| The warp | Esito Line linen Nel 8, wet spun ½-bleached, tex 206, 1 kg = n. 5120 m |
| Warp | width 46,4 cm density 5 threads/cm number of yarn ends 232 |
| Length | 4,8 m. |
| Reed | 50/1. |
| Weave | Plain weave (and rep) |
| amount of warp yarn needed | 218 g |
Light and transparent fabric is easy and quick to weave if you remember a few basic rules. Wind the sparse linen warp tightly on the beam and dress the loom carefully. Weaving goes smoothly and nicely after proper preparation.
This time we knot rya pile in a light and wide sett warp usually used for transparent weaves. The colours are light and pale, which allows the light to make it own magical tricks over the fringe rows.Hang it from the ceiling as a room divider or a wall hanging. Leave some space between the weave and the wall to allow light to travel through the cloth.
Cut the fringe layers leaving the lower layer a little longer as a shadow under the upper lighter one. The knots are also visible and form a continuing pearl string.
Weave the background sparsely because the knots must fit between the two plain weave threads. In this way the cloth becomes straight and airlike.
The fringes are made of wool and linen yarns. Choose only yarns with a fine surface and beautiful shades. The fringes have two layers, the lower layer is knot with dark yarns and the upper with light coloured yarns.
Weaving instructions
Weave the background with 1/2-bleached linen Nel 8. The density is 4 threads/cm, which is slightly less than in the warp. The woven length is 180 cm.
CUTTING YARNS FOR PILE
Pre-cut the yarns to the length of 20 cm. Cut a 10 cm high piece of cardboad. Wind the yarn around the cardbord and cut the threads along the other edge.
1 light tuft:
1 bleached linen yarn
1 unbleached linen yarn
1 light grey/off-white wool yarn (alternate light gray and off-white in tufts)
1 dark tuft:
1 bleached linen yarn
1 unbleached linen yarn
1 natural black/dark gray wool yarn (alternate black and dark gray in tufts)
Thickness of the linen yarn is Nel 8 (8/1). The thickness of the wool yarn varies. We used 1-ply wool yarn in light tufts and 2-ply in dark tufts. Also slightly mottled yarns look nice in fringes.
AMOUNT OF WEFT YARN NEEDED
Background weft
50 g Esito Line Linen Nel 8, wetspun
½-bleached, tex 206, 1 kg = n. 5120 m, Lankava
Linen yarns in a same thickness are also suitable.
For example Lintow 8, Nel 8, ½-bleached, 1 kg = 4800 m – 5600 m.
For the pile
Linen yarn Nel 8, unbleached 31 g
Linen yarn Nel 8, 1/2-bleached 32 g
Wool yarns for the dark tufts 32 g
Wool yarns for the light tufts 29 g
Finishing
Sew the ends with 3-step zigzag stitches. Sew the borders by hand using linen sewing thread. Fold the inside allowance to the same width as the border, leave the edges open. The width of the finished border is 4 cm. The width of the border is the same at both ends.
Knotting the rya tufts
Tie the rya knots by following the pattern. Two rows of knots overlap. The lower row is darker and the upper is lighter. Rows travel upwards diagonally either to the right or to the left. Two treadles on both edges lift up two adjacent warp threads. It helps with the knotting, but they are not necessarily needed.
The space between rows is approximately 4 cm. The rya knot is made around two warp threads.
Tying the rya knots: Take the bundle of threads and place it across two warp ends, take them to the back and bring them to the front from between the two ends underneath the float. Pull towards the fell of the cloth to tighten and finish the knot. Throw the background weft. Knot the next tuft diagonally to the next two warp ends. Throw the background weft etcetera. Follow the drawn pattern.
It is important to weave with a wide set. Background wefts should pass the knots in a straight line, this means that the hight of the knot is the maximum space between the two weft threads.
Cutting the pile: Cut the pile to an equal length after one sequence is ready. Place a cardboard under the pile. Straighten the pile with fingers or for example with a coarse comb. Place a ruler or a cardborad on the pile and cut along the edge. Cut with sharp scissors.
The pile length is 7 cm after finishing.
