Part 5 – Inkle Weaving With Colors
In Part 5, we will take a walk into the world of color. This is a journey of expression. It's time to move forward, to allow your pieces speak out, say something, make it look as if it is part of the living. And all without any new weaving skills needed. After viewing this part you will be able to bring color to the weaving process. Understand the simple process of just changing warp colors to bring a piece to life.
Color is a fascinating part of our lives. As we look around we can find color in parts of many different aspects of life. Flowers use color to attract while some creatures use color to repel. There are greeting colors and there are warning colors. There are colors that can reference to taste and smell. Colors can be pleasing to the eye and generate a heart warming memory. Do you want you piece to look as if it would be warn to the touch, bring memories to to heart, or just add a smile? Color can generate many feelings, feelings as endless as a rainbow, endless possibilities for the weaver. Yes, color can make a difference.
All colors, from car finishes to the trim on your house, come from Earths
palette. We are talking about the “Rainbow”. Our eyes respond to light, and that light is made up of a multitude of colors. All these colors are inside the rainbow. Absent of this light is darkness, black.
Colors of the Rainbow
red
orange
yellow
green
blue
indigo
violet
If you want to get exposed to the world of color, none has a better handle than your local paint store. An endless supply of colors, tints, and shades awaits. They have mixed these colors, in various ratios, generating all the colors we see and use.
As weavers, we are limited to the colors that are offered by the yarn manufacturers, or the makers of fabric dye. As a beginner, or advanced weaver, there is very few reasons to go outside of the off-the-shelf colors. There are some weavers who dye and spin their own yarn. They can produce unique colors, this is their option.
Keep in mind that most all synthetic yarns are color fast and will not take on a new color. If you do go down this road of dying your yarn, stick to natural materials, preferably white.
For additional information read “Weavers Know Your Color Wheel”. This will help you understand the relationship of colors and the terms associated with colors. The terms at the end of Part 5 are in relationship to this reading. Also we recommend getting your own Color Wheel.
Through some trial and error, you probably found a yarn which you can easily work with, and there are several colors available. This will be a great beginning into using colors. We will not make any recommendation on how many different colors you need to get.
We do think that three is a great start. Now that is black, white, and three more. Choose colors that you like and blend well. You can never really make a mistake on your favorite yarn. Once you get going in color there will always be something worth weaving in the colors you thought you liked.
If you find yarn accumulating, it is best to get in the habit of properly organizing and storing. The best rule of thumb in storage is to treat all yarn as natural fiber yarns. No dust, no moisture, no critters, and no extreme temperatures. That leaves us with a minimum storage requirement of plastic zip lock bags. The gallon size is good for most uses. Place the unused yarns inside along with the labels. Never throw away labels. Even if you no longer have the yarn, someday you will want to use it again and there will be no reference for you. I learned the hard way.
You can use a marker to write on the outside of the bag. You might include information on what the yarn was used for. I like to just write the info on paper and throw it inside. That way I can reuse the bags when empty for other yarns. I will still save a piece of the used up yarn and label.
As I stated before, you do not need to know any additional weaving skills to add color to your weaving. It is all based on how you warp the loom. By that I mean, what color are you going to use and when while you warp the loom. Now don't get confused, we are still warping the same way as before, just using colors.
To change colors all that you have to do is make the transition at the breast peg. End the color you started with by cutting it off at the breast peg leaving a tail to tie it to the next color. Once you have secured the next color continue warping the loom as before.
You can change colors as often as you like. Just keep some basic things in mind. To generate vertical lines of color, You have to warp one open warp and one heddle warp of that color. Pairs of warps is a line of color. A single warp, either open or heddle, will generate only a dashed line. The wider you want the color, the more warps of that color. Again, the minimum is two warps, one open and one heddle.
Make sure when you start warping the loom that you start using the same yarn color as the weft. Also end the warp using the same color as the weft. The outside warps are the selvege, and you want the selvege color to be the same as the weft threads. Minimum, it works out best to use 4 warp threads on the beginning, and 4 warp threads at the end, for the selvege.
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Here is a video showing a new weaver. This is his sixth weave where he will be warping and weaving with three colors. The colors are black, tan, and white. He will be using black as his weft. The vertical color scheme is black, tan, white, tan, and black.
This video is in two parts.
Start with black, tie to the breast peg
4 warps of black - heddle, open, heddle, open
change colors from black to tan
4 warps of tan – heddle, open, heddle, open
change colors from tan to white
3 warps of white – heddle, open, heddle
change colors from white to tan
4 warps of tan – open, heddle, open, heddle
change colors from tan to black
4 warps of black - open, heddle, open, heddle
untie the black from the breast peg
tie both black ends together at the breast peg
wind the shuttle in black
then he will start, weave, and end a normal weave
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Start and end the weave the same way by pulling the tail back into the weave for a good finish. Tie the starting point of his weave with a piece of string. This will bunch the threads together helping him get started.
As you have seen, in the video, adding color is easily done. Just remember to change colors at the breast peg, tie the new color securely and continue .
Let's see how well our beginner has done on his weave. Below is a close up of his work. You can see the effect of changing colors and the design on the white. Not bad. He needs just a little more practice.
After washing, the fibers in this band will pull together and lock.
They always look better after washing.
It can be all the same color or multi colored. Practice on getting the weave done well.
Different yarns respond differently to tension. Proper tension is the key to the inkle weave.
Master this weaving, inkle weaving, for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Now you are ready to move forward into colors. The weaving process does not change, only the colors change, and the weaving does the rest. And you thought this would be hard.
Terms You Should Know
hue – a distinct color of the light spectrum
tint – adding white to a color
tone – adding gray to a color
shade – adding black to a color
Note: The Color Wheel is a good tool in selecting colors for weaving. Simple, yet powerful. Get your own Color Wheel.
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This page was last modified on Saturday, October 15, 2011 08:57:37 AM