Firstly the warp calcs: 

 I decided on 672 ends in total. This means 42 ends per section (my sections are 2cms) I will require 16 sections in total to equal the required 672 ends. (16 x 42 = 672 )

Of those 42 ends there are 3 different colour which equates to 14 ends per colour. The colours above are purple (14 ends per section to be dyed) Black (14 ends to be wound but I already have black), and pinkish (14 ends per section to be dyed).

This means creating 16 separate warps with 42 ends for each colour. HOWEVER, I have to separate these clearly so that, after dyeing, I will place the 3 x 16 end warps (one purple, one black, one pinkish)  all together back onto the warping wheel to be wound onto the sectional warp beam.

Do you think my plan will work?

I hope it does…it will be worth it if 1) I don’t have to wind so many times 2) I can get colours I want without having to search the world. 3) I can create ‘abrash’ in echo weave.

The bamboo is lovely, providing a ‘grab’ in the fabric which suits a wrapping scarf.

Jiowanna Dau Miles teaching us the essentials of tapa cloth making. I was fortunate to buy the cloth below which was made by Jiowanna. I like to buy from the maker … it means more to me.

The inner bark from a type of mulberry tree is beaten, sometimes for long periods, producing a finer and finer cloth. You can see the tutor Jiowanna Dau Miles with a beater specifically designed by the wood craftsmen in Fiji.

The stencilled decorative elements on the cloth were cut with xray film and were ‘mix and match’ design styles which could be build in different ways to create quite complex looking patterns.

The stenciling was so engaging as we used our fingers without gloves, and it washed out immediately. The carrier liquid for the dyes was made from mangrove root. We firstly dipped the sponge into this then into an ochre powder or one from the soot of the burnt candle nut (agathis vitensis) to paint on the stencil.

Old stencils from natural materials.

New type stencils with xray film.

Now that film canisters can’t be bought, where to now for our odd warp weights.

Well here is the images of my bamboo experimentation with more to come. I’ve started with the sampling on the warp and will probably go with the fine bamboo weft which has a silky handle and soft ribbing effect.

I don’t seem to be able to weave white successfully. I know it’s needed and we can’t do without it on the web and in our blank journal books but it’s an unfulfilling colour for me – it has an uncomfortable yearning about it. So into the dyebath all these will go. I’m looking into stencilling with dye or stencil resist if there is such a thing.

Stylised bamboo images are well known in textiles and wallpaper.

I found these and liked the incorporation of the bamboo ’seams’ and leaves together. My image for pics to picks didn’t have the leaves but they offer another dimension to the patterning.

I also experimented with a peg plan possibility. But my experiments didn’t go too smoothly but I will try again. I need to get the scale and proportions correct for the small pixel size of the peg plan.

I’m not sure how these will be used in my work but they are filling up my journal pages nicely.

Look at the ’seams’ on the bamboo photo. These are more interesting than the bamboo itself for weave design. So I’m trying to include lots of these in an intermittent way. This possibility is only achievable with lots of shafts. I have 4 shafts devoted to the basic ribbed weave structure. The other 20 shafts offer another 5 arrangements of bamboo ’seams’. By changing the tie up again I can also combine arrangement to create more ’seams’. The ’seams’ are simply an exchange of the 1/3 twill with the 3/1 twill in small areas.

Here is a design showing the front and back view of the structure, followed by photos of the warping process.

 See all my Pic to Picks entries so far.