Random Acts of Color
Devoted to Weaving and the Fiber Arts
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Convergence 2022 in Knoxville: I Stayed Home -- But My Garments Were There!
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Weaving on the Curve in 20/2 cotton
Take note: I wove these samples on the end of a black-and-white warp that was left over from another project. Really, I was just curious about how to weave curving pleats. No way would I use black and white yarns if I were weaving this for a garment!
Anyhow, I'll get to the point. As we all know from that inspiring book, Fabrics That Go Bump, when you weave a turned twill on 8 shafts or more, you can create vertical pleats. The secret lies mainly in the structure, which is basically a turned twill that alternates between weft-emphasis and warp-emphasis blocks.
Here's a look at a design from this book by the late, great Erica de Ruiter. I found it inspiring.
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Teaching and Touring in Oregon and California
Let's start with Portland, OR, where I taught a workshop on Echo threadings to the Portland Handweavers Guild, thanks to the efforts (and beer, bread, and coffee) of program chair Lynne Fitzsimmons. It would take up way too much space to post all of the photos of all of the beautiful samples we wove, but here are a few highlights.
Echo sample on 8 shafts woven on two hand-painted warps (beamed together as one) by Bertha Kao
Friday, April 15, 2022
April 28 to May 1: The Weavers' Guild of Rochester 75th Anniversary Celebration!
Finally, I'm entering this scarf of degummed reeled silk, woven on three hand-painted warps in a 12-shaft extended-parallel threading tied up and treadled as Rep, without the thick-and-thin wefts. I call it "Pagoda" because the pattern reminds me of the curves of the pagoda roofs that are so famous in China.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, March 17, 2022
More Explorations in Parallel Threading: Playing with Strickler #728
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Collapse Techniques: Some Active Yarns and How They Work
Pictured above: A scarf woven on 4 shafts in deflected double weave. The warp is 20/2 cotton in stripes of teal and purple and the weft uses these yarns plus a wool/stainless-steel yarn (see the floats above, in fuchsia). The scarf looks like gauze on the loom, but when you wash it in gentle soap and lukewarm water, the wool/stainless floats crinkle up and draw in horizontally, creating vertical pleats in the fabric.
I love these surprises in the finishing! And one of the easiest ways to achieve them is by using active or energized or exotic yarns -- a large category that includes yarns that will shrink, twist, collapse, and/or relax after washing.
Right now I'm teaching a Zoom workshop for the Reno Fiber Guild, "Deflected Double Weave for Collapse Fabrics." I put together a short handout on the active yarns we're using and how they work and I thought it was worth sharing in a blog post. Here's the list -- of course, it's not comprehensive -- along with photos and images of the yarns under magnification.
Fine Gold Gimp (Metallic Yarn)
And here's what it looks like after weaving and washing.
Convergence 2022 in Knoxville: I Stayed Home -- But My Garments Were There!
Tabard for a Gentle Knight Detail: 24-shaft 4-color double weave on an Echo threading Tabard for a Covid Warrior, 16 shaft double-weave, al...

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I think it's Elvis Costello who said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." You could say the same ...
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How do you weave a countless number of structures on one warp? With an extended parallel threading, of course! This particular techniq...
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Last Saturday at the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, I taught a class on "Getting the Blues: Natural Dyeing with Indigo and Woad."...