Warp #1

Tartan (textiles that changed the world) - Jonathan Faiers - available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tartan-Textiles-That-Changed-World/dp/1845203771/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354317905&sr=1-2

When I decided to take the strive to learn tartan, I purchased this book and I am SO glad I did. I have a thing about buying books... I never get them out the library, I buy them. (an expensive habit I must admit) but I just love owning them. Theres just something about books! Anyway..

If you're interested in learning tartan, this book is a MUST. It's brilliant. Starts with the very basics, the origin of tartan, and just goes on.. everything you could possibly need to know. Even to weave.

The begining of the book starts to explain about the basics of weaving tartan.. with the initial colours of black, red and yellow. Running in the order of 2 black, 16 red, 16 black, 2 yellow. And repeat as many times as neccessary. You then repeat your warp backwards in your weft in a 2/2 twill.... and there you have it! Tartan!

This is my very, very first tartan sample (so exiciting)

As much as I love this sample, it is flawed. As the warp is 2 black, 16 red, 16 black, 2 yellow.
The weft should repeat 2 yellow, 16 black, 16 red, 2 black. However I forgot the 2 black. I honestly think I was just too excited about weaving it and the fact it looked like tartan that I just got carried away. I feel this will be a huge learning curve for me with realising the quality of weaving to create a perfect tartan.

Warp set up on an 8 shaft harris table loom.

Tartan

I've recently had a hand in and a presentation so have been a very busy bee!! But that means... new project. This time I am tackling........ TARTAN. My favourite thing, possibly ever. I remember when I was 13 becoming obsessed with the sex pistols and wanting everything I owed (including my curtains) to be tartan.... and now I'm a weaver, what could be better than being able to create it?

I've been doing some basic research into the sort of "classic" tartans, the peg pans, the drafts, the colours, the sets of colours in the warp. I'm intending to create tartans in the most traditional ways I can, alongside using very contemporary techniques and challenging what is classed as a "perfect" tartan and what would be rejected, although it still may be very aesthetically pleasing.

IDEOSPHERE

My work has recently been posted on the IDEOSPHERE blog and the Huddersfield University textile department blog too! Check it out, exciting.

http://texere.tumblr.com/

http://textiles-hud.tumblr.com/

"Fancy twills"

I'm going after Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy!

With the current theme i'm working from, i'm looking at "finishing techniques" meaning all sorts of things that can be done after a piece of fabric is woven. Something I thought could be really interesting for several reaons was freezing (hence the batman quote in the title of this post) and I can only say some was a great success!

I used a weave sample with various textures and levels, a flat fancy twill combined with a plain weave with rug tufting techniques to make the surface very textured. I submerged part within the water and left the other part out of the water and avoided it getting wet.

Grey, grey, grey

Still working on the "grey" project for university, it's actually turning out to be not so bad. The lack of colour and a real concept are really helping me to develop my technical skills as I'm not distracted by anything else. I've been working on 16 shaft patterns that I've never used before and have also been using the book "The handbook of weaves" by  G. H. Oelsner (if any of you are aspiring weavers, check it out!) its bloody fantastic.

Theres a fully section on "fancy twills" which just blew me away.

Here's some of my work using those patterns.

16 shafts and large scale

exploring various 16 shaft honeycomb looms and "fancy twills" from a book from 1915!! amazing how 'contemporary' this work is to say the pattern is almost 100 years old ey?

I love learning new things, I just can't help it. I'm one of those people who wants to do everything and I want to do it now! I want to be able to create tiny embroidery cotton loom woven samples whilst making 10 yarn thick 3D loom structures whilst doing fine tapestries and bending wire into bizzare sculptures to coat in upcycled strips of fabric.

I just can't help myself.

I can't wait to get these patterns going with some colour. I'll soon be learning pockets and double cloths too which I really am excited for. I think weave is something that is really taken for granted. I know a large majority of fabrics are created using huge pieces of machinery now but what about all those fabrics that are hand woven? Each shaft lifted individually and each weft yarn pushed through by hand. I love weaving and go into a world of my own everytime I'm infront of a loom and can't imagine doing anything else. 

The concept of being able to bring patterns from 1915 into contemporary artwork just astounds me.