The next adventure for the Rigid Heddle Study Group will be double weave.
Carol Kaminsky has purchased Liz Gipson’s DVD Double Your Fun: Doubleweave on a Rigid Heddle Loom which she will share at the September 24 meeting. We will also have some samples to share. “Double weave produces two separate layers of cloth simultaneously. The two layers can be joined along one or both edges, interchanged so that the bottom layer weaves on top and vice versa, or quilted together by weaving selected warp ends of the bottom layer with the top layer.” Handwoven, May/June 1992.
Some project ideas that can be woven using this technique include blankets or towels twice the width of your loom, a bag that is closed on the bottom and sides but open on the top with NO seams, one layer that is double density for table runners, placemats, etc. that are extra thick and sturdy or a piece of fabric that is quilted right on the loom which would make a nice hot pad.
Think about where you would like to go with this technique and at our October 8 meeting we will start the warping process. You will need two heddles of the same size and dent and two pick-up sticks. As for sett, it will be the same for each layer you would normally use for a single layer for that particular yarn. For example, 3/2 pearl cotton sett at 10 epi for a single layer would be sett at 20 epi for double weave.
If you have any questions, contact Kathy Myers, Dorothy Mucha or Carol Kaminsky.