Weaving Festive Fabric: Creating Turned Twill Christmas Decorations
Each year I like to weave something for Christmas. This year it is a length of turned twill in merino lambswool in red, green and grey which I have made into Christmas baubles as Christmas tree or wall decorations.
What is a turned twill?
In a plain 2/2 twill, the threads cross in a steady diagonal with each weft thread going over 2 warp threads and then under the next two with this pattern being offset with each weft row by one warp thread. In a turned twill, the threading and shaft lifting are reversed at intervals, so the diagonal changes direction and builds up zigzags, chevrons and small diamonds. The fabric looks busy and detailed even though it is woven from only a few colours and is actually a straightforward structure.
3/1 and 1/3 twill
When the twill varies between 3/1 or 1/3 an additional complexity comes into play. The lifting pattern can result in either a 2/2 twill, 3/1 or 1/3 twill. Where a block is woven as a 3/1 twill the weft thread goes over 3 warp threads and under one. Where a block has a 1/3 twill the weft threads go over 1 warp and then under 3. Whether it is a 3/1 or a 1/3 twill impacts on the whether the warp or the weft colour is dominant changing the appearance of the block.
Choosing the Colours
Red and green are the traditional Christmas colours. I added grey (and a little gold too for some of the weft) as the lighter colour softens the contrast and gives the pattern a calmer background. This resulted in a seasonal fabric, with the twill creating fine diagonal lines with the three colours blending and shifting as you look at the fabric from different angles.
Why merino lambswool?
2/17nm Merino lambswool is my most common weaving yarn, partly because I have cones in a wide range of colours but also because it is a fine and soft yarn which holds its colour well. It also finishes beautifully. After weaving, the cloth is wet finished to soften and full the fabric to create a denser, more even fabric which can be more easily and sewn with less fraying.
From loom to baubles
I wove the cloth on my 8 shaft floor loom. I chose to weave just 4m on the loom at a width of around 40cm at a sett of 15 epi. The red, green and grey warp stripes were multiples of 4 warp threads so stripes of either 4, 8, 12, 16 or 20 warp threads. The pattern across the warp was randomly arranged.
Once woven, the fabric was finished, cut into shape and made into baubles using 8cm embroidery hoops and a length of braid or ribbon for hanging. Each bauble shows a different part of the pattern so no two baubles are the same.
The remaining fabric has been used to create other festive decorations including small festive stockings.
Where to find them
The baubles and other festive decorations are available in my online shop with more work to be added as it comes off the loom. You can view the Christmas baubles here.
Most of my weaving creates luxury accessories and you can find the full range of handwoven accessories including triangle scarves, shawls, scarves and snoods for delivery within the UK, to Canada and USA here: Shop handwoven scarves, snoods, shawls.
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