From one card-weaving warp, many patterns

Every year the Weavers Guild of Minnesota runs a booth at the Minnesota State fair. Volunteers demonstrate floor-loom weaving, spinning, and some variant of off-loom weaving. Every year I demonstrate my favorite off-loom weaving technique, card-weaving. Most passers-by have never seen card-weaving in action, and are fascinated by its seeming complexity. It’s great fun to explain How It Works, and, surprisingly, most get it right away.

When I started demonstrating for the Guild I attempted to weave complex patterns, such as this lovely Finnish pattern from Applesies and Fox Noses. It was a disaster, because I can’t weave such patterns and talk at the same time. So I spent most of my time unweaving, which of course wasn’t what my audience wanted to see.

So I now weave simple threaded-in patterns. That’s sufficient to illustrate How It Works, but is boring, boring, boring to weave. Here’s a sample of what I wove last year. Its pattern is produced by repeatedly turning weaving 9 turns forward, then 9 turns backward.

This year I woven from a warp with threading similar to last year’s warp, but to keep it interesting and a bit challenging, I wove small bookmarks, varying each by changing card initial position, threading direction, or turning sequence. This allowed me to illustrate the huge variety of patterns that can be produced from one warp. Here are the variations I wove:

At the end of a bookmark I was able to change the warp set-up and resume weaving in a couple of minutes, a feat that would be impossible with any other weaving technique but card weaving. That’s one of the reasons why it’s my favorite way to weave.

I’ll briefly describe the card setup and turning sequence for each bookmark.

1. Warping

To maximize flexibility in design, I warped with just two colors — two threads each in a dark color and two in light —  in adjacent holes as in double-faced weaving, and warped the band using continuous warping as Linda Hendrickson illustrates in this video gem:

Linda’s method results in a warp with the left half of cards S-threaded and the right half Z-threaded. Each card’s initial position is more or less random — I’ve shown them in this threading diagram, copied from a GTT screen shot, as if each card is in standard initial position with two dark colors in holes C and D:

I have not included reference to border cards in the rest of this discussion. I added two border cards, alternately threaded, on each side, and always turned them forward.

(A word of explanation for those readers unfamiliar with how the card weaving design application GTT presents the threading diagram: The application assumes

• cards are lettered A-D clockwise on their front,
• cards face to the weaver’s right with the weaver in front of the warp — that is, weaving proceeds away from the weaver,
• S- and Z-threading conventions are those of Peter Collingwood’s Techniques of Tablet Weaving: defined by the lean of the threads as they pass through the card’s holes,
• cards are numbered from left to right (weaver’s perspective),
• the diagram’s rows show colors threaded in holes A, B, C, D,
• cards are in an initial “A-D” position, in which hole A is in the far top position, and D is near top.)

I’ll describe the card setup and turning sequence for each pattern from left to right. In just a few minutes, cards can be turned (to a new initial position) and flipped about their vertical axis (to toggle S- and Z-threading) for a new setup.

1. Small diamonds

Threading diagram:

Turning sequence: I wove 4 quarter turns forward, then 4 quarter turns backward, repeating (shorthand: [4F4B]*).

2. Larger diamonds with blue center dots

Using the same threading diagram, but weaving 4F5B[5F5B]*

3. Still larger diamonds with variations

Threading:

Turning: [8F8B]*

4. Knobby diamonds

Threading is the same as pattern 3.

Turning: After initially turning forward twice, I repeatedly turned 11 turns forward then 3 turns backward. In order to undo twist build-up, after turning 11 forward I reversed, repeatedly turning 11 turns forward then 3 turns backward. I.e., 2F11B[3F11B]*[11F3B]*

5. Waves

This was a refreshing change from weaving diamonds and their variations.

Threading:

Turning: I think I turned [8F8B]*, but any number of forward and back turns results in a wave pattern.

About half-way through the bookmark I separated the middle 8 cards into a separate pack and turned them the opposite way for a dozen or so picks, producing the seemingly out-of-place diamond.

6. Egyptian diagonals

By this time just a few inches were left to weave. I was near the end of my Saturday night’s shift. The Creative Activities building, where we wove, was almost vacant, allowing me uninterrupted time to practice an Egyptian diagonals pattern.

Since my intended design is symmetric about the long center of the warp, flipping and turning the right half of the cards to this new initial setup would simplify weaving:

To weave the pattern shown, follow this turning sequence:

1. Flip the center four cards (#15, 16, 17, 18). (Alternately create a second pack with these cards.)
2. Turn forward twice. (Alternately, turn the first pack forward and second pack backward).
3. Flip #13, 14, 19, 20 (or add them to the second pack).
4. Turn forward twice (or turn the first pack forward and second pack backward).
5. Continue that pattern, flipping two more cards on either side of the flipped cards, then turning forward twice, until all cards are flipped (or all cards are in the second pack)
6. Now reverse the process: First turn all cards backward.
7. Flip cards 1, 2, 31, 32 (or move them back to the first pack). Turn cards backward (or turn the first pack backward and second pack forward)
8. I think I got about half way back to the beginning before running out of warp.

Result of 6 hours of a good time at the Fair: One warp, six different patterns, five bookmarks, an Egyptian diagonal stub, and lots of food on a stick.