Plain Weave Can Get Complicated

This pattern is not as complicated as it looks. Remember, this is plain weave with only two treadles. How can plain weave look so intricate? Using two sizes of threads does the trick. Really, it’s that simple.

Thick and thin is not as complicated as it looks.
Pattern blocks have alternating thick and thin threads. Two thin thread picks in a row change the blocks.

The treadling is the easiest it can be. The shuttles, on the other hand, are more complicated. With two shuttles, you must interlock wefts around the outer warp ends. When the order of the shuttles is reversed every few centimeters, as it is here, it keeps you on your toes. And then there is the double bobbin shuttle. Are you able to wind two quills that have nearly equal amounts of thread? Not to mention catching a shuttle that has two quills unwinding.

We look at the detail and busyness around us and see our lives as intricately complicated. But zoom out and take the view from heaven. From that perspective, a thousand years goes by in one day. Humans come and go, generation after generation. My seemingly complex life is simple plain weave with the grand weaver skillfully throwing the shuttles to make meaningful patterns. Let this breath of time that we call life leave a mark of virtue that lasts for generations.

May you leave a lasting impact for the good of others.

Happily Weaving,
Karen

2 thoughts on “Plain Weave Can Get Complicated

  1. Can’t wait to see it off the loom. I’m having a hard time wraping my head around how fast you thread a loom. I’m so slow about 30 threads then the joints make me move or I’ll be on the stool forever. Keep going, old joints creep up faster than you can imagine. LP&J, linda

    1. Thanks, Linda,
      I don’t think of myself as particularly fast. But I do like to keep my looms dressed, that’s for sure! The weaving will take a while on this. I’m almost finished with the second towel; eight to go after that.

      All the best,
      Karen

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