Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Sheep Band and Some Card Weaving Tips

This sheep band is my first card weaving project except for a simple band that I learned in a class.  I'm using my Schacht inkle loom and 3/2 cotton.  The band is about 1 5/8" wide.

                                                              Sheep Card Woven Band

The threading pattern is available here:  http://www.hilltopcloud.co.uk/blog/18th-december-tablet-weaving . 

There are 23 cards and they face left.  A and D are on top, A and B are toward the weaver.  4 forward turns (toward weaver) and 4 backward turns (away from weaver) is the pattern.  Thread S and Z (not card position, which is what I did.)  Threading S and Z will make the sheep ears point downward instead of upward. 

I've learned a lot about card weaving patterns.  Some of the patterns on Pinterest are very difficult to figure out because they may not specify turning direction, which way the card faces, and if the threading or card position is S and Z. 

Helpful Tips
When you thread S, the card position will be Z.
When you thread Z, the card position will be S.

The color that will show up on the band is the color that moves across the top of the card.  So, if the card faces Left, A and D are on top, and if you move the card away from you, the color in hole A will move to the D position (still on top of the card).  It is moving across the top of the card, so the color in A will show up in the band.

If the card faces LEFT, the letters are probably on the card counter-clockwise.  A and D are on top and A and B are closest to the weaver.  (A, B, C, D are counter-clockwise)

If the card faces RIGHT, the letters are probably clockwise.  D and A are on top (A is farthest from weaver), and C and D are closest to the weaver. (A, B, C, D are clockwise)

If you thread a card S and move the card away from you, the twist will be Z.
If you thread a card Z and move the card away from you, the twist will be S.

If you thread a card S and move the card toward yourself, the twist will be S.
If you thread a card Z and move the card toward yourself, the twist will be Z.

If you find a band draft without directions, you can look at the first row of the colors of the band.  Does it look like it is the same as the threading in holes A?  If so, Color A is the first row of the pattern.  Or it may look like the same threading as holes D across.  If so, the first row of the pattern will be D.  So, you need to thread the cards so that the correct color will show up on row one. 

I'm really enjoying this project.









2 comments:

  1. What a great summing up of tablet weaving principles! Thank you, this is really helpful.

    ReplyDelete