Project 9 Stage 2b

More practice (21cm x 18cm max)

This time I'm going to use some alternative yarns to see how different to wool it looks.  I also want to try some Ghiordes Knots.

I warped up and took good care to begin weaving on just the top warps.  I was surprised that the whole thing felt much less substantial than on my previous piece.

I began by putting in a base of wool.  I followed this with a drinking straw.  Next came some shiny synthetic tubular yarn then four strands of some fine fuzzy wool.  Next came another straw and a layer of twisted clingfilm.  I then used a green onion bag and then I put a row of Soumak in with braid.

Next there's an orange bag and more Soumak braid and a straw.  I put Soumak in again but this time in chiffon ribbon and followed this up with various creams and white in hessian, muslin and paper.  Last of all were my Ghiordes knots, both standard and continuously looped.  

Showing the yarns in the order indicated above

Wool, drinking straw, synthetic tubing, straw, cling film,
 onion bag, braid, orange bag

Chiffon ribbon, various pale yarns hiding and my Ghiordes Knots

My shy pale yarns

The reverse

The only thing I tried that wasn't successful was trying to knot with plastic bags.  They wouldn't stay put and my fingers became all thumbs so I abandoned it. 

Some of the yarns I used surprised me.  The cling film gave a pretty "filament" sort of effect and the Soumak in chiffon worked very well.  I have learned how much I like shades of white and cream and this was no exception; there's a rustic feel to this part of the sample.  The knots are fun and to an extent overshadow the rest of my work.

I found that because some of the yarns were chunkier than I have used before and less flexible the warp sometimes shows through.  I also found that it was harder to join and secure these yarns.  

My tension was adrift again; more so than last time.