Sunday, March 17, 2013

Rigid Heddle 8-shaft Pinwheel Weave!

Thanks to Jeen on Ravelry, I found a "recipe" for 8-shaft weaving on a rigid heddle loom.
This is Pinwheel Weave.  Yes, it is very cool.  
It is also somewhat time consuming (with 6 pick-up rows out of every 8 weft throws), so if you like rigid heddle to be a quick weave, this is not the draft for you!  
It is possible to get a nice rhythm going with it though, and the pick-up pattern is not hard to memorize, so if you do not have access to an 8-shaft loom, give this a try!  

I used a merino sock yarn and a 12 dent reed (wanted more wheels across the width) but I think I should have followed Jeen's advice and started out with chunky on a 5 dent, or maybe worsted on an 8 dent.  This would give fewer pinwheels in a row, but also fewer threads to pick up, which would make a significant difference in the time and difficulty of the pattern.

So here's how it goes (though I do recommend going to Ravelry for Jeen's step-by-step instructions and many examples of this pattern in different color combinations plus other variations and other weaving patterns).  (OK, I like Jeen - she's bold and experimental and likes to try out lots of crazy ideas.)

Directions:
A.  Warp your loom with 8 threads of each color, alternating 8 thread colors blocks all the way across.

B.  With your darker color, weave a plain border of some kind, at least 2 rows (more, if you like).

C.  Starting with your darker color, begin the pattern.  You'll do all 8 rows of the pattern with this color.

Pattern:
row 1 - Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, from right to left, go over 4 threads and pick up 4 threads.  Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.

row 2 - Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, go over 3 threads, pick up 1, over 1, pick up 3 threads. 
Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.


row 3 -
Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, from right to left, go over 2 threads, pick up 1, over 1, pick up 1, over 1, and pick up 2 threads.  Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.
 
  row 4 - no pick-up (take a breath) Heddle down, plain weave shot.

row 5 - no pick-up (take a breath) Heddle up, plain weave shot.

row 6 - Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, from right to left, pick up 2 threads, over 1, pick up 1, over 1, pick up 1, and go over 2 threads.  (for those who think analytically, this is the opposite of row 3)
Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.
(this shows the pick up stick making the shed)

row 7 - Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, from right to left, pick up 3 threads, over 1, pick up 1, and go over 3 threads.  (opposite of row 2)  (sorry, apparently I neglected to take a picture of this one)
Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.

row 8 - Heddle in neutral.  In each 8 thread color section all the way across the row, from right to left, pick up 4 threads and go over 4 threads.  Turn the pick up stick on its side to create a shed and weave your color through.
Repeat this pattern (rows 1 through 8) with your second color.
And that's it, alternating colors to the end of your project.

D. End with the 8 row pattern in your darker color.

E. Put in your plain weave border.

F.  Finish fringes as desired (I twisted mine in solid color 8 thread units)

And voila, a pinwheel scarf (or dishtowel, or whatever project you choose)

So even though it's pretty slow going, it's actually fun!  Really!  
And it's pretty flash, oh yes it is!

(edited post on March 19 - so sorry, I was in a hurry when I first did this, and put all the process photos in upside down!  All better now.)

26 comments:

  1. Truly amazing, I had no idea that you could do something this wonderful on a ridged heddle, thanks for opening my eyes.
    Maggie again (spinner/weaver, Hampshire England) (still being anonymous with apologises)

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  3. That is fabulous! Thanks for sharing :-)

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  4. This is great. And it's an awesome way to really see how the weave structure works.

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  5. Would this work if you made a string heddle for each of your pick-ups? That way instead of having to use a pick-up stick and memorize the pattern, you could just pick up string heddle 1, then 2, then 3, etc. Or would that negate the point of using a rigid heddle loom to begin with?

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    1. It's perfectly fine to use string heddles and would probably save a lot of time in the end (http://yarnworker.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-heddle-rod-explained.html) - whatever works best for you!

      This pattern is best/easiest on an 8-shaft loom! The only reason for using a rigid heddle loom is for fun/challenge or because you do not have access to an 8-shaft!

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  6. Thank you for the very clear instructions. I am just now sampling pick-up weaves, so I am looking forward to trying this.

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  7. Excellent instructions, making a waistcoat front using thus design. Also thanks for the introduction to Jeen, what an awesome lady ��

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    1. Thanks everyone! And Kate, I agree that Jeen is quite amazing and inspiring!

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  8. I had to do heddle up and then down or else it came out wrong. I used the same yarn and dent size but my pinwheels have more of an almond shape instead of circular. I cross referenced with Jeens directions. Not sure where I went wrong. Regardless it still looks great. Using gray and a deep purple for a scarf. Thanks for the idea!

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  9. Hi Anonymous -
    The almond shape probably has to do with how firmly you pressed in your weft threads - if it's not a balanced weave, it can distort the shape.
    As to the heddle up/heddle down (I'm assuming that this is in the plain weave shots) I'm not sure why that's different for you, but go with whatever works (I've only made one of these pinwheel projects so I don't have a lot of experience with possible variations!). Perhaps it has to do with whether your first thread is a slot or a hole?

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  10. Looks terrific! How much sock yarn did this take? How long was your warp? How long is the finished scarf?

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  11. This surely captivates my interest in pinwheel. I must weave a twill for guild annual project due mid-April 2015. I have an 8-harness floor loom. If you have any advice please let me know!
    Cheers,
    izzi~avis

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  12. Hi,
    Am giving this a try. On ROW 8 , though, aren't we going from Left to Right (directions say
    "right to left")---just want to make sure I'm doing this correctly ---thanks.
    Ann

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    1. Hi Ann - the "right to left" is just the direction of the pick up stick pattern and refers only to how you pick up threads. Your shuttle throw will continue to alternate from left to right in its normal sequence.

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  13. in row 2 you don't say to go from right to left with the pick up stick. Should I go left to right that one step?

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    1. Sorry Marlene - all the pick up stick moves are from right to left. I'll get in and edit that ASAP.
      Also - if you are a "no-reply blogger" I cannot send you a private message, but can only reply to your comment on my blog. Hope this message gets to you!
      And have fun with the pinwheels!

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  14. thanks! It is too late for this first project but it still looks way cool, not as nice of a pinwheel pattern as you show. I will try it again next project. also do you just weave your ends back in on the next pass when you change colors?

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    1. Another great question Marlene! (sorry this took a few days to answer - had to dig the winter scarves out of storage to look at what I'd done!).

      You can weave the ends back in if you like, but I just carried them up the sides trying to create a decorative twist each pick so the colors corkscrew up.

      You can sort of see it happening on the selvedge of the row 1 and row 2 photos (as well as the final photo).

      I probably brought the working yarn up and underneath the carried yarn each time they met. It's also possible that I started the colors from opposite sides so blue carried up one side and green carried up the other.

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  15. Thanks. I think that will look better. I am going to try this again. My scarf turned out ok but wider at the end I began on. I think I was doing a tighter weave towards the end.

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  16. Thank you for sharing! The scarf is lovely. I will get this on my rigid heddle asap and start "playing."

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  17. This is great! I will have to have a go at this with the Yarnshifting/Continuous strand weaving technique that I use. It always makes a balanced weave. And I like circles and swirls!

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  18. This is such a great scarf and fun weaving design!! Thanks for sharing. I just moved to Gig Harbor and am looking for other "locals" who weave. Hope you get this post =)

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  19. Very clear comments! Thank you very much for this. I have one question: i found I needed to catch in the end warp thread at each side, otherwise the weaving doesn’t go right up to the edges. Is that correct? I can’t see any mention of it in your description or the one on Ravelry.

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