A&S 50 7: Tablet Weave Two Colored Striped Band from London Dig MOL Braid 449

The original band was woven in two colors of plied silk, pink and pale yellow (possibly originally white) and had bronze bar mounts attached to it.  Twelve tablets were used, making a fairly narrow band of 8.5 millimeters.  Each tablet was threaded with two colors of silk threaded in groups of three, SSSZZZSSSZZZ and turned continuously in one direction to create a striped pattern.  The band shows one reversal of the turning direction, probably to un-twist the remaining warps.

            The cards as threaded in two colors as shown below:

A
B
C
D
	S	S	S	Z	Z	Z	S	S	S	Z	Z	Z
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12

The cards turn continually forward.  The original band shows one reversal of direction.  When enough twist has built up in the warp to prevent smooth turning of the cards, reverse direction to untwist the warp and continue turning backwards.

I had selected this band as my first attempt at tablet weaving as it seemed like a fairly simple threading and turning pattern.  For this first attempt, I used size 3 crochet cotton from DMC in two colors, a light blue and grey.  Threading the warp was quite simple using the continuous warping method described by Crocket and Lewins.  Actual weaving proceeded smoothly, with some allowance given for the learning process.  The start of the band is a great deal looser and wider than the end, which can be attributed to my inexperience.  By the finish of the band I figured out how to beat the weft down to get a smooth surface and maintain an even band width.

Overall, I am quite pleased with how this band works up and am looking forward to using the design again, perhaps for a belt or set of garters in silk, using the original pink and yellow.

Sources:

Crowfoot, Elizabeth.  Textiles and Clothing, c.1150-1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London).  Boydell Press, 2001.

Carolyn Priest-Dorman.  Three Recipes for Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Tablet Weaving.  (http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/3recipes.html) Last accessed Aug. 31 2010.

Crocket, Candace.  Card Weaving.  Interweave Press, 1991.

Lewins, Shelagh.  The Ancient Craft of Tablet Weaving:  Getting Started (http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/TW01/TW01.htm)  Last accessed Nov. 18, 2010.