Getting Ready to Weave Again: The Odyssey Coverlet Project (aka Mountain Cucumber): Part 3 - Test Blocks

It's working!

I LOVE this pattern! There is so much going on in it!

Practice block / Test / Dress Rehearsal for the Mountain Cucumber Coverlet Pattern

 

Testing and Experimenting - Starting to weave

I calculated some extra warp for testing and experimenting.  I need to figure out 

1.  What shuttles to use
2.  What threads for tabby
3.  How much space a block will take, so I can make sure I'm consistent -- The 4 panels need to match up when I sew them together.

Beginning to weave - Test Block

For the initial test, I used the 10/2 cotton yarn, same size as the warp strings.  Although it's a relatively fine string, it seemed to weave a courser cloth than I expected.  The blue pattern threads should be closer together so they read as color blocks.  That can be fixed by using the finer 20/2 cotton thread for tabby, and by beating a little harder.   

With overshot, the pattern thread is supposed to be 2x as thick as the warp and tabby threads.  One of the coverlet references I consulted in designing and making this coverlet said to use a tabby that was half the size of the warp strings.  Other overshots I've done used the same size tabby as warp strings.  So for the first part of the test block, I used the same size tabby.  So I wanted to test and see which one would work best.  I'm glad I did the test!

This Mountain Cucumber/ Governor's Garden pattern makes it relatively easy to see what you're doing, and if you missed a line, or added an extra one.  That said, if I use the same size tabby as the warp strings, it spread things out too much. In the photo above, you can see the pattern threads are too far apart, and don't group together enough to create a solid block of color.  They read more as half-tones. Another way to manage that might have been to double up the yarns by using 2 strands of blue for the pattern threads.

By the time I started weaving the circle design above, I had already switched to the finer tabby thread, but it wasn't quite enough to condense this circle to make it round.  You can see the lower half of the circle is stretched out and elongated.  I realized that I needed to beat harder to make the circles rounder.  That's why the top half of the circle is a little denser.  I'm realizing that I don't have to baby this cotton thread, even if it is thinner.  It's American Maid Cotton, coated with a beeswax finish that will wash out later.

I am getting a feel for what I need to do -- and how hard to beat to get the desired effect. 

Circles vs. Tables 

This photo is from the end of the pattern repeat - towards the end of my practice piece.   By then, I was beating a little harder, and the circles are rounder than the first try, but still kind of elongated.  I'll have to do a bit more experimenting to see how many lines per inch to be consistent.

See those worms and cucumbers!  Those look just about exactly as I expected they would!  There is so much movement in this pattern -- That's what made me fall in love with this pattern.

The other option is to use the thinner 20/2 cotton for the tabby.  Yes-- this seems to be giving me the look I was after.  It allows the blue pattern thread to bunch up better and read as a color block, instead of half tones.

This will definitely be a lighter weight coverlet -- for summer.  I'd have to use much heavier yarns for a winter coverlet.  Although, things will plump up a bit once it's wet-finished and whatever sizing is washed out.

Some things I need to remember while working on this project:

It has floating selvedges on both edges.  I added a sturdy fishing line to give it strength and makes it less likely to bow in.  The fishing line will be pulled out once it's off the loom.

For the floating selvedges, I need to remember:  Over the selvedge going into the shed; Under the selvedge coming out of the shed.  Over / In ; Under / Out.

I still need to order some fabric tape measures so I can track how far I've gone with each panel, and to make sure I'm staying consistent with beating so that the panels match up properly when they are off the loom.  I think that may be the biggest challenge with this project.  I thought about making my own out of ribbon, but decided the purchased tape measures would be more consistent -- esp. since I need all the panels to match.