12 Shaft Crackle Shawls - The Middle

I added the six string heddles needed for my extra threads to fix my drafting mistake, it is very quick and easy and described in my last blog.  I now have a lovely collection of threads hanging off the back of the loom.  To keep the threads from tangling I use a piece of cardboard with thin slits to keep the threads in line.

I started weaving again after re sleying and re hemstitching.  I stepped back to take a picture before the design goes around the cloth beam and it is looking pretty good.

Then Mum notices some doubled threads in only one area of the pattern.  It goes for about three inches; starting where I had begun weaving in the morning.

On the underneath of the shawl you can see that there is a long float.  Sorry for the blurry photo it was a little awkward to photograph upside down.

When I am finished a weaving session, I place my hanging threads on top of the castle of the loom to prevent them from untwisting or breaking.  Somehow, in the morning when I dropped them down to begin weaving again I had overlapped a hanging thread with a thread on the warp beam and  the threads twisted together making this mistake.

After unpicking the three inches I fix the overlapping threads and could really start to weave this stunning pattern.  One of the interesting things about Crackle is that there can be very large pattern repeats and for this shawl that pattern repeat is thirteen and half inches!

After all the drama at the beginning; actually weaving the shawl went quite quickly.  Then I had to choose the weft for the next shawl.  I had a choice between a pretty blue 2/16 bamboo and 2/20 red Tencel.

I was worried that the blue was too pale to show the pattern, so I picked the red and it is a stunner! This time the pattern looks like the draft because I started the treadling sequence from the other side! Lovely.

Final Garden Shot is some tiny bulbs that are just starting to bloom.  What a hopeful sign of Spring, I am ignoring the weather report that says that we could get some more snow on Friday!