Recently I was talking about patterns for the rigid heddle beginner (you can read that post here if you missed it). I briefly mentioned Colour and Weave as an additional technique to jazz up your weaving, but decided that it would need to have it’s own discussion, as it is so versatile and varied.
Firstly, what is colour and weave?
Well, it’s very simple. It’s the introduction of colour, usually in a set sequence, first in the warp and then also in the weft. When you begin weaving, that is when the magic happens!
The prearranged colours cross paths and have a party on your loom 🥳
Plaid, which I discussed recently is a type of colour and weave, as you have set colours in set amounts in the warp and then cross with the same colours and amounts in the weft. Take a look at this post if you want to see some examples of plaids I made on my weaving software.
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When the warp and weft colours cross over each other, they can produce some very interesting effects. You can use colour and weave in all kinds of weave structures, but it works great for plain weave and is perfect for the newer weaver. You are still weaving your familiar plain weave, but it can look very different! My Candy Store Scarf is the perfect example of this.
Colour and weave is wonderful for the rigid heddle weaver as it is such a simple “next step” once you have practiced plain weave and are looking for a new and interesting challenge.
Some of the most famous and popular examples of colour and weave are Log Cabin and Houndstooth. These are often considered a “next step” for weavers venturing out from limited colour plain weave.
Although you can use multiple colours for both of these weaves, it can be a good idea to limit the colours to two that contrast well, otherwise the beauty of the crossing colours can become a bit lost.
Houndstooth colour arrangement is very simple, whereas log cabin is a little more complicated and warping can take quite some time. So, if you are a newer weaver, definitely have a go at houndstooth before attempting log cabin.
Jane Patrick’s “The Weaver’s Idea Book” is a great resource for getting started with this technique. She has a section on weaving a colour and weave sampler and it includes many examples or suggestions for colour arrangements.
If you’re interested in exploring colour and weave, you have come to the right place! Here is a list of resources I have that can help.
Finally, I want to mention the applications of colour and weave beyond 2 shafts. Pinwheels are an easily recognisable example of this and can be woven on 4 or 8 shafts. Even though there are more shafts, the initial warp colour setup, then weaving colour sequence is still an essential aspect. My Pinwheels Table Topper class shows you how to set up your rigid heddle loom to weave this beautiful 4 shaft pattern.
When you get into 4 shafts and beyond, you can play around with your colour placement in the warp and weft in order to highlight certain areas of pattern. When I wove some bread towels for myself, I included a contrasting strip of red in the warp.
This is really not a colour and weave because I had already threaded the loom with the intended pattern – the pattern didn’t appear strictly because of my colour placement.
But I still think it’s worth mentioning to highlight how patterns can appear or at least become more prominent when selective colour arrangement is used. If I had planned this piece better, I would have ensured in the design process that the strip of red was going to be wide enough for one full repeat of the pattern – you can see part of the pattern has been cut off.
Another example from a 4 shaft project for the floor loom or table loom weavers is the Bright and Beautiful Towels.
This project uses a twill weave structure but strategically uses colour in the warp and weft so that they meed at specific points of the pattern AND so that they weave squares. This twill pattern is beautiful to begin with, but playing with the colour arrangement makes it truly unique and eye catching.
I think it’s a wonder that so many fascinating patterns can appear just by the meeting of colour!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and please leave any thoughts of questions you may have in the comments below – I would love to hear from you!
Until next time…
Happy Weaving!