I am so excited to give this a whirl!

Keep watching until the end of the episode 1 - Jane and I discuss this in the show and tell. Basically, it's up to you, though. You'll see why.

At 12:41 in the show and tell - so you get to decide how to thread, one in each heddle or two.

Thanks

Hi Petra! I (Rebecca) wove some of the baby blankets shown in the episode, and Dream Team member Brenda made the others. I know that mine, the 8/4 cotton blankets, were as wide as my loom, so a little less than 35.5" or 90 cm in the reed, and ended up shrinking to 27" wet finished, about 70cm. We both went for square designs.

Brenda chose much softer yarns that I did, Cloud Cotton with 8/4 Cotton combined for a thick and thin result. But as Jane and I discussed in the Show and Tell, doubled up 8/2 cotton make a much thinner but more drapey fabric that 8/4 by itself, so you have lots of options.

There is no rule about baby blanket size. The key is to make something that is fun to weave and that functions well when thrown up on. So, think washable!

The difference between weaving with two threads in a heddle and basket weave is that to make the basket weave 2x2 in both warp and weft you will do two passes with the shuttle and beat in between each pass to keep the weft aligned and tidy. If you were working with just doubled 8/2 cotton you might interpret that as being able to wind two threads held together on a bobbin, but I do not recommend that as a time savings measure. Yes, a single pass with two threads on a bobbin (or a double bobbin shuttle) will cut down on time, but the threads will cross over each other, taking away from the neatness of basket weave. Crossed threads will ruin the smooth texture, and will give wavy lines, reducing the crispness of the shadow weave.

Enjoy the time savings of threading half the heddles, and happy weaving!

OK, so it is the double weft shots that makes it basket weave. Got it. I was planning to do that as I long ago learned not to try to wind two threads together on a bobbin. Really nasty to weave.

Loving seeing a wild toast appear!

toast! 🍾

You might be right -- by floating a motif on a striped background we are getting away from the more traditional light-with-a-dark-shadow effect. It does get a little more colour-and-weave-y. Shadow weave and colour and weave are very closely tied, so I like to think of them as step-siblings.

Did you watch the part of the video where I went into weaving software and moved shafts and treadles around to move from Atwater to Powell? That is where the twill effect of increasing and decreasing comes from. But without a traditional twill tie-up, so it definitely isn't twill. It is just shadow weave using straight draw and points in the threading / treadling. The only time you get floats in warp or weft (other than the basket weave floats) is when you move from one block to another.

Basket weave is a structure, like plainweave. Shadow weave and colour-and-weave are techniques, so you can overlap. That's where the fun comes in!

Can you post a picture as your piece develops? I'd love to see where you went with it.

Thanks for this and I now better understand the structure vs technique explanation. You are right (of course!) that Basketweave is a structure and Shadow Weave is a design style. Am still twisting fringe (oh yeah) and will most likely post on Instagram when finished. Will try to post here, too.

https://ibb.co/mrFznhfC
https://ibb.co/n8Y1m2ps
https://ibb.co/RGMFpPhM

Beautiful job!

Spectacular! I love where you went with this, and it looks so drapey!

It is there now, if you refresh the page, or at least it is on mine. But the other option is to use the "Browse" which brings up every episode, including Season 9. Happy viewing!

I really like how you introduced colours! Nicely done.

Thank you,, Rebecca. That is the fun part.

Thanks Beth !!

Looks great, Helen!

Looks good Helen.
w👋

Very nice!