2.2.3 (LIVE) Creating The Warp

Inspiration for my Warp

When designing my warp I reviewed all my research so far, contemplating both Wallace Sewell's samples alongside the colour strips I had created from Feininger's painting. One Wallace Sewell warp that I was particularly inspired by was one from there silk square collection, the random accumulation of stripes differing in width constantly alongside blocks of colour. The advantage of this complex pattern, as shown by Wallace Sewell, is that only simple weft colours are needed, large blocks of colour are overpowered and embellished by the warp. 

A Painted Plan and Yarn Wrap of my Final Warp

My final warp plan (above), I feel has embodied all the elements I highlighted. There is an uneven yet controlled variation of stripes, the colours appear random yet are carefully planned to relate directly back to Feininger's Barfuesserkirche I and Wallace Sewell's use of highlights, lowlights, and tones. To get these perfect colours I have chosen to dye all my yarn, the yarn I have selected is Pure Wool 2/36's as it is natural and its fine quality. After studying Wallace Sewell's threading and taking Barfuesserkirche I's use of blocks into account I have chosen to make my warp double cloth, and thread up on straight blocks (below). 

Threading and Warp Plan

2.2.2 (LIVE) Lyonel Feininger

Lyonel Feininger, Barfuesserkirche I, 1924

Following Wallace Sewell's brief I searched out a painting, I settled on this one, (above) Barfuesserkirche I by Lyonel Feininger. I chose this specific painting as it has many appealing properties, its use of highlights, lowlights, and tonal shades harmonised perfectly with that of Wallace Sewell's pallet while maintaining interdependence. I found it also held great colour combinations the way they were placed together and the proportions was something I am keen to extract. Also the dominating straight lines and sectioned composition of this painting are features I can see easily and effectively translating into a woven sample.

Colour Strips

To help me analyse this painting and pull out all of its colour combinations as well as its proportions I decided to paint numerous colour strips. I cut a printout of the painting up; lengthways, widthways, and diagonally, to gain different perspectives of colour. The result of this undertaking has been very fruitful as I now have ample amounts of colour work to inspire both my warp and weft.

2.2.1 (LIVE) Wallace Sewell

The Wallace Sewell Brief

We all began this project with a trip to Wallace Sewell’s studio and Shop, in London. This visit give us the opportunity to experience the fabrics first hand, feeling the finish and observing the structure up close. From this visit, I found myself particularly attracted to the London Underground collection mainly due to its felted finish, something I would like to explore within my own work. Another collection I was attracted to was the double cloth wool throws, simple in appearance yet complex through construction. The silk single cloth made up of satin and sateen also caught my attention, its ability to create extra colours by mixing the warp and weft yarns was truly inspiring.

Wallace Sewell Collections

To gain a better understanding of their work I chose create painted copies, by using this method I was able to identify the warp and weft colours and proportions. Alongside making the colours present in the warp and weft, I also mixed hues generating new colours that appeared when different yarns overlapped. This ability to create new colours from existing yarns is something I am keen to develop into my own weaving, both with end on end placement and weaving structures such as twill, crepe, and plain weave.

Images of my artist copies

2.1.7 Final Collection and Evaluation

Final Collection

This project has been a huge learning curve for me, being my first fully dedicated unit to weave. Learning to use the Scotweave and the loom itself has been as much a part of my project as designing the composition and patterns themselves. Now that this unit is over and I have had time to reflect, I now feel more confident with choosing weave as my speciality. Also with the research I have undertaken into weaving designers I have a clearing goal for the future of my career and practise.

Throughout this project my aim has been to develop a collection that, naturally, relates to my initial visual research yet shows considered development. I wanted each piece to embody detail, texture and space in there own way while relating harmoniously as a collection. I feel I have meet these specifications with my final collection.

Composition Design Plans

I have thoroughly enjoyed this projected with both my brief, future past, and weaving. Constantly experimenting from the very beginning with the visual research, I attempted to use different media for every study in order to create different textures that I could then develop into weave. I continued this exploration of media while designing compositions as I was unsure how to tackle composition design, it took a number of different strategies before I found a method that worked for me, but by exploring them all I felt more and more confident with my personal design process. I feel there is still more experimenting that can be done to improve this area, I would like to find a method that is fluid to me and allows me to design with little thinking or effort, as I believe this is the best and natural may to work.

Margo Selby

Research has also been vital in this unit; as this has been my first sole weave project finding designers that work in a way I would like to has been key in creating my collection. Building up my knowledge of weavers will be a continuous ongoing project, the more I find out the better I can place myself within the weaving world and direct my designs. Initially, for this project, I was working towards a soft furnishings outcome, by using wools and creating compositions that would suit products such as blankets, as borders or all over designs. However after my collection was finished I found there were some pieces that would be well suited to fashion, due to there dense and soft qualities, Ideal for coats and scarf’s.

As there was a range of suitability within my designs I found a connection forming to, my favourite weave designer, Margo Selby. This connection is not due to the designs of the fabric itself but to the wide range of potential end products, Selby as I have said in a previous post has designed fabrics for nearly everything from shoes to scarf’s and quilt covers to carpets. I am very happy with this connection, as I am only just staring to weave seriously and the only direction I had for my work at the beginning of this project was for it to be commercial, a connection to both soft furnishings and fashion is a success.

Potential Products

I would in the next and future projects like to develop my understanding of weave; both in technical construction and knowledge of requirements for commercial fabrics. After a visiting a number of mills with MMU peers I was fascinated with the factors designers had to consider while creating fabrics, elements such as colour, yarn and pattern have to be suitable for a specific purpose.

2.1.6 Design Developments and Artist Influences

Design Plans

At first when designing compositions I struggled, I was unable to embody both the intricate detail and space of my drawings. After discussing this problem with one of my peers we found a way to create quick designs using blocks of patterns from throughout my visual research. By constantly flicking through the pages and jotting down simple ideas, compositions came to me much quicker, and there was less pressure to draw a design that would need to be used within my weaving. Also by drawing many designs on one page it gave me better insight into a collection, how certain shapes and patterns could be extracted to link all the pieces together.  

Jan Shenton

Another aspect of my weaving that I was struggling with was my colours, not the pallet but the way they were applied within my weaving. In my initial studies there was lots of gradients and mixtures of colours, whereas my first samples contained only block colours contradicting all my visual research. After looking at samples from Jan Shenton I saw how complex colours colours could be; with constant changing in every weft, using highlights and lowlights, and subtle gradients.

My new samples I feel reflect my research, exploring detail, pattern, space and colour. I am very happy with the outcome, but there are still areas I would like to develop; I would like to investigate different ways to use my pique, both as a main feature and combine with my base.  

Developed Samples

2.1.5 Initial Samples

Initial Samples (felted, shrunken, hand washed)

For my initial samples I chose to purely experiment, playing with both pattern and texture, I did not consider composition as I found it to be a distraction while trying to learn to use the floor loom and Scotweave. Within my first sample I have tested different ways to use and combine my pique warp, the result has been an accumulation of floats and figuring. Once I cut off my sample I wanted to experiment with finishing techniques; thus I washed all the samples, shrinking one and felting another. The felting was not very successful as a lot of the detail was lost, the shrinking was also unsuccessful as the long floats did not produce enough texture.

Eleanor Pritchard

From this weeks tutorial session, I gained a lot of guidance in relation to how I should tackle composition. My tutor highlighted to me the weaver Eleanor Pritchard as her work contains high amounts of figuring yet keeps a sense of space, factors that were evident in my earlier drawings. While developing pattern and focusing on shapes for my weaving, I had begun to loose elements of my initial visual research. From this tutorial I have been reminded to look back to early work as a means of inspiration, I am keen to develop new composition utilizing the figuring I have mastered though my initial samples. I am also eager to develop new weaving patterns that capture the texture of my drawings and interoperate Pritchard's sense of space.

Previous Drawings

2.1.4 Defining Colour

Initial Colour Pallets

To being my colour refinement I made a number of yarn wraps inspired by my drawings and Photoshops, I considered proportions, texture, and pattern. My initial selection of colours was rather bright, and during a tutorial it was highlighted to me that more subdued and earthy colours would reflect my theme of natural texture better. My final colour pallet contains a mixture of calm natural colours alongside a few brighter more vibrant hues. This resolved pallet has been made from lambswool yarn due to its speckled multi-tonal appearance, this appearance also matches my visual research with high amounts of tonal change and constant subtle texture. During my weaving however I would like to incorporate mercerised cottons or shiny synthetics to brighten certain sections and to add depth to my work.

Final Colour Pallet

Warp Yarn Wraps

Feedback from my tutorial has also guided my in my warp design; as there was lots of clear space and multiple varying colours in my visual research I was recommended to develop a plain warp. Once again using lambswool I develop a number of different warp compositions, but settled on a consistent pinstripe half and half warp (bottom image). I feel that this slight amount of colour will be very effective and give subtle pattern to all my woven pieces.