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Wednesday 7 April 2021

Petre

This draft is based on a German brick-stitch pattern from the Hildesheim Cope (accession number: 17-1873), specifically the section that deals with the martyring of Saint Peter (spelled "Petre" in Latin). I've been fascinated by the Cope since I first saw it in the summer of 2016, on display in Medieval and Renaissance Room 9 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It's a large embroidered semi-circular vestment, dated to the 12th century, adorned by a number of tablet woven brocaded bands. I discuss the motifs of these bands in more detail in my book Tablet Weaving in Theory and Practice: Vacant-Hole Pinwheels.

A white vacant-hole tablet woven band with red diamond and diagonal line motifs, photographed against a green leafy background

I decided to design this draft as vacant-hole (one or more holes of the tablets are left intentionally empty), but to set up the tablet threading so that all the tablets would turn together in the same direction to make a quick and simple weave. This makes it an excellent first band if you've never tried the technique before. 

When I was weaving the sample, I flipped the threading direction of the selvedge tablets (tablets 1, 2, 3, 36, 37 and 38) so that I could turn them together with the pattern tablets. When you flip a tablet, then turn it in the opposite direction, its threads will continue to twine in the same way as before. A Z-threaded turned backwards will produce the same result as an S-threaded tablet turned forwards.

If you take a break during weaving this draft, be sure to secure the tablets with an elastic band or by tying a cord around them (or what ever method you prefer) as they may re-orient themselves so that the vacant-hole is either at the top or bottom of the pack.

A diagram representing a square weaving tablet with a hole in each corner, carrying a white thread in two of it's holes and a purple thread in another. The purple thread is diagonally opposite from a vacant hole and the tablet is oriented so that the vacant hole sits at the top.

The vacant holes of the tablets are represented by empty squares in the draft below and by the word "Empty" in the text version of the draft. The sample was woven using a white weft, flecks of which can be seen on the surface of the band, where they would normally have been covered if the vacant holes of the tablets were filled. If you'd prefer, the draft's turning sequence will be the same if the vacant holes of the tablets are filled. If you do this, I suggest picking a thread that is the same as your background colour and using a weft that's the same colour as the lines for your motifs.

A tablet weaving draft patterned with white and red threads forming diamond and diagonal line motifs.

You can download the TDD file for this draft by clicking here.

The text version of this draft is as follows:

  • Threading:

    1. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    2. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    3. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    4. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    5. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    6. Z threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    7. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    8. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    9. S threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    10. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    11. S threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    12. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    13. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    14. Z threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    15. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    16. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    17. S threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    18. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    19. S threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    20. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    21. S threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    22. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    23. S threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    24. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    25. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    26. Z threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    27. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    28. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    29. S threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    30. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    31. S threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    32. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Empty
      4. White (#ffffff)
    33. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Empty
    34. Z threaded tablet
      1. Empty
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    35. Z threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. Empty
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    36. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. White (#ffffff)
    37. Z threaded tablet
      1. Red (#ff0000)
      2. Red (#ff0000)
      3. Red (#ff0000)
      4. Red (#ff0000)
    38. S threaded tablet
      1. White (#ffffff)
      2. White (#ffffff)
      3. White (#ffffff)
      4. White (#ffffff)

  • Turning:

    1. 38F
    2. 38F
    3. 38F
    4. 38F
    5. 3F 32B 3F
    6. 3F 32B 3F
    7. 3F 32B 3F
    8. 3F 32B 3F
    9. 38F
    10. 38F
    11. 38F
    12. 38F
    13. 3F 32B 3F
    14. 3F 32B 3F
    15. 3F 32B 3F
    16. 3F 32B 3F
    17. 3F 32B 3F
    18. 3F 32B 3F
    19. 3F 32B 3F
    20. 3F 32B 3F
    21. 38F
    22. 38F
    23. 38F
    24. 38F
    25. 3F 32B 3F
    26. 3F 32B 3F
    27. 3F 32B 3F
    28. 3F 32B 3F
    29. 38F
    30. 38F
    31. 38F
    32. 38F
As with all of the free patterns on this site, you are welcome to weave them, sell bands woven using them, and use them to teach other weavers, just as long as you state where you found them.

Friday 2 April 2021

Threading Errors Video

 


In this video, I talk about some of things that can go wrong with tablet weaving and the threading errors that cause them.