Sometimes a bad first experience with a yarn or weave structure can unfairly taint our feelings. For example, the first time I wove with Tencel, it was a nightmare of broken warp threads, and I swore I’d never weave with the fiber again. Flash forward seven years, and I can’t get enough of the stuff! Nancy Rimsha started out as less than enthusiastic about shadow weave, but ended up falling for the structure thanks to her guild’s Weave Structures group. Learn more about how she learned to love shadow weave and how she designed her Geometric Shadow-Weave Scarf from the September/October 2018 issue:
Nancy Rimsha’s Geometric Shadow-Weave Scarf.
Nancy Rimsha’s Statement
Although I purchased 1000(+) Patterns in 4, 6, and 8 Harness Shadow Weaves by Marian Powell several years ago, I never really looked at it except to browse through the photos of finished designs. The drafts seemed impossible to understand because they were written in a different notation than any draft I had ever seen. I wasn’t particularly intrigued by shadow weave because its patterns were usually rendered in highly contrasting shades that didn’t appeal to me, although I had marked for future consideration a couple of shadow-weave projects from Handwoven that used alternating colors of less contrast.
For these reasons, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic when the Weave Structures group chose to study shadow weave. However, I plunged in, using one of the Handwoven projects I had been attracted to. I wove a sample that experimented with colors and was intrigued by the interplay of colors and the pattern variations possible by changing the treadling.
I found a geometric pattern on www.handweaving.net by searching for shadow weave. After weaving a couple of samples, I settled on a treadling that gave me the scale of geometric design I wanted. I used color changes and subtle thicker lines of weft between some of the color areas to break up the design and avoid an allover grid.
Happy Weaving! Christina
Project at a Glance
PROJECT TYPE: 8-shaft.
STRUCTURE: Shadow weave.
EQUIPMENT: 8-shaft loom, 9" weaving width; 10-dent heddle; 3 shuttles; 3 bobbins.
YARNS: 8/2 Tencel (3,360 yd/lb; Camilla Valley Farm).
OTHER SUPPLIES: Matching sewing thread.