Challenges & Success – The Wonders of Weaving

Over the course of this project, we’ve all come to our own triumphs and failures. As we all have different skill levels, and have taken on patterns accordingly, the outcomes of our projects will vary significantly. Here, we will go over how the process has been for each of us.

Tika’s weave

Tika’s weave has been a journey. Starting out with no weaving experience, every step of the process has been quite the learning experience. With a simpler pattern, keeping the threads organized for transport and warping wasn’t too rough. Organizing threads by bundles for each of their 10 tablets worked well for the initial warping, and the first session of weaving went well, with the pattern showing up quickly. The biggest challenge came in repeatedly untangling the loose ends of threads, which required a helping hand, but once done, the weave was going well once more. However, as the weave continued it got more complicated. Attempting to untwist the threads by the instructions on their pattern, Tika’s weave quickly became a mess. The threads remained mostly twisted, the woven part varying in thickness, and the pattern completely disappeared! Assuming something went wrong in the process of flipping cards to untwist them, Tika is still working on repairing their weave. Despite the challenges, they still find the process enjoyable, and look forward to seeing everyone’s final products.

This picture of a close up of the brown, green, and beige woven band. It creates a change like pattern until half-way through, where the weave becomes messy and the pattern changes into uneven triangles. The band is on top of a brown and white tabby cat. — The section of Tika’s weave that went wrong after attempting to untwist threads by flipping cards.

This picture shows a woven band of brown, green, and beige. The tied end is at the top of the image, and the working end at the bottom. The band is on top of a white and brown tabby cat with green eyes, the band is as long as the width of the curled up cat. — The section of Tika’s weave that went wrong after attempting to untwist threads by flipping cards.

Kierrah’s weave

Kierrah’s weave experienced quite a few issues from the get go. As her pattern was rather complicated, the number of threads required made the initial organizing and warping difficult. Additionally, keeping the threads untangled was it’s own task, one that required another set of hands to wrestle the threads in order. Once working, Kierrah was again faced with unexpected problems; knots in the threads, S and Z threading errors, and the pattern appearing upside-down! She was able to work through many of these problems, with great success, but has had to continue weaving in reverse for the pattern to appear correctly. Though challenging, she has found the process to become increasingly relaxing, and with practice, easier with each session.

In this image I am holding my weaving in my hand. The weaving is messy and a pattern is only beginning to show at the bottom of the page. — The beginning of Kierrah’s weaving. At the very bottom the pattern begins to form.

This image shows me holding my woven band, showing off the completed section of the band which has a pattern made up of brown and cream thread. — The beginning of Kierrah’s weaving. At the very bottom the pattern begins to form.

Quynn’s weave

Quynn’s weave had been quite tricky to start. She experienced issues with tangled threads during transport, and ultimately had to warp her tablets twice due to threads flipping and tangling. She also had some difficulty with tension to begin the weave, but once both threading and tension were organized, she was able to begin working on her pattern. The first few inches demonstrate her trial and error in the beginning, but now she is able to work on her pattern.

A dark brown table with white paper tablet cards on top. The tablet cards are strung with green, brown, and beige threads, which drape off the right side of the table. — Quynn’s tablets and threads, in the beginning of her organization.

A woven band of green, brown, and beige, tied at the top of the image on a rattan piece of furniture. — Quynn’s tablets and threads, in the beginning of her organization.

As we have worked on our projects by ourselves, it will be very exciting to see each of our outcomes all together. This project has taught all of us about the process of tablet weaving, and especially the knowledge and skill that it takes to successfully create the beautiful bands which survive in archaeological sites today. Regardless of if a pattern is easier or harder, the skill it takes to create any of these bands successfully is truly impressive. By attempting to recreate some ourselves, we have certainly learnt a new perspective on historical textiles.