In the very early part of the 1980’s I was able to take a short workshop on tablet weaving. my original goal was to figure out how to make a starting border for a warp-weighted loom. after a bit more research I realized I could make an Icelandic variant of the loom and skip the tablet woven starting border.
In the meantime, I had figured out the basics well enough to teach some of my friends how to set up and weave a band. One of those friends got very inspired by the technique and ran with it, quickly surpassed my level of skill!
Tablet weaving creates a strong band or strap by using cards to manipulate the warp threads. most often the cards have 4 holes one in each corner. Although other shapes and number of holes are available to weave with too.
When I learned to use them, each card was threaded one at a time to create the pattern you wanted to weave. there is a second way to set them up for a particular type of pickup that is much faster.
Today I was lucky to get a spot in the first running of a workshop on double-faced tablet weaving. The description: Learn the basics of double-faced tablet weaving which allows you complete freedom to weave letters or icons on your handwoven bands for leashes, bag handles, bookmarks, luggage tags, etc. In this course you will learn:
(1) how to make a circular warp with your tablets to get you started weaving super fast
(2) how to manipulate tablets to make your designs, and
(3) how to create your own designs on paper or using tablet weaving computer software.
I had watched YouTube and read instructions on speed warping all your tablets at the same time (this does not work for all tablet woven patterns, but when it does it is worth it). Instead of the slow process of threading each card separately, in this case, we used an inkle loom to crate the warping pathway. This particular pick-up pattern requires 2 colours in adjacent holes. Holding the entire pack of cards in one hand and keeping the tension consistent, the warp is wound, dropping one (and only one) card each time you pass the front peg. It would be a bit easier if you had just one more hand but, with a little practice, you can do this on your own. In the workshop, we worked in pairs to wind the warp. It took about 15 minutes to wind 24 cards.
Threading requires one bobbin or spool per hole, so in this picture 2 white spools and 2 black spools, since all are being wound at the same time.
Just like an inkle loom the warp from the first card is tied to the warp from the last card, making a fixed-length warp. The tension bar will allow the tension to be adjusted as the weaving proceeds and the warp shortens.
Once we had the cards and warp wound, it was time to adjust the cards. There are two options or card orientation called S and Z depending on whether the threads are going through the holes front to back or back to front. Looking down on the card one looks like an S shape the other looks like a Z. This is not the easiest for me since the dyslexia makes both look very similar. We were to alternate S/Z/S/Z… once that was accomplished we rotated the cards so one colour was in the 2 holes closest to us and the other colour was in the two holes farther from us.
Now was the tricky part. Tablets can turn in 2 directions to get the colour you want to turn up on the top, either forward (away from you) or backwards (towards you). Depending on the pattern you may be turning some in one direction and some in another. Oh and if you are not yet confused enough, the border cards always turn forward (away from you!!!)
Just to add a bit more confusion, each line of the diagram requires 2 quarter turns with a weft thread at each quarter turn. Now I’m sure that’s is as clear as mud!
We practised having one colour on top and then switched to having the other colour on the top surface.
Ok, this is very brain-taxing and not quite the same as what I vaguely remember from the mid-1980s. Good thing it’s time for lunch!
We had Haggis in filo pastry, very Yummy! (it was Robbie Burns Day!) and there were 2 birthdays so we also had black forest cake for dessert!
After Lunch she had us try to make a stripe in the background colour, well that didn’t quite go as I expected.
I restarted the weaving and prepared to try to weave my first letter. It seemed to have started ok…. but quickly went downhill in a couple of blocks! The lower part of my J did not meet the vertical part….. ok I miss counted the boxes!!! I think my brain is done for the day. I have left my inkle loom at the studio, and hope to work on it again Monday. I actually have a few floor inkle looms, this is just the latest one I have acquired (it’s missing a few pegs but worked well for tablet weaving).
I won’t show you the mess I made of the J but here is a helpful tip, the giant pin holds my tablets from shifting and getting out of order. It lets you stop weaving or move the loom around.
Each student had a chart with the letters of their name.
So why would a felter possibly like to try this? How about straps for a bag, or purse with your name, or maybe what the bag should be holding?
This was a fun workshop but I think I need a nap before I try to conquer the letter J a second time. Joslyn did a fabulous job, I will try to emulate her band.