Linda Hendrickson
Tablet Weaving and Ply-Splitting Books, Tools & Kits

Tablet Weaving Experiments
[Spaced-out tablet weaving sample with warp twining and gauze weave] Tablet weaving sample with spaced-out warps

This is a sample I wove in September 1998 in a "Spaced - Out Tablet Weaving" workshop in Wokingham, England. The warp is in the horizontal direction. Tablets alternately threaded (right, left, repeat), and spaced out in a reed to 4 tablets per inch. Structures used were warp twining and gauze weave (leno). Actual length of the sample 9"; width varies from 3-1/2" to 5-1/4". This variation in width only showed up after washing, and seems due to differences in fiber and ply of the weft yarns, which sometimes collapse into the open space. Lots of possibilities for more experimenting! Click on the photo for a close-up and additional details about this sample.
[Tablet weaving with copper wire] Tablet weaving with copper wire

This is a sample I wove in February 1999 at the Cleveland Art Institute when several people got together to experiment with wire. Click on the photo for a close-up and more details.

[Warp-twined double cloth using the pasaka principle; two 4-color warps interdigitated] [Reverse side] Warp-twined double cloth sample -- two views of the same band

An experiment that I wove at Harrisville Designs in July 1998. The narrow areas are warp-twined double cloth, while the wider sections are single-layer warp twining. The double-cloth has different colors and patterns on each side. I wove the band using the Pasaka principle, which Peter Collingwood developed based on an Indonesian tool to create a double shed. In Peter's method, a rod is placed over and under cords behind the tablets, and can be moved to create a single or double shed at will. When the rod is near the tablets, there is a double shed, and when it is pushed away from the tablets, there is a single shed. Click on either photo for close-ups and additional comments.


[8-color band--front side] [8-color sample]
A closer look at the single-layer section of the 8-color band (left photo) Why do the diagonal lines in the two halves look different? Some experiments on a sample (right photo) help provide answers to this puzzle.

Both of these bands are made up of two 4-color continuous warps (A and B) with the tablets interdigitated. 

Experimenting with the sample showed that the tablet arrangement in the two halves must be a mirror image -- the tablets at the center of the band must be either A A or B B. The color/value arrangement also makes a difference in the appearance of the diagonals.

Click on either photo for close-ups and more details.
[loom-woven potholder based on a warp-twined tablet-woven design] Loom-woven potholder based on a warp-twined tablet-woven design

This loom-woven potholder, woven by Gretchen Muller, has a tag that reads "Patterns from Egyptian Cardweaving". I bought it at a craft fair many years ago. It hangs on my kitchen wall next to the stove, and has only once touched a pot, when a guest helping with the cooking thought it was hanging up there to be used!

Gretchen's potholder measures 7" x 6-1/4". The center design is a twill, and the borders are plain weave. The yarns are cotton rug warp and a thick cotton weft.

"Card-weaving patterns for placemats" explains how to convert warp-twined tablet-woven designs into warp-faced twills for a loom. This article, by Triinu Kartus, is in the November/December 1999 Handwoven, p. 22-24.

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This page updated on June 18, 2013.