Thank you for this wonderful tool.Some months ago I used "Tablet Weaving Draft Designer v1.0.1" and it works perfectly, thank you very much for this gift. I am beginner in trying weaving. Today I tried to use Tablet Weaving Draft Designer v1.1.2 and it did not respond.What can I do to continue practicing creating my own designs? Paz
Do you have the "lock draft" tool ticked? It's just below the controls for setting the number of tablets, their holes and the number of picks for the draft.
Hello, I just started tablet weaving and I love it! However, I now have a friend asking if I can do a flaming skull motif and I haven't the foggiest idea if it's possible or not. If so I'm thinking with 6 or 8 hole cards, but still don't know how to design it. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Is this the kind of thing you're thinking of? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1McDIsoaaVfBMN8AJQsCW_vwRcLIizBOV/view?usp=sharing If you downloand the file from the link above, then open it using Tablet Weaving Draft Designer in your browser, you should be able to see the draft. I've designed it for six-hole tablets, as I couldn't get the rounded shape I wanted on the skull otherwise.
Yes, I think so. Kind of hard for me to see the pattern in my head lol. Is it possible to orient it the length of the band (turn the image 90 degrees)? Or does that just complicate matters more?
The trouble is working in enough space around the skull for flames as well as a bit of black to separate it from the next one. It would be doable in simple double-face with four holed tablets for the black and white threads, with the red flames either embroidered onto the band or worked in using brocade.
Hello. Are you able to point me are a resource which I can use to work out how many tablets I would need to achieve a certain W width in a given thread weight? Just like gauge in knitting, I need to have a clear idea of finished size. Thank you in anticipation.
Everyone weaves differently, so one person's estimate is generally inaccurate for other weavers, plus you can vary how tightly you pull in the weft based on the intended use of the band. You can get an estimate of how wide a band will be by taking 4 strands of your yarn and twisting them together. This mimics the cords formed by the turning of the tablets. Wrap the resulting cord around a ruler, packing them together as tightly as you will in your band. It's best to do this for at least a width of 10cm/2 inches, then divide the number of cords by the width to get your tablets per cm/inch.
Hello! I'm a graduate student in Classical Archaeology - a slightly funky question for you. Do you think the animals on the red and white bands down the front bottom of this statue could have been done with tablet weaving? https://www.wikiart.org/en/ancient-greek-painting/reconstruction-of-the-peplos-kore-athens--530
We don't have direct evidence of tablet weaving in ancient Greece as far as I know, but I believe that it was used in contemporary areas of Northern Europe. If you can access it through your institution, the following book is very helpful: https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/textiles-and-textile-production-in-europe-60901.html
The PENELOPE Project may also be of interest to you: https://www.wikiart.org/en/ancient-greek-painting/reconstruction-of-the-peplos-kore-athens--530
This paper discusses tablet woven animals in Norway and China: http://tabletweaving.dk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/05-GTE.pdf
Hi dear Catherine, I'm looking for this band's pattern. Do you mind sending its draft if you have it? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601793568935452811/
That is a draft called "United Chicken Runs" and is from the book Applesies and Fox Noses (https://www.salakirjat.com/product/159/applesies-and-fox-noses---finnish-tabletwoven-bands). It's currently out of print, but you may be able to find a second hand copy.
In your Tablet Weaving Draft Designer, is there a way to see what the back of the band will look like? I am not seeing that it is possible but thought I would check. Also, I love your threaded in patterns as they are the same on the back as the front (well not truly the same but you understand). I would like to design the front with the back in mind. Since we can't just flip over the draft on the screen, is there a method to manipulate the design so as to show the back (as if it were the front). So many patterns that look great on the front look terrible on the back.
As you mentioned in your other comment, you can indeed get an approximation of what the back of a band will look like by switching the threading directions of the tablets in the threading diagram. It's a trick I've used in the past to help me work out the pattern on a historical band where the front is badly damaged, but the front is mostly intact. For bands that look good on both sides, I recommend using a threading with two colours, with the threads placed in diagonally opposite corners to each other like in my Two Colour Swirls band. The front and back won't be identical, but the pattern lines will be joined rather than broken.
Hello, I'm a medieval art historian, and I have a question for you. I have found a medieval description of what sounds to me like a tablet-woven band around the edge of the shroud of St. Cuthbert. This is a narrow decorative band around all four edges of the cloth, about one inch wide, containing images of paired birds flanking trees, and the design is raised from the background. Can you please tell me -- is it possible to create a tablet-woven design in which some portions are raised? Maybe if you used a thicker thread/yarn in those sections? I'm really fascinated by this account and would love your input.
A raised effect is definitely possible in tablet weaving. If the St. Cuthbert you're thinking of is the one at Durham, I recommend tracking down a copy of "The Relics of Saint Cuthbert" (1956) collected and edited by C.F. Battiscombe. There are sections in it about the tablet woven objects found in the tomb when it was opened in 1827. Several of the bands were decorated using the brocade and soumak techniques, both of which would produce a raised effect and could be used to make the designs you describe. It's highly likely that the object from your source no longer exists, as the tomb was opened a number of times and a quantity of material went missing. Deeply frustrating for those of us in the modern period!
Wonderful! Thank you for letting me know. I had already put in a request for Battiscombe at my library, so I hope it should arrive soon. This is very helpful.
Hi Catherine! I love your draft designer, much easier than graph paper. I'm having trouble telling if the design I'm working on is viable. it's non symmetrical and looks a bit of a mess with thread directions going every which way. Would you be willing to take a look at it?
Thank you for this wonderful tool.Some months ago I used "Tablet Weaving Draft Designer v1.0.1" and it works perfectly, thank you very much for this gift. I am beginner in trying weaving. Today I tried to use Tablet Weaving Draft Designer v1.1.2 and it did not respond.What can I do to continue practicing creating my own designs?
ReplyDeletePaz
Do you have the "lock draft" tool ticked? It's just below the controls for setting the number of tablets, their holes and the number of picks for the draft.
DeleteHello, I just started tablet weaving and I love it! However, I now have a friend asking if I can do a flaming skull motif and I haven't the foggiest idea if it's possible or not. If so I'm thinking with 6 or 8 hole cards, but still don't know how to design it. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Shane
Is this the kind of thing you're thinking of? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1McDIsoaaVfBMN8AJQsCW_vwRcLIizBOV/view?usp=sharing If you downloand the file from the link above, then open it using Tablet Weaving Draft Designer in your browser, you should be able to see the draft. I've designed it for six-hole tablets, as I couldn't get the rounded shape I wanted on the skull otherwise.
DeleteYes, I think so. Kind of hard for me to see the pattern in my head lol. Is it possible to orient it the length of the band (turn the image 90 degrees)? Or does that just complicate matters more?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Shane
The trouble is working in enough space around the skull for flames as well as a bit of black to separate it from the next one. It would be doable in simple double-face with four holed tablets for the black and white threads, with the red flames either embroidered onto the band or worked in using brocade.
DeleteHello. Are you able to point me are a resource which I can use to work out how many tablets I would need to achieve a certain W width in a given thread weight? Just like gauge in knitting, I need to have a clear idea of finished size. Thank you in anticipation.
ReplyDeleteEveryone weaves differently, so one person's estimate is generally inaccurate for other weavers, plus you can vary how tightly you pull in the weft based on the intended use of the band.
DeleteYou can get an estimate of how wide a band will be by taking 4 strands of your yarn and twisting them together. This mimics the cords formed by the turning of the tablets. Wrap the resulting cord around a ruler, packing them together as tightly as you will in your band. It's best to do this for at least a width of 10cm/2 inches, then divide the number of cords by the width to get your tablets per cm/inch.
Hello! I'm a graduate student in Classical Archaeology - a slightly funky question for you. Do you think the animals on the red and white bands down the front bottom of this statue could have been done with tablet weaving? https://www.wikiart.org/en/ancient-greek-painting/reconstruction-of-the-peplos-kore-athens--530
ReplyDeleteWe don't have direct evidence of tablet weaving in ancient Greece as far as I know, but I believe that it was used in contemporary areas of Northern Europe. If you can access it through your institution, the following book is very helpful: https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/textiles-and-textile-production-in-europe-60901.html
DeleteThe PENELOPE Project may also be of interest to you: https://www.wikiart.org/en/ancient-greek-painting/reconstruction-of-the-peplos-kore-athens--530
This paper discusses tablet woven animals in Norway and China: http://tabletweaving.dk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/05-GTE.pdf
Hi dear Catherine, I'm looking for this band's pattern. Do you mind sending its draft if you have it? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/601793568935452811/
ReplyDeleteThat is a draft called "United Chicken Runs" and is from the book Applesies and Fox Noses (https://www.salakirjat.com/product/159/applesies-and-fox-noses---finnish-tabletwoven-bands). It's currently out of print, but you may be able to find a second hand copy.
DeleteIn your Tablet Weaving Draft Designer, is there a way to see what the back of the band will look like? I am not seeing that it is possible but thought I would check. Also, I love your threaded in patterns as they are the same on the back as the front (well not truly the same but you understand). I would like to design the front with the back in mind. Since we can't just flip over the draft on the screen, is there a method to manipulate the design so as to show the back (as if it were the front). So many patterns that look great on the front look terrible on the back.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned in your other comment, you can indeed get an approximation of what the back of a band will look like by switching the threading directions of the tablets in the threading diagram. It's a trick I've used in the past to help me work out the pattern on a historical band where the front is badly damaged, but the front is mostly intact. For bands that look good on both sides, I recommend using a threading with two colours, with the threads placed in diagonally opposite corners to each other like in my Two Colour Swirls band. The front and back won't be identical, but the pattern lines will be joined rather than broken.
DeleteHello, I'm a medieval art historian, and I have a question for you. I have found a medieval description of what sounds to me like a tablet-woven band around the edge of the shroud of St. Cuthbert. This is a narrow decorative band around all four edges of the cloth, about one inch wide, containing images of paired birds flanking trees, and the design is raised from the background. Can you please tell me -- is it possible to create a tablet-woven design in which some portions are raised? Maybe if you used a thicker thread/yarn in those sections? I'm really fascinated by this account and would love your input.
ReplyDeleteA raised effect is definitely possible in tablet weaving. If the St. Cuthbert you're thinking of is the one at Durham, I recommend tracking down a copy of "The Relics of Saint Cuthbert" (1956) collected and edited by C.F. Battiscombe. There are sections in it about the tablet woven objects found in the tomb when it was opened in 1827. Several of the bands were decorated using the brocade and soumak techniques, both of which would produce a raised effect and could be used to make the designs you describe. It's highly likely that the object from your source no longer exists, as the tomb was opened a number of times and a quantity of material went missing. Deeply frustrating for those of us in the modern period!
DeleteWonderful! Thank you for letting me know. I had already put in a request for Battiscombe at my library, so I hope it should arrive soon. This is very helpful.
DeleteHi Catherine! I love your draft designer, much easier than graph paper. I'm having trouble telling if the design I'm working on is viable. it's non symmetrical and looks a bit of a mess with thread directions going every which way. Would you be willing to take a look at it?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, I love a good puzzle! I'm @tabletweaving over on Instagram if you'd like to swap email addresses via private message.
Delete