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varied sett


i'm having a bit of fun, making samples for curtains. i figure it's nice for the sun to shine through, as these aren't insulation curtains, but decorative curtains.

the sett here is 8, 16 and 32 epi. the weave looks most even in the 16 epi sections, with the 32 epi sections having quite a steep diagonal twill line. the thing is, na dmany of you will no doubt have come across this, that if one gives it a firm beat, it tends to beat the whole weft right down to the fell, causing a waving fell, with the close-sett sections pushing themselves forward. quite a hideous effect in my opinion. so one needs to keep a very light beat, that only press the weft down the fell on the close sett without putting any pressure on the loose-sett sections. it's not easy is it? the changing of beat isn't particularly noticeable in 32 and 16 epi stripes, but in the middle it's very noticeable. with groups of weft threads bunching together, giving quite a variation. i don't think it's an unpleasant effect though, and combining slightly chaotic central sections with a consistent boundary fabric could be nice in the end. it's more interesting to look at. anyhow, i'll finish this square off, cut it off the loom and try a third setting. might get a fourth out of it, but i'm not sure. you can't really tell how this has come out till you hold it up to the window.

Comments

Peg in South Carolina said…
What is the fiber? Wool sticks to itself so there wouldn't be much slippage. Cotton, on the other hand........ Unmercerized cotton might work.......
23 April 2009 at 18:37
Andrew Kieran said…
it's wool/silk.

very sticky stuff this. i can't do plain weave at over 28 epi cos the warp sticks to itself. i need some kind of treatment for the warp to stop it doing that i think.

the low-sett areas on the pictured sample are very wide. that's probably why there's slippage. i've just finished the final sample in which i've been sliding the sett up and down like so

4 dents at 8 epi, 4 at 16, 4 at 32, and back down again.

it's much more satisfying and even. also, i can once again use a heavy beat because there isn't such a huge distance between heavy-sett bands, and i get a quite nice undulating twill line. i don't know how to post pics in comments and the dog's drawing up a 1000 signature petition asking me to take her for a walk so i'll leave it for now. once everything's been through the laundrette i'll post some comparative pics of the different pieces.

these aren't the clours i'll be using in the end either, those are much closer to each other. i'm just using these cause i don't want to waste usable yarn on samples. this is all more concerned with the structure of the piece. i'll have fun with colour later
23 April 2009 at 18:45
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