Backstrap Weaving – Complementary-warp Pick-up…my new ebook

I have been home after my trip to Australia for quite some time. The dreaded jet-lag has washed off. You would think that I would be back in my loom working on my next large project. I do, after all, have a tremendous list of ideas in my head especially after having bought all that luscious silk from the super folks at Red Fish Dyeworks when I was in Canada.

Well, yes, I have been back at the loom, but not at a large project. Instead, I have been weaving lots of lots of lovely bands! What fun it has been weaving these small projects after having spent so much time at one very large one…the black silk wrap…for a great part of this year. It was particularly fun using wool for some of these bands.

And, why have I been weaving bands? Because I have just published a new e-book on taprootvideo.com.

I have been at the loom, the computer keyboard and at the camera…back and forth, back and forth, from one to the other…. while I finally finish off one of the several book projects that have been lurking around the middle of my project list for quite some time. You are probably tired of hearing about these books that have yet to appear! I am excited to be able to present one of them now….Complementary-warp Pick-up…

The complementary-warp structure produces lovely double-faced bands like the ones you see at left.

The method I teach in this book can be applied to any loom that allows the weaver to create warp-faced bands.

The warp threads are divided into two simple sheds from which they are selected to create the patterns. Generally, two colors are used…one light and one dark. One shed on the loom holds all the light threads, and the other all the dark threads.

Inkle loom weavers, for example, could place all the dark threads in the open position and all the light ones within the heddles.

Weavers who like to use a rigid heddle to weave warp-faced bands need to thread all the ends of one color through the holes and the ends of the other color through the slots.

While weaving some of the samples for this book, I enjoyed using the band lock and wooden rigid heddle that Becky and friends at Vavstuga so sweetly gave me the first time I visited. Vavstuga stocks various sizes of these cute band locks!

But, I am sure that you know that I am a  continuous-string-heddles gal at heart!

And, of course, the other fans of those lovely continuous string heddles,  will set up their warps for the complementary-warp pick-up technique by enclosing all the threads in one of the two colors in the string heddles and the others in the nifty shed loop. Remember that you can always refresh your memory on the warping technique by watching Method 2 on my free video.

 

Here are some of my backstrap weaving students from my recent visit to Australia getting their complementary-warp groove on…

And, look at the fabulous guitar strap that Helen Deighan has woven since our Complementary-warp class in Australia!

She has taken an idea that I would like to encourage further with my latest book, that is, using small motifs as border designs alongside larger patterns. I have provided charts for a variety of such pretty border patterns. These smaller patterns alone would make lovely lanyards, shoe laces and straps for pouches. They also add a lot of interest along the edges of  wider patterns.

The charted patterns in the book range from four to twenty threads. For those of you whose loom allows you create wider pieces, it is just a simple matter of piecing together two or more patterns from the book, just like Helen has. They work wonderfully together. Or, you can always weave two columns of the same pattern and add a lot more border threads to create something wide enough to hold a cell phone, for example…

After finishing this latest book, I really want to thank all my weaving teachers, weaving friends and students who give me so many ideas and who are always so inspiring.

And now, I find myself with a basketful of bands. The bands are pretty to look at and I might just leave them there. Or….. I could use the dozens of little jewelry findings I have been collecting such as, split rings, lobster-claw clasps and ribbon clamps, and make these bands part of my woven bracelet collection.

From band to bracelet…quick and easy…no sewing required…I love that! I have to admit that I was really lucky to find that I had just the right size of ribbon clamp for this band. I have them in four or five sizes and various metal colors.

Now I have some teaching warps to work on which will take me back to my loom once more….my happy place! I’ll be sitting there thinking about the other book project which is part-way done. I hope to have that ready early next year 🙂

I might also make some more jewelry with various closures, like buttons and braids, and give you some ideas for those in the next post.

If you decide to buy my new book, I hope you enjoy it and I welcome any feedback. Of course I would love to see anything you weave using it.