Jul 31 2007
Cherchen Man Weave
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I’m currently reading the fascinating book The Mummies of Urumchi The best preserved mummy – Cherchen Man – was wearing a purply/red/brown woollen shirt and trousers woven from a natural dark wool dyed with a maroon dye. The actual weave on many of the clothes puzzled researchers as the cloth appeared to be cut on the bias line. However, it was the weave structure that made this seem the case. The weave is an unusual twill and I just had to have a go. So I warped up a piece of cardboard, sett the yarn(6/1 wool) at approx 18dpi and you can see the result. Named long-hop twill by the authors I prefer ‘Cherchen Man Weave’ |
 The structure is ‘over three, under two’ and offset by one thread in the next row. The diagonal pattern of this weave forms a lower angle than conventional 2/2 twill making a deceptively bias look. And to think someone wove these textiles 4,000 years ago. |
by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. Cherchen in the Tarim Basin, on the southern rim of the Silk Road has revealed some spectacular mummies, preserved in the permafrost for over 3,000 years. Astonishingly the well preserved textiles are the richest aspect of the find and a weaver will find the book like a good detective novel.
I read that book too. Fascinating! Your blog is well named. I never went so far as to try out the weave.
Thank-you Karen for this posting. I have read parts of the book, however your weaving sample and comments have made the subject all the more fascinating.