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Harrisville Shetland Wool Twill: Do I weave it balanced?
I am new to weaving with wool and am trying to learn without making obvious mistakes. With plain weave, I was taught to weave it balanced (equal ppi and epi) using negative space concepts. The size of the square caused by the interlacement of weft and warp should equal the empty square space between each interlacement.
I have lots of questions! Am I supposed to weave “balanced” twills? If so, how? More specifically, should I be watching my negative space knowing that the wool will full when it is wet finished? If so, how do I do that while weaving twill?
Maybe the simple answer is not to beat too hard. Any help will be much appreciated.
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2 Replies
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I’d aim for balanced, yes, and would do that in exactly the way you describe: by watching the negative space formed between two warp ends and two weft ends.
Sometimes the negative space isn’t easy to see. In that situation, I tend to look at a 3×3 area where three warp ends meet three weft picks, or a 4×4 area where four warp ends meet four weft picks. I try to keep that looking square or, if not square, ever so slightly taller than square. We tend to see elongated angles and shapes as reading more “correct” than squished ones.
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With a twill there is usually a strong diagonal line that develops. I tend to use a 45 degree angle ‘tool’ (ie a post-it note folded on the diagonal) that helps me see the angle. In the loom I try to get a slightly ‘taller’ angle, maybe 48 or so. Most important of all is to be consistent. If the beat is inconsistent, that twill diagonal will be ‘wavy’ not straight. In the photo below, the cloth has already been wet finished and the twill angle is pretty much exactly 45 degrees.
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