red grey and walnut hand dyed cotton cuff bracelet 4129

 Two distressed clay buttons secure this wide cuff made from an array of black polyester cord.  They wider design is a variant of the basic tapestry weave technique explained here.

The buttons are polymer clay textured with a walnut shell and over baked to achieve the brown color and texture.

 A mix of hand dyed #24 cotton string and lightweight cotton floss incorporated into a landscape of color and texture.

Size 7 1/2" (191 mm) circumference
2 1/4" (58 mm) wide






design and photographs copyright 2017

Beginning the weave - String weave tapestry bracelet tutorial part 4

Part 4: Beginning the weave

The pattern is a so called "plain weave" which is the simplest over one - under one sequence.

Take a length of the thin dyed weft string and double it through another tapestry needle. I use an oversize needle for ease of handling. You may also use a piece cardboard as a shuttle instead of the needle.

Start at the loop end of the warp cords. Leave 1/2" open loop to allow for the button.

Draw the doubled string through the warp cords with a simple over-under pattern. Use the needle to help separate the warp strands as you work back and forth.

Turn the doubled cords over "ribbon style" at the edge keeping them parallel. Don't allow the string to cross over when you make the turn.

(Can you see the bad crossover in this photo?)

Keeping the pair of string (weft) cords aligned will make the finished work look nice and neat.

Use the simple over-under pattern as before and pull the slack through the weave and pack the weft together.

Initially the weave may be somewhat loose and appear disorganized. Leave a 6" piece on the end, we will use this later to terminate the weave.

Continue to work the paired weft string ribbon-style back and forth through the thicker warp strands. This shows the correct alignment of the paired weft strings.

After each pass firm up the tension on the weft by gently pulling the loose end. The spacing will be as shown with the crossover between the warp strands slightly smaller than the diameter of the warp strands themselves.

You may use the pliers or the tapestry needle to compress or pack the weave after each pass.

Getting an even tension takes practice...

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design, photos, and descriptions copyright 2017

Setting up the loom - String weave tapestry bracelet tutorial part 3

Part 3: Setting up the loom

Here's where the warp cords are secured to the loom in preparation for the weaving process.

Unwrap the cord assembly from the tube mold and lay it out on the table. It should look something like this.

Your ends might be longer than the example, if so simply trim them off to the same approxomate length roughly 1 1/2" or so.

Here the warp assembly is placed on a simple loom. This loom is made of wood with pegs arranged on the working edges. This is a specialty tool you can make or buy.

On the loop end the both loops are placed over one of the pegs.

On the button end a spare length of cord is used to tension the assembly by looping around the button and one of the pegs. Secure with a square knot.

You can also use a couple of stout rubber bands instead of the knotted cord. This holds tension on the warp.

Note that the tapestry needle remains in place holding the warp strands secure near the button. If you accidentally dislodge it go back and set up the length on the mold.

Here's a closeup showing the button end. The tapestry needle holds the warp strands together. The button is tensioned using the knotted cord or rubber bands.

Practice is required to get the spacing and tension correct. Yes, it's a bit more involved...





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design, photos, and descriptions copyright 2017