Clasped-Weft Shawl

This striking shawl from the Spring 2016 issue of Spin Off features a clasped-weft technique, which is an easy way to achieve an attractive tapestry-like pattern using a single shuttle and two weft colors. Although Bobbie chose to use four shafts, this project requires only two shafts and is appropriate for a rigid-heddle loom. —Editor

Spinning for Clasped-Weft Weaving

I wanted the warp to be of a suitable grist and strength to use on a rigid-heddle loom with an 8-dent reed. I sampled with a commercial wool yarn of an appropriate size for that sett, which I used as a guide for spinning the warp. The warp fiber came as carded roving with a staple length of about 3 inches. I spun it Z with a backward, modified point-of-contact draw, then plied S.

[PAYWALL]

The weft fiber, in two colors that remind me of sherbet, had a staple length of about 3 inches and “wanted” to be spun fine. I spun each color separately, moderately fine and with a short backward draw in the Z direction, and then plied S. I chose not to use a worsted draw because I wanted some loft in the weft.

I usually prefer not to wash handspun yarns before I weave with them, in order to concentrate all the fulling in the finished fabric. In this case, I did want to fluff up the weft a bit, so I washed those skeins in warm water with a mild cleanser (shampoo) before weaving. I didn’t want to add loft to the warp that might increase its tendency to fray in the heddles or reed, so I put it on the loom without washing it.

Clasped-Weft Weaving in Depth

Although usually woven as in this project with relatively heavy yarns in doubled plain weave, clasped-weft weaving can be more complex, working with many other weave structures and multiple colors per pick. It can be a very attractive (but labor-intensive) pictorial weave in fine yarns woven with a cartoon under the warp for specific patterns.

While you can position your weft joins to form smooth lines, I like the staggered effect shown here, letting colors advance and retreat a bit with successive picks. I chose to start and end with the joins close to the left selvedge (predominantly orange weft) and gradually advance to the middle of the shawl, where the red is dominant. I then reversed the position of the joins for the second half of the shawl for an approximately symmetrical design. I wound marker threads around the top of my beater at 4", 9", and 14" from the left selvedge to guide the approximate join location for the start, the middle (after weaving 18"), and the end of the first 36", and used the markers in reverse for the second half of the shawl. It’s important to measure the woven length to keep track of your progress, since you can’t see the whole fabric as it winds around the cloth beam.

The progression of joins from left to right for the first half of the shawl and from right to left for the second half must be very gradual. It should take 18" of weaving to get to where you have approximately equal amounts of both weft colors in the shed, halfway (9") across the warp.

Shawl

FIBER: Warp: 7 oz black Icelandic lambswool carded roving. Weft: 20% silk/80% Merino combed top: Mango (4¼ oz) and Pomegranate (3¾ oz).
YARN: Warp: Handspun lambswool 2-ply, 504 yd spun, 432 yd used; 992 ypp; 12 wpi. Weft: Handspun silk/Merino 3-ply, Pomegranate (A), 268 yd spun, 238 yd used; 1,175 ypp; 13 wpi. Mango (B), 407 yd spun, 238 yd used; 1,550 ypp; 14 wpi.

Weaving

STRUCTURE: Half basketweave (doubled weft).
EQUIPMENT: 2- or 4-shaft loom or rigid-heddle loom, 18" weaving width; 8- or 12-dent reed or 8-dent rigid heddle; 1 shuttle; tapestry needle for hemstitching.
SETTS Warp: 8 epi (1 per slot and hole in an 8-dent rigid heddle, 1 per dent in an 8-dent reed, or 0-1-1 in a 12-dent reed). Weft: 6 doubled ppi.
WARP LENGTH: 3 yd (allows 6" for take-up, 30" for loom waste; loom waste includes fringe).
TOTAL WARP ENDS: 144.
DIMENSIONS: Width in heddle/reed: 18". Woven length (measured under tension on the loom): 72". Finished size after washing: 14½" × 68½" plus 8" fringe at each end.

Wrap Weft A around a strand of B, then reenter the same shed.

Weaving instructions

1. Wind 144 warp threads 3 yd long. Warp the loom using your preferred warping method. Do not use floating selvedges; they are not needed for plain weave and would interfere with the clasped-weft technique. Use one thread in each slot and hole of an 8-dent rigid heddle. If using a standard loom, thread 1-2 (or 1-2-3-4) and sley 1 thread per dent in an 8-dent reed, or 0-1-1 in a 12-dent reed. Center for a weaving width of 18".

2. Leave 12" of warp at the start for fringe and pack the unwoven warp with header/waste yarn, at least for the last few inches before you start weaving. To keep warp tension consistent, any unwoven warp must be packed with cardboard or heavy paper as it travels around the cloth beam. I prefer to leave a small gap between the header and the first row of actual weaving to make hemstitching easier.

3. Wind the A weft on the shuttle; the second weft (B) remains on a ball at the side of the loom. Leave a “tail” of B yarn at least three times the warp width (1½ yd) for hemstitching. Start the shuttle each time through the shed from the same side (I start left to right). Wrap this weft around a strand of the second weft as it exits the shed and reenter the same plain-weave shed, pulling a loop of the second color back with it. You can position the weft join at any place you wish in the shed before beating.

4. Change sheds and repeat, always starting in the same direction and returning in the same shed in the opposite direction. Both wefts are doubled in each shed. After weaving several rows, hemstitch with the B weft, encircling groups of four warps.

5. Weave 72", reversing the join angle at the 36" point, and hemstitch the end in four-warp increments with B yarn. Cut the fabric off the loom, allowing 12" at the end for fringe.

Weft A will pull a loop of Weft B back into the shed.

Finishing

6. Correct any treadling errors. Soak the shawl in warm water with a mild cleanser such as shampoo, rinse by hand, and spin in a washer or roll in a towel to remove excess moisture. Lay flat or hang on a rack until almost dry. Press using a wool setting.

7. Trim the fringe to 10". While the yarn is still slightly damp (redampen if needed), twist two groups of four warps clockwise, then twist those groups together counterclockwise and tie the ends with an overhand knot. (I used a fringe twister for 20 turns for the first step, then hand-twisted in the reverse direction 12 times before knotting.) Repeat across each end.

Resources

• Lambswool (warp fiber): Eugene Textile Center, eugenetextilecenter.com
• Merino/silk top (weft fiber): Ashford Silk Merino from Foxglove Fiberarts Supply, foxglovefiber.com

Bobbie Irwin has been weaving since 1973 and spinning since 1981. She lives in Montrose, Colorado, and travels frequently to teach weaving classes.

This project was published in the Spring 2016 issue of Spin Off.