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Thursday 1 June 2023

Uisce

It's been a while since I shared a new free draft and I have a backlog to share with you, which I'm hoping to work my way through them over the next few months. The inspiration for this one is just a little different from my usual bands. 

Most days, when I take the dog for her morning walk, I go past several little utility hole covers and I've been fascinated by the keys pattern around the edge of them. When I decided to make myself a Viking apron dress to wear at Drachenwald's 30th Anniversary celebration, I wanted a trim that drew on something distinctly Irish (given that we've been living in Ireland since the end of 2021) and what could be more Irish than Uisce!

Round weathered brass utility hole cover set into concrete. It has a keys pattern around the edge with a swirling pattern in the centre and has the letters "WSCR" and "UISCE"

I took a photo of the hole cover and roughly sketched it out on a piece of paper, then drew the draft out. I chose blue, black and white, as they're my colours within the SCA and my arms have a blue river running across the middle, rather like the blue waves across the band. It's mostly a diagonals pattern, with a few areas of 3/1 broken twill double-face to produce white areas and blue lines parallel to the selvedge.

A close-up of a grey wool Viking apron dress with blue and white tablet woven trim and two oval shaped brass brooches. Two strands of beads and a silver chain are strung between the brooches.

If you chose to weave this draft, it would definitely benefit from the use of a row marker of some type. The horizontal ruler in Tablet Weaving Draft Designer is excellent for this. 

A draft for tablet weaving formed from two grids. The top is filled with blue black and white ovals with white or grey backgrounds to show tablet turning direction. The bottom grid shows the tablet threading

Link to the Uisce draft TDD file
Link to the Text version of the Uisce draft


A smiling woman in a white head scarf, grey Viking apron dress and a lilac linen underdress stands in front of a red climbing rose on a white wall


As with all of the free drafts/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.