to match my palette. I am really looking forward to getting into the studio tomorrow morning to thread up the warp on the hand loom.

Weaving Introduction

After a wonderful and relaxing xmas holiday, it has been so lovely moving back into the new studio, catching up with my friends and starting the new textiles world of Construct. I am really looking forward to learning the techniques and ways of working in both knit and weave, as I have never studied either topic before, so I know that I am going to be challenged through-out the next six weeks.

My first half of the term is going to be specialising in weave. It was fantastic to get straight into the course on the first day- learning about the different yarn types choosing our colour schemes for our warps. I decided on a neutral palette after being inspired by a photo shoot in one of my fashion magazines. My data project is now taking form of the idea of fashion- I found it very useful looking through a collection of old magazines last night- picking out colours that I believe work well together.

I think that it is going to be quite difficult trying to incorporate both my practice and research based on 'data', together. Hopefully once I get into the week a little more my ideas will become a little clearer! Either way I just know that this is going to be a fantastic textiles world.

Data Moodboards

For my data task I have started to look at the data of body measurements, fashion and the idea of 'distortion'- what affects factors such as alcohol, drugs and cigarettes can play on the body. For my weave I had to choose a colour palette to work with on the looms. I was really inspired by this fashion shoot in one of my magazines- deciding it would be perfect inspiration for the weave. I like the fact that i'm able to play around with dark, light and mid-tone colours- I have also chosen to work with wool.