Women Weaving Women

Future traditions, 2015-2019

From the exhibit Future Traditions at Skien Kunstbank, Norway. Photo: Marianna Brilliantova

From 2014-2017 I studied for my bachelors degree and masters degree in traditional art and textiles at the University of Southeast Norway campus at Rauland. During this period I participated in the collaborative project Future Traditions. The goal was to interpret traditional expressions of folk art from the two countries, Hungary and Norway, and to investigate how folk art and traditional patterns can find new life today, with a special focus on traditional handcrafts as a part of the work process. The exhibit consisted of the work of 21 students, with representation from several countries. The exhibit was shown in Budapest, Hungary; in Skien and Rauland in Norway; and in Bucharest, Romania. It will travel to Istanbul in Turkey in 2019. The exhibit includes works in textile, wood, metal, and mixed materials.

Women Who Weave Women

The collection WWW took its starting point with a popular motif in Norwegian billedvev (tapestry) from 1500-1900, the so-called “virgin tapestries.” The pattern is taken from an image of the five wise and five foolish virgins, one of the several biblical themes that were woven from images spread through church art and illustrated pamphlets. In a rural society where people usually could not read or write, these pamphlets and coverlets had a strong narrative and instructive function. The coverlets were often woven for a woman’s marriage and represented the important shift from youth to adulthood, from virgin to mother.

An older tapestry from Gudbrandsdal, before 1700, illustrating the story of the five wise and five foolish virgins. Photo: https://digitaltmuseum.no/021067335049/billedteppe

Illustration 3. A newer tapestry from Gudbrandsdal, around 1800, shows a more abstract and independent composition. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023161804/teppe

My work with the motif sprang from my interest in weaving and for how the female figure has been represented in folk art, with a special interest in how women represent themselves in the woven coverlets and thinking about how we represent ourselves today. During the 1900s weaving was an obvious way for a woman to express herself, and it has gradually become recognized as a form of artistic expression. Coverlets woven before 1900 were primarily woven as functional items for the household, but they can also be seen as an expression of a woman’s life. Even though craft has been seen as the basis for mens’ worklife for hundreds of years, textile handwork in the home has always been the women’s arena. WWW is my representation of women today, who are independent and strong, but at the same time in need of community and something that is larger than ourselves.

Abstraction in Folk Art

A book that has been inspirational is Professor Mikkel Tin’s De Første Formene (The First Forms), which describes how geometric, abstract forms like the circle, cross, zig-zag, and rhombus are universal forms that form the basis of folk art around the world. This phenomenological approach that implies that people have an inherent expression that springs from folk arts’ self-taught, spontaneous practitioners, which again can be seen as an expression of their environment and world views.

An interesting feature with the virgin tapestries is how the oldest preserved weavings from around 1600 have a richness of detail that tells the whole story of the wise and foolish virgins. The earliest tapestries, which technically resembled German or Dutch tapestries, were likely woven by men who had established studios. Through the 1700s and 1800s when it became common to weave figurative coverlets also in the countryside, the motifs changed and interesting compositions developed, in which the story of the virgins disappeared and the women in the tapestries stood as staunch women ringed by geometric decoration and natural forms. The religious story disappeared and was replaced by what I interpret as a collective world understanding—women as a part of something larger, with strength and knowledge from one another. The tapestries show a strong understanding and knowledge of form, color and composition. The representation is lively and individual, with strong roots to common patterns.

Working with the TC2–Weaving and Drafting

The TC2 digital loom. Photo: Hilde Opedal Nordby

WWW also involved research into working with a digital loom of the TC2 type, developed by Tronderud Engineering and a part of Digital Weaving Norway. The loom can raise each warp thread individually, opening new design possibilities. The loom works on the same principles as a Jacquard loom and is a link between handweaving and industrial processes. The advantages of a digital loom are the possibilities of expressions and integrating many weave structures. The drawback is that working a great deal on the computer distances the weaver from the weaving itself, and with digital weaving it becomes easy to think like a machine–to become consumed with perfection and a result that looks just like the one on the computer. Digital weaving takes away the spontaneity of handwork. It takes longer to weave than on a floor loom because the machine requires time to pull up each of the threads, which gives a different rhythm and flow than working on a floor loom.

Abstract women underway. Photo: Hilde Opedal Nordby

The collection WWW consists of five long (.7 x 4 meters) wall pieces woven in eight-shaft satin weave where the warp and weft intersections are used to create light and dark sections. The pieces were woven in red, green, blue, gold and white, all on black warp. The colors were inspired by those in the virgin tapestries. The motif was created in Illustrator and later combined using the same program. The weave structure was drawn in Photoshop and laid over the various areas of color in the composition. For each weft shot, the digital loom reads the pixels in the row to decide which threads should be raised. It is a challenge to combine different weave structures; it is necessary to weave many samples or have deep experience with combining weave structures to get a good result. Irregular shapes can give fuzzy lines between changes in the weave structures, which I experienced in my work.

Setting up the exhibit in Bucharest, Romania. Photo: Bodil Akselvoll

Sampling of the weave structure, materials and colors. Photo: Hilde Opedal Nordby

Sampling. Photo: Hilde Opedal Nordby

Why I’m a Weaver

Work with the collection and with the virgin tapestries has given me insight into the enormous amount of work that went into weaving the tapestries, the knowledge and skills of the weavers, and the communities in which they lived and wove. The conditions of our society and creative lives are completely different than when the original tapestries were woven, but that doesn’t stop us from being inspired by them. They spark our interest in their motifs, colors, and techniques–reasons they become only more intriguing. They give us riches today that we can build on. I think that as long as we continue to weave and work with handcrafts, our knowledge and possibilities to understand the tapestries from within will live on.

Hilde Opedal Nordby is a Norwegian textile artist, working with traditonal weaving techniques, as well as contemporary and digital weaving. She is based in a small village called Stokke, where she does custom made projects and teaches weaving around the country. She is educated in traditonal arts and crafts from the University of South-East Norway.

National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibit 2018

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If you were not able to make it to Decorah, Iowa, for the year’s National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibit, here is a digital next-best alternative. Krokbragd is very popular these days; seven of the thirteen entries featured the technique. This is the first year that the entry forms requested information about the pieces and the weavers–a marvelous addition for our annual article celebrating the exhibition.

Nancy Ellison, Zumbrota, MN

Krokbragd and Rya Stole

My favorite weaves of krokbragd and rya are combined in this piece. Stitching uncut rya lengthwise on the weft floats on the back of the Krokbragd is my creative idea. It has the effect of sheepskin backed weaving without a sheep having to give up its hide. I enjoy spinning the natural undyed colors of sheep in my flock. Each sheep is a much loved pet as well as my cats and dogs.

The first weaving class I took was at Monica Skolen in Oslo in 1968. I’ve enjoyed half a century of weaving since then, taking classes at Vesterheim and elsewhere.

Melissa Brown, Decorah, IA

“Darlene said, ‘Trondheim!’” Danskbrogd and Krokbragd Table Runner

Last winter was dark and cold, inspiring me to weave with black and gray wool. Rear taillights brought the use of red, thinking of cars driving down a snow packed Water Street at night in Decorah. The yellow represents Christmas lights along the street.

I have been weaving for 44 years. Weaving in the Norwegian tradition is my respite from production weaving of scarves and table linens.

Rosemary Roehl, Gold Medalist, St. Cloud, MN

“Winter” Figurative Bound Weave

“Winter” is a wall hanging in a figurative bound weave using a rose path tie-up. The design is my own and I have included the more colorful aspects of winter. The blue represents the awesome Minnesota blue sky which makes up for the dirty grey snow and cars. “Winter” is the third season that I have represented in a weaving. I have found figurative bound weaves fun to work with.

I am a self-taught weaver in the Norwegian tradition. I fell in love with Norwegian weavings during my first trip to Norway in 1979. Soon after I took a community education course in St. Cloud, MN to learn about looms. I started competing in the Vesterheim National-American Folk Art Exhibition in 1992. I enjoy exploring different ways to use the traditional techniques and color. My mother’s ancestral relatives lived on farms on the Nordfjord. The bunad for this area has more weaving in its national costume than most. It was very satisfying for me to weave my own apron and the numerous decorative bands for the dress and apron.

Carol Culbertson, Evansville, WI

“Brita Remembered” Krokbragd Wall Hanging

Honorable Mention Winner

This piece was inspired by a large wool wall hanging given to me by a family member in Norway. The colors and design are those used in the original. I have woven in the Navajo tradition for about ten years. After receiving the wall hanging, I wanted to learn how to do weaving in the Norwegian tradition. I have been weaving this style after teaching myself three years ago.

Kathryn Evans, Lena, IL

Card Woven Poncho
Blue Ribbon Winner

This piece is inspired by the wide, card-woven bands used with women’s Telemark folk costumes, especially the beltestakk. I’ve used cotton cordonnet instead of wool for the card weaving due to availability and sturdiness in withstanding the twisting that is inherent in the card weaving process. I wanted something wearable so I added the crocheted sides to create a poncho-like garment. The weaving pattern is original and is based on belts that use close combinations of reds and pinks. Note that the single turning line marks the shoulder seam.

Peg Kroll, Suttons Bay, MI

“Stash” Krokbragd Rug

I was inspired to make this krokbragd rug, woven with assorted wool available in the closet, by rugs seen at the Stalheim Hotel in Stalheim, Norway, featuring kyrve and bordgang pattern motifs. I had fun trying to identify the patterns in the pictures from the Stalheim Hotel and chose two, kyrve and bordgang to try to replicate.

I started weaving about 18 months ago, so I’m quite a novice. I am enthralled by the textiles I encountered in Norway, which has inspired the leap from knitting and spinning to weaving and hopefully tapestry. I resurrected my mother’s old leClerc four harness loom from the garage where it sat for 40 years and cleaned it up.

Meredith Bennett, Free Union, VA

“Break on Through” Rya and Wedge Weaving

I wanted to combine two very different techniques- rya and wedge weave- to get a pointillistic effect in the overall design. Both techniques lend themselves to this effect using the variegated yarn but the textures are opposite. I’ve been weaving since the early 70s. I’m attracted to ethnic art but I like to make my own designs based on these techniques and designs.

Ann Vonnegut-Frieling, Dyke, VA

Telemarksteppe-Style Wall Hanging
White Ribbon Winner

This wall hanging is woven in a Telemarksteppe style with the loops on the selvages. It is a style from the Telemark area of Norway. The design was inspired by Laura Demuth, a teacher that taught at John C. Campbell Folk School in March of 2017. I wove this during the summer of 2017

My inspiration came to me when I saw the blues and greens together it reminded me of water, and the oranges, browns, and deep red reminded me of autumn and the circles reminded me of round leaves from the redbud tree falling into the water.

I have been weaving for 10 years, but only recently started weaving with the Norwegian techniques of Telemarksteppe and danskbrogd. I took a class with Jan Mostrom at Vesterheim last fall. I am enjoying weaving and learning about the different Norwegian styles and techniques.

Robbie La Fleur, Gold Medalist, Minneapolis, MN

Danskbrogd Wall Hanging

This weaving was inspired by the graphic X patterns found in coverlets from the Vest-Agder region of Norway in danskbrogd technique.

I am a handweaver of contemporary textiles inspired by Scandinavian folk textiles. The language of my looms is based on centuries-old techniques, learned in weaving school in Norway. The core graphic impact of old folk textiles drives each new weaving, in a search for balance, color and boldness. Even when the planning process is computer-assisted, or a technique is done at a new scale or in unusual materials, I honor the fine craftsmanship of the past.

Judy Ann Ness, Gold Medalist, Eugene, OR

“Playa: Impossible Sky” Krokbragd and Tapestry

“Best in Show” Award

Playa: Impossible Sky” is a fusion of krokbragd and tapestry techniques. It was woven after an artist’s residency at Playa Summer Lake in the eastern desert of Oregon. Linen warp wool, mostly hand-dyed, rayon, silk weft.

I was inspired by the stark beauty of an alkali lake only present in the winter and spring. The dry season comes with the heat and the lake disappears until the next season of hard rain and wind. It looks empty but is full of wildlife. It’s free space, still wild, and an inspiration for the art and the heart.

My heritage is Norwegian-all four grandparents immigrated from southwest Norway in the 1850s. In exploring Norwegian weaving techniques I began to try and blend krokbragd and tapestry techniques around 1998. Still working on it.

Laura Demuth, Gold Medalist, Decorah, IA

Doubleweave Pick-Up and Rya Blanket

I wove this blanket as a gift for my son, Gabriel Oak, when he completed his Ph.D. It is a delight to weave for Gabriel because he appreciates the skill and practice of handwork. This one is for him.

I have been weaving for over 35 years, and enjoy all aspects of textile production, from raising sheep to taking a finished piece off the loom. I especially enjoy traditional weaving and have found Vesterheim’s textile collection to be a continuous source of inspiration.

Helen Scherer, Shawnee, KS

Sæterjentens Søndag Wall Hanging

Red Ribbon Winner

This is an åkle wall-hanging primarily in krokbragd technique. The design was inspired by Jørgen Moe’s lyrics to Ole Bull’s classic violin piece, Sæterjengen’s Søndag (The Herdgirl’s Sunday). The herdgirl wished she could be walking to church and singing, but must tend the cattle at the mountain dairy. From the top we have:

1. Ole Bull’s 400+ bottles of French wine

2. Snippet of Sæterjentens søndag music

3. Sun peeking over the mountain at dawn; trees

4. Herdgirls in work dress carrying milk buckets

5. Mountain pasture full of cows; more trees

6. Churches in the valley

7. Women in Gudbrandsdalen festbunads walking to church

8. River at the bottom of the valley

My mother, Marit Nordheim, had been a weaver in Øyer, Oppland, Norway before immigrating to the USA in 1953. So I grew up with a floor loom in the house and shared her love for textiles.

Veronna Capone, Gold Medalist, Brookings, SD

“Connecting Cultures” Krokbragd weaving

The inspiration for this piece was a woman’s buffalo robe in an exhibit called “Lakota Emergence” at the South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, South Dakota. I’ve been weaving for over 40 years and enjoy working in wool from Scandinavia and learning techniques from Norwegian textiles and studying their use of color.

Warped (or Wrapped?) in Time

Warp-weighted loom history

While I have dabbled in many types of weaving, spinning and dyeing, my attention has been focused more recently on the warp-weighted loom and its use before, during and since the Viking era. This is perhaps due in part to my increased interest in history but probably also because I have recently begun playing a Viking age weaver in reenactment group settings and needed to construct hand-sewn garments of linen and woolen twill. This got me thinking more about how people would have actually done that, back in the day. A great example was that seen last summer at Sanglandet, the Iron Age, Stone Age, Viking Age and 19th century living history museum in Lejre, Denmark. In their Textile building we saw replications of period clothing made from cloth woven on the vertical and the warp weighted looms similar to those used during the Stone and Iron Ages. Outside the textile building, the dyer tended plants she was growing for extracting natural pigments to dye woolen yarn for weaving. Hanks of hand dyed yarn hung outside the front door of the building to show all the possibilities. She went into great detail about how she had developed different colors of red from the madder plant roots or blues from the leaves of the woad plant simply by adjusting the pH level either by the type of water she used or adding an acid like vinegar or an alkali like wood ashes. Inside the building we had seen the naturally dyed wool on both the warp weighted and the vertical loom. (See also: “Sagnlandet Lejre: Land of Legends (and Textiles”)

In the Viking era, warp-weighted looms were used to not only weave linen cloth for clothing, but woolen cloth for Viking sails and woolen vadmal (woolen twill) fabric used as trade goods or as currency to pay taxes or tithes to the church. Some think that the reason the Vikings took so many slaves as they conquered new territories was so there were enough people to care for all the sheep needed to produce enough wool and then to spin and weave all the wool needed to make sails for the large Viking ships (some estimate it took the fleece of 700 sheep to make one sail). Besides that, there were a lot of people to clothe, so woven cloth was required. The loom was also used to weave rya and the varafeldur (translated: “fur product”), which was for about 200 years the most traded commodity between the Vikings in Iceland and those in Norway. At the same time, the loom was also used to create pictorial weavings like that of the Överhogdal tapestries woven between 800-1100 AD.

Innovative modern loom weights

Coming to understand the importance of how much this loom played a part of everyday life for thousands of years, and for tens and hundreds of thousands of people, has really struck home. Weavers played an extremely vital role in keeping people clothed and fed and out of pauper’s prison. That’s why so many loom weights are found at archeological dig sites. Earliest evidence of the loom dates back to 7,000 B.C. in Jericho, Palestine, where loom weights were discovered lying in two distinct rows alongside of what had been the wall of a dwelling. Although the wooden parts of the loom had long since disappeared, the loom weights had not. As people of the Stone Age migrated north they brought the sheep and the warp-weighted loom with them. It reached Scandinavia around 300 A.D.

Designing a warp-weighted loom class

When I first learned how to weave on the loom, I knew I wanted to do more with this type of loom, and now I have. The prospect of teaching warp-weighted loom weaving came along with an idea I had about developing a curriculum for the Weavers Guild which would delve more deeply into historic textiles and how they were made. By using old looms and other handcraft tools, students would have an opportunity to experience a kinship to ancient weavers, spinners and dyers by carrying forward these older, traditional techniques. I shared the idea with two friends at the guild — fellow spinners and dyers — and it was settled. We would develop a program of classes and activities surrounding historical textile production, using only the tools and materials available prior to the Industrial Age. We dubbed ourselves “the ditch weeds and sticks committee” after a story one of them told a spinning student when the student complained she could not afford to buy a new spinning wheel. My friend’s reply was that she could teach her to spin using only ditch weeds (nettles) and sticks. Hence, the name. The idea was launched.

We met several times to discuss all the different avenues of exploration we could investigate. As the weaver in the group, I focused on weaving. The warp-weighted loom was an obvious choice. The only looms I knew of were at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. We needed our own, so my next hurdle was to have some looms made. Many hours of research on line and countless emails and conversations later, structural plans were developed, and a very kind and skillful woodworker was identified. He agreed to make the looms, and even volunteered his time. He did so in honor of his wife, whom he said loved to spend time at the guild and who wanted to learn how to weave on this type of loom. All we needed to do was to pay for the materials. Deal. Done.

A few short months later, the looms were finished and we were ready — classes could begin. I’m happy to say the first class has just finished. The first group of brave souls (four women and two men) included a first-time weaver and some who had taken a small number of weaving classes — a perfect blend of skill levels and interests to try out the “new” looms. Some used purchased commercial yarn and others their handspun.

The first class was an exploration of the weaving tradition of the Sami peoples. Students were challenged to learn how to set up the loom and weave a small Sami blanket or rug. Here are some students with work in progress.

While they were weaving, we talked about the history and provenance of the loom and I read them Njal’s Saga. While very graphic, it gives you insight as to the mystery of how the loom and weaving on it was perceived in ancient times.

“See! warp is stretched
For warriors’ fall,
Lo! weft in loom
‘Tis wet with blood;
Now fight foreboding,
‘Neath friends’ swift fingers,
Our grey woof waxeth
With war’s alarms,
Our warp bloodred,
Our weft corseblue.*
“This woof is y-woven
With entrails of men,
This warp is hardweighted
With heads of the slain,
Spears blood-besprinkled
For spindles we use,
Our loom ironbound,
And arrows our reels;
With swords for our shuttles
This war-woof we work;
So weave we, weird sisters,
Our warwinning woof.

*The term “corseblue” does not refer to the texture of the wool yarn being “coarse” but instead refers to the fact that “of course” the yarn was blue.

Source: Darraðarljoð – The Battle Song of the Valkyries

One student’s perspective on the class

Beth McLaughlin wrote:

Beth McLaughlin’s stone weights. An ancient tradition set against mid-century modern linoleum.

Reason(s) to take the Warp Weighted Loom class:

Historic technique/technology

Explore the magic of transforming thread into fabric

Comradery

Palatable immersion into weaving

Fabulous instructor

Welcoming/comfortable classroom environment

My initial reason for enrolling in the Warp Weighted Loom class was to explore an ancient and universal weaving method. Okay, and the rocks. Who could you not be intrigued by a fiber processing method that involves rocks?! The second, and equally compelling reason for enrolling is the opportunity to take a class from Melba Granlund. Her knowledge, enthusiasm, quickness to smile, laugh, and answer your questions, and her inexhaustible patience (second only to my own dear mother) encapsulates all the desirable traits of a great instructor. There was no way to lose with this combination./opportunity/class.

Our initial one hour meeting sparked the desire to either step up my spinning game or go shopping for the yarn required for the Sami Grene. With a brief introduction to the history of this type of “primitive” loom and a plethora of references to consult, the six of us were sent on our way. A few weeks later, with around four pounds of yarn in tow, the first class was on a rainy Friday – a great kind of day to spend indoors in a studio filled with light, windows, and inspiration all around (looms, yarn, books, more books, and fiber art on display.) We began the day with a step by step outline and hands on guidance with each step of the process. Loom set-up came first, which required partnering up to handle the wood components of six foot wide loom frames. Next we were given cut lengths of yarn and a small rigid heddle to weave the header which also served to measure the six foot warps. We had two color options for the warp.

Next we lashed our header with warps to the heavy beam. The beam was installed on the loom and we were almost ready to weave. Next came the rocks (or stones, if you prefer). There were buckets full of beautiful, smooth stones from which we selected twenty-two. We carefully tied the warps around the stones. The looms were then ready!

Melba had a wide variety of pattern options to share via hands-on samples and in multiple books. We spent the rest of the day formulating patterns that would work with our individual color choices for wefts and wrestling with selvedges that liked to creep in. For three wonderful days straight in a row we worked away, concentrating, conversing and only occasionally cursing (maybe that was just me) when we had to unweave, noticed the selvedge creep, or had to retie fallen stones. It was like a weaving bender weekend. The time in class flew by.

We, fortunately, were able to leave the looms set up in the room and had access to them throughout the week during the Guild’s hours of operation. It was a delight to arrive late in the afternoon on three different occasions and find fellow classmates weaving away and to marvel at the progress on all the looms. The house elves were clearly busy in this place.

Our last class was the following Saturday. We continued with our pattern explorations and an hour before the end of class we released the stones, unfurled the weaving, and cut the fabric off the looms. The variations in the (almost) finished products were wonderful to witness. While slightly exhausted, I was completely inspired to weave more using this type of loom and this style of weft-faced weaving. Next step, to search for stones!

Wonderful results of the class

The next Sami rug class is scheduled for Nov/Dec 2018. (Check for classes at the website of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota.) More classes are being developed for 2019 including a Sampler of Norwegian Coverlet Patterns and a Varafeldur course. If you have a flock of sheep, or know someone who does, weaving a varafeldur is a special treat.

Weaving on the warp-weighted loom is a meditative process. It’s only you and the loom. You learn about the loom’s idiosyncrasies – what works and what doesn’t. It allows a new weaver to get a real grasp of what weaving is all about. As a teacher, my goal is to not only teach the technique, but to do what I can to educate others to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of our Nordic handcraft traditions so these skills and crafts are not lost or forgotten. Along with learning the techniques, students learn about the historical and cultural contexts in which the item was originally made. By using the old looms and other handcraft tools, students have an opportunity to experience a kinship to ancient weavers and handcraft artists by being able to carry forward these traditions. If students choose to continue practicing the old, traditional techniques, then I’ve done my job.

Melba Granlund is a Swedish handcraft artist and teacher who focuses on the historical Scandinavian folk arts of weaving, felting, nålbinding, wire jewelry making, spinning, knitting, sewing and embroidery. As a life-long learner, she has received instruction from masters of these handcrafts in the U.S. as well as in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Melba strives to keep Scandinavian folk art traditions alive by teaching and sharing what she has learned with others. She is an instructor for the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, the Textile Center, and for other organizations and groups on request. She currently serves on the WGM Board of Directors and is a member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group.

Krokbragd Tapestry

KROKBRAGD

Krokbragd lozenges

Traditional krokbragd is mostly woven as small interlocking patterns of almost infinite possibility. It has some constraints being a bound rosepath: 3 lifts repeated over and over again: 1-2, 2-3, 1-3. Using the same color on the same lift repeatedly produces a pattern of three vertical, solid color bars. The magic comes when the colors are changed. The treadling goes forth without variation, and the pattern is varied simply by the choice of color change. I’m particularly fond of making lozenges with a lacey black outline. Be assured, at some point in exploring the basic krokbragd, a weaver will start to see and understand what color changes will create a specific pattern.

TAPESTRY

Tapestry is two-shed plain weave warp: 1 and 2 on a vertical loom. If using a horizontal loom in a straight draft, the lift would be as for tabby: 1-3, 2-4. It’s plain weave with two lifts. The business of how the weft is woven is the substance of the tapestry technique. We won’t go into this here except to say the weft weaving controls the imagery.

A COMPARISION & A SOLUTION

Krokbragd pattern is loom controlled and tapestry is outrageously free of control. To combine them is interesting and time consuming. After years of trying to find an elegant solution to the interlock portion of tapestry on two lifts marrying with the loom controlled three-lift action of krokbragd, I failed. Absolutely. The more complex method was replaced by reverting to a simple clasped weft technique. (Reference: Peter Collingwood’s excellent The Techniques of Rug Weaving.) The solution was to use the krokbragd treadling with the clasped weft technique. It offered a choice of tapestry or allowing the krokbragd patterning to emerge.

Melding these techniques created a chimera, a beast of two different parentages that combine making something new. As you will see, the early work expressed krokbragd more distinctly with later efforts merging both the krokbragd and tapestry personalities. Curves, depth, and imagery become more possible to achieve.