Tablet woven garters and belt
Kategori: Allmänt
Theoretically an idea for the Accessorise challenge in Historical sew monthly, this also ended up as a "why it's sometimes a good thing to do your homework beforehand".
Anyway, after a class of basic tablet weaving last year I found that I enjoyed it and that it also produces a lot of useful stuff. After a moderate success with the garters last time (both with buckle and without , this time I set out to do a second pair of garters and a belt.
I used the same procedure for the warp as for both pieces, but this time I used only one colour and for the garters I experimented with leaving some holes empty to create a structure within the weave and have a pattern without adding a colour. As I've done it before, I didn't take so many pictures of the process (also, it was dark most of the time, it's black on black and I was in a bit of a hurry), but here's the result:
The belt:
As you can see, I learned the hard way that the "twists" that occurs when you change the direction in which you turn the tablets is not only in my mind and becomes very very visible in a broad, smooth thing like a belt.
Apparently (more well-read friends tell me) this is a known problem, and there's (obviously!) a way to work round it. Which I likely would have known if I had bothered to look it up beforehand. Guess I know why I should do that now, don't I?
Apart from the twists, I like the weave. And the buckle from Lorifactor.
I I divided the fringe in five parts, braided each part and secured with a knot. No idea if it's period, but as I had no strapend, it seemed the best way to do it.
The garters:
As you might be able to see if you squint, there is no apparent twisting in this (I think due to that I twisted the tablets every 5th turn of so to create a pattern), the structures is due to the missing warp-threads.
A bit more of the structure visible here. It might work better on a slightly broader band, I think. Also, removing a couple of warp threads (of course!) makes the finished band narrower. Should have compensated by adding an extra pair of tablets to make the width fit the buckles, since I should have seen that coming!
What I learned:
1. I need to learn how to avoid the twist-effect.
2. If you remove warp threads to create a pattern, add tablets to compensate (I guess if I remove in total eight threads for pattern from existing tablets, I ought to have added an extra pair of tablets à 4 threads each to end up with the same amount of warp threads as before).
3. Need to get some kind of shuttle. Now I more or less weave with my fingers and I don't think that makes the weave dense enough; true for both belt and garters.
4. Garters with buckles aren't really for me. I tend to cross my legs when I sit, old habits die hard and all that, and the buckles then wreak havoc on my poor stockings when I don't remember to be careful when I rise.
What the item is: Garters and a belt
The Challenge: Accessorise
Fabric: Wool/alpaca yarn
Pattern: None
Year: 1400-early 1500's is my best reference, but I'm not being very exact here...
Notions: Buckles from Lorifactor
How historically accurate is it? Can't really say, I've been bad and didn't do proper research, but there are a lot of woven belts around in paintings and garters are needed, buckled or not, so... 70%?
Hours to complete: Perhaps ten in total with warping and all.
First worn: 22-25 of July
Total cost: Yarn was about 8 euros in total for both projects, I think. Buckles for all of it; another 15 euros or so. Luckily, I can remove them and use them again if I want to redo this properly!
The Challenge: Accessorise
Fabric: Wool/alpaca yarn
Pattern: None
Year: 1400-early 1500's is my best reference, but I'm not being very exact here...
Notions: Buckles from Lorifactor
How historically accurate is it? Can't really say, I've been bad and didn't do proper research, but there are a lot of woven belts around in paintings and garters are needed, buckled or not, so... 70%?
Hours to complete: Perhaps ten in total with warping and all.
First worn: 22-25 of July
Total cost: Yarn was about 8 euros in total for both projects, I think. Buckles for all of it; another 15 euros or so. Luckily, I can remove them and use them again if I want to redo this properly!
