Deflected Double Weave

It is time to work on another double weave project for my study group.

I've been watching Madelyn Van Der Hoogt's video on Deflected DW  and also took the first DDW online course from Marg Coe at http://www.e-weaving.com.   I like Deflected DW because it creates bold graphic designs not seen in other weave structures.

It is easy to take another draft, use it as a profile draft and change it to DDW.  In the first course, Marg Coe shows step by step how to do this in Fiberworks.

Star of Bethlehem is the draft I chose to change into DDW.  This sample will be a shawl.  It is 22 inches wide on the loom.  For this I am using 10/2 Cotton in a pink color called Azalea and Wedgewood Blue,  both from WEBS.

Deflected Double Weave is a fabric that is woven as a single layer cloth.  There are sections of plain weave with floats that go over other plain weave.  If you removed one of the colors of the cloth you would still be left with a piece of cloth.

There are 4 ends of pink and 4 ends of blue alternating across the warp.  6 or 8 end segments can be used but, you need to consider how long the floats will be.  The thickness of the yarn, type of fiber and usage of the cloth would determine the proper length of the float.  For my first project I am using 4/4.

The sett for DDW is slightly more open than the suggested tabby for the yarn chosen.  I have chosen 30 EPI.  Since this is still double weave the sett is twice what you would use for a single weave.

This is a two shuttle weave; as you need to change colors every 4 picks.  I used a plain weave selvedge to eliminate the need for a floating selvedge or other edge techniques and will determine if I will carry the unused thread up the side or cut it each time I change colors.  I planned on carrying the color up the side of the cloth and have blue on one edge and pink on the other so the carry thread will not be noticeable.

Double Weave Window Panes

I am currently working on a Double Weave project.

I have done several DW projects in the past.  One was a piano keyboard and several Double Wide items.  Studying Double Weave is on my list this year and this is my first project.

Window panes is one of my favorite drafts.  I love how the colored window panes are surrounded by the black frames.  It is also a good draft to understand how the various layers in DW exchange places to create the design.

To make things more interesting, I created a gradient using two similar colors within the windows.  Doing this requires using 3 shuttles, one for the black, and one for each color.  Shuffling the shuttles gets a little difficult and slows the weaving down.  I am enjoying the pace of this weave although I would not want to do it all the time.

To change the design it is easy to weave the windows square or elongated and changing the colors is fun.

I am weaving 2 scarves with this warp on my AVL Loom.  The warp and weft are both Tencel and I chose a sett of 15 EPI on each layer, or 30EPI.  Using a 10 dent reed I threaded 3 ends per dent.  I will need to get the scarves off the loom and wet finish them to determine if the sett is open enough to create a nice drape in the scarves.  Since the fabric is doubled I want the sett to be open enough that it is not too thick and stiff.

To learn Double Weave I have Jennifer Moore's Video and Book.  A new and revised edition of her book has just become available.  Here is a link to it in Amazon:  Jennifer Moore Double Weave

I have not seen the new book but the original is a great source to learn DW.  If you put a warp on your loom and follow along you easily learn many ways to use DW.