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Design Help please
After a busy summer and fall, I am excited to get back to weaving. I am working on a design from a photo I took in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. While there, I was struck by the open sky, the light, and textures in the sand. I used the Pastel app suggested by another HA member to select the color palette. I will use Brassard 8/2 for the warp since I have the colors needed. I have several questions I would love some feedback about.
I would like to use chenille as the weft for the silky feel and texture but I am not sure if I would lose the pattern detail. Other choices would be 8/2, 10/2 or 5/2 cottons.
Would this design work as a wall hanging or is the design too small when viewed far away and/or is the yarn too lightweight to hang?
Also is the design too busy with too many color changes and too many pattern shifts? The design can be made longer/wider etc. depending upon the end use. Thanks for your help.
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5 Replies
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Rayon chenille will certainly obscure the weave structure. You would be better off with a smooth yarn. If you have a rayon, Tencel, perhaps? Merc. cotton? that would give the shine without the texture.
Wall hangings can be whatever you want, really. If you mount it with the cloth slightly ‘gathered’, there could be an interesting 3D effect? Depending on the thickness of your yarns, the weave structure will slow up more from a distance, or only make a statement from close up. So it sort of depends on the viewing distance of the cloth.
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Hi Miriam,
How wonderful! I love the way you got from an inspirational picture to a design.
Re using the design as a wall hanging: I think the woven pattern would tend to blend together if your wall hanging is seen from more than 5-6 feet away. There is an easy way to figure that out, though. Shrink your draft so the yarns on your monitor are the size of the physical yarns, then step back to the expected viewing distance and see what it looks like. (Make sure that “Lines” is unchecked in the Draft Editor, as otherwise the black lines will darken the image too much.)
Re the yarns being too lightweight to hang – add a hanging rod on the end to provide some weight and you won’t have to worry about this. I have some very lightweight silk wall hangings from Laos, and I simply sewed a pocket on the back of the wall hanging and inserted a metal rod to add some weight.
Whether the design is too busy is really up to your personal preferences, unless you’re planning to sell or give away. Does it please you as is? If not, try a variation with fewer color changes and see if you like that better.
I think that for something that’s viewed from further away, you’d want to make the pattern shifts further apart so it’s easier to see the design. But again, if it’s going to be viewed at 5-6 feet away (depends on the size of your room), that may not be needed.
I think the main thing you should do is reduce the draft to the right scale and then step away and evaluate it that way. Let us know how it goes!
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Thank you Tien and Laura for your feedback. I will continue to work on the design.
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Wow, Miriam, that photograph is gorgeous!!! I can only imagine the kind of emotional memory you must have from viewing that in person.
I certainly can’t add much to what Tien and Laura (the experts) have said, but I did have one thought: When I look at the dunes, I see windswept hills and valleys, almost like waves in water. I wonder if, instead of zigzags in the draft, would curved lines better reflect the ‘motion’ and feeling of the sand dunes? Something like undulating twill maybe? Just a thought. It is wonderful as is, and whatever reminds you of that beautiful view is what you should do!
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Thank you for your input Joy. My original intention was to use an undulating twill but somehow I got sidetracked. I will go back to the design process and continue exploring ideas.
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