Sampler: Rigid Heddle Pick Up Stick Patterns

Because tabby weave is all very well and good but a little - well - boring, I am learning new texture techniques for my Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom.

Over the holidays I picked up a fantastic book, Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom by Betty Linn Davenport, which is just chock-full of interesting patterns and techniques.  The copy I ordered from Amazon shipped in a day or two, and came complete with a signature by Betty Linn Davenport herself.  Her handwriting is just as lovely as you would expect from someone with a name like "Betty Linn Davenport".

I started small, with some simple weft floats.  For these patterns I inserted my pick up stick 1 up x 1 down (repeated), 2 up x 2 down (repeated) and 3 up x 3 down (repeated), working from right to left across the row.  Looking up from the bottom, the number of pattern rows in each series increased.  In each case these the pattern rows were worked with the heddle in the neutral position.

Weft Floats front (L) and back (R)

Moving on to warp floats, I did not change the position of my pick up stick.  This time the pattern row was woven with the heddle in the up position.  As with the weft floats, the patterns change from a single pattern row in a series to longer floats covering multiple rows.

Warp Floats front (L) and back (R)

Warp and weft floats are symmetrical, in that if you float your weft on one side, you get a floating warp on the reverse, and vice-versa.  So no, I did not simply repeat the first set of photos and reverse the order, although it certainly looks like I could have.

Now came the time for some lace weaves.  I started with a simple 3/1 lace for which the pick up stick was set 1 up x 1 down all the way across the row.  This pattern, like the weft float it is based on, used the pick up stick in the neutral position for the pattern row, with 1 pattern row (row 2) and 3 plain weave rows (rows 1, 3, and 4).

3/1 Lace front (L) and back (R)

I liked the texture of the 3/1 lace, both on the front and the back of the piece, although the pattern was very subtle on the 3/2 mercerized cotton that I was using for this sampler.

The 5/1 lace is very similar in concept to the 3/1 lace, but in this case the pick up stick was set up as 1 up x 2 down across the row, and there were 2 pattern rows (rows 2 and 4) and 4 plain weave rows (rows 1, 3, 5, and 6).  I didn't like the look of this lace quite as much as the 3/1 lace, which has a certain symmetry I found lacking in the 5/1 lace.

5/1 Lace front (L) and back (R)

I also did some colour studies in my sampler such as an weft float in contrasting yarn, loom controlled inlay, and a couple of colour variations, but the purple I used as my contrast colour is very difficult to see (some would say impossible to see) against the bright royal blue of my background, so I am not including photos of these studies here.  Suffice it to say that I did these techniques, and while I liked the effect on the front of the work (although it would have been more impressive with a thicker contrast yarn), I did not like the big floats of contrast colour on the reverse side of the work.  These effects got a big "meh" from me, but they are likely very useful to know for the right work (perhaps for something lined so that the messy underside is hidden).

Another lovely pattern is the Double Huck Spot Weave created with 5/1 weft floats and 2 pick up sticks used in sequence.  The first pick up stick is inserted 4 up x 2 down across the row.  The pattern is then worked with a series of 6 rows, with rows 2 and 4 being pattern rows with the pick up stick in the neutral position, and rows 1, 3, 5, and 6 being plain weave.  Once this series is completed the second pick up stick is inserted 1 up (2 down x 4 up, repeated across the row), and the pattern of rows repeats, with the second pick up stick being used in the pattern rows just as the first was.

5/1 Weft Floats (Double Huck Spot Weave) front (L) and back (R)

I can see how someone would be tempted to set up the second pick up stick pattern using string heddles because it must be an almighty pain in the butt to have to remove and re-insert the second pick up stick every 6 pattern rows.  It was fun for my little sampler, but I can see how the novelty would wear off really quickly if weaving a larger piece.  Which is a pity, really, because it creates a lovely effect.

Another of my favourite textures, the Window Pane laces, are created by warp and weft floats.  The first is a 3/1 Window Pane, which uses a single pick up stick set 1 up x 1 down across the row.  Unlike the plain 3/1 lace, which used the same pick up stick setup but only had a single pattern row with the heddle in the neutral position, the 3/1 Window Pane has 2 pattern rows in the series (rows 2 and 5), the second of which was woven with the heddle in the up position. The remaining rows (rows 1, 3, 4, and 6) are plain weave.  This pattern creates a wonderful symmetrical effect that is virtually indistinguishable from the front to the back, and is very easy to weave.

3/1 Floats (Window Pane) front (L) and back (R)

The 5/1 Window Pane also produces a very interesting effect, and although it is not symmetrical from front to back like the 3/1 Window Pane, the back is pretty in its own way.  This pattern is woven, like the 5/1 lace, with a single pick up stick set 1 up x 2 down, repeated across the row.  For this pattern there are 3 pattern rows (rows 2, 5, and 7) with the latter two pattern rows being woven with the heddle in the up position.  The remaining rows (rows 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8) are plain weave.

5/1 Floats (Window Pane) front (L) and back (R)

I also played with my new tassel twister because hey, why not?  It worked great, and I can see how it would produce a lovely effect on longer fringes (rather than the stumpy little fringe-ettes I had in my sampler).

So all in all it was a fruitful evening spent learning many interesting new textures.  I already have a few I would like to incorporate into my next throw, if not all the way through, certainly near the edges for interest.