Message from Jane ..... Diversified Plain Weave is a structure I had never woven before, so when Rebecca Logan proposed we do an episode on it, I leapt at the opportunity. You are going to love it!

Ask your questions and chat about Diversified Plain Weave in this thread.......

I'm excited to try DPW, a weave structure I wasn't aware of, and really like the design possibilities. I want to weave a lighter weight, drapey shawl using two strands of 8/2 cotton for the thick yarn and 16/2 for thin. To sample for sett, I am thinking of trying 24 EPI and 20 EPI. My question is about sleying when the sett is not a multiple of 3 (i.e., 20 EPI). I have 12, 10 and 8 dent reeds so for 20 EPI, could sley:

12 dent @ 1-2-2
10 dent @ 2
8 dent @ 2-3

Is it important to sley 3 per dent (thin, thin, thick)? If so, I'll have to hope 24 EPI gives the hand feel I want. Are there sleying arrangements that would be particularly problematic?

Thanks!

There's no need to sley 3/dent if you don't need to. Brenda Reimer from the Dream Team sleyed at 16 epi, 2/dent in an 8-dent reed, and had no issues. Go for whatever you think will work! And remember what we learned in Season 9 Episode 1, Shadow Weave - you don't need to thread the two strands of 8/2 each in their own heddle. You can double them up and get just as nice a result. Do treat those two strands as if they were one strand in the sleying, though. You've got this!

How thick is the cloud cotton? I ask because whenever I get round to trying Diversified Plain Weave I will have to use whatever yarn I have in my stash. I do have some 16/2, 8/2 and 8/4 cotton plus some odds and ends including some sort of boucle cotton.

For the 8 shaft Shawl project, if we want the motif at the beginning of the shawl the to be symmetrical to the motif at the end if the shawl (i.e., to have a full 'circle' motif at both ends), it looks like the treadling at the beginning needs to start with

AA, B, C, D, E

followed by treadling sequence #1.

Is that correct or do I misunderstand something?

I was so excited to get my yarn today but now that I am reading more about this project, I am a bit nervous. I have just been through hell with a warp that frayed and broke every couple of inches. This thick yarn is lovely and soft, and I am watching the videos of you weaving. I will be the most unhappy camper if I go through the same thing with this yarn.
Has anyone warped these blankets yet and how did it go? Are you weaving with no breaking of the soft yarn? I really want to hear what is happening with your warps before I go and put all the work and time into this blanket and find that the thick yarn will not hold up in the warp. Looking forward to a positive response. Thank you. SL

I just finished weaving 2 blankets on my Spring loom - I made them the full width, just over 43” wide, which comprised 778 warp threads (43 “ x 18 epi, plus 2 more threads to finish the pattern plus 2 floating selvedge threads), as per Rebecca’s warp sequence. While warping, by myself, back to front using the Louet raddle I experienced 3 broken threads - I attribute this to the fact that I missed a couple of snarls and was perhaps a bit too aggressive in wanting to get my warp on fast. I had no broken threads while weaving. This project was a dream to weave up - it went fast, and was so satisfying. My warp was the fawn colour in the Organic Cloud Cotton, and Peacock for one blanket, Plum for the other - very nice results (albeit subtle with the Plum). However, now that I’ve got some white I will make another couple of blankets and experiment a bit with mixing colours in the warp, which Rebecca talks about when discussing “pebbled” versus “geometric”. Look forward to more Diversified Plain Weave!

This lesson was great, but quiet challenging for me. I used handdyed Pima Air from Chester. It looks quite similar to Cotton Cloud and has the same structure and yardage, but seems to be more fragile. First I had to replace some of the outermost threads with some cotton chrochet yarn I had in stash. Then the threads in the first 4to 5 " became weaker and longer, it was a desaster.
I ordered my first temple, pulled out all the slack in the weakened threads and restarted. I didn't like working with the temple but it really saved this warp.

Than I broke my ankle and couldn't weave for six weeks. I don't have to repeat that again...

I played with the tie-up, this was really fun and a great learn experience. I specially like my 4-leave-clover. Good luck for the baby!

I made all tabby in neutral as in the warp. I think it makes the pattern stand out more.

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Than you so much for this great lesson Rebecca!

Thank you so much Rebecca!
I have woven with this yarn without problems at 10EPI. But with 18 PPI it had to withstand almost twice as many beats and it somehow desintegrated. Stupid of me not to have tested this first.

Not stupid, just hopeful. That's a good one! I'll have to remember that😂
Thank you