Thanks! Q. On this there is 11 months. I’m in the spit-balling stage. Silk is beginning to sound impractical
Boatbums: what a kitteh! It would take a LOT of cat brushing, wouldn’t it? But the color could be awesome!
Happy Sunday!
Understandable.
Most folks weave with silk because of the luster, colors etc. and extremely fine threads, thin cloth available thereby.
However, one can find thicker silk yarns of tussah silk and still enjoy the colors and luster and other silk qualities without the hassle of extremely thin threads.
Of course, the level of detail possible, is less.
If you still want to go with fine threads, then I’d think that 24-48 threads per inch would be a minimal density set for such threads—without my checking any charts or books.
I have some sewing machine threads partially all set up on my invention setup to weave shirt material. I think that was figured at 24 epi (ends per inch). Which, in a 12 dent reed would be 2 threads per dent.
There is the likelihood that too many fine silk threads per dent would mean some minimal fraying of the threads as they jossled one another in passing in the dent. That would decrease the luster and sheen to some slight to moderate degree, most likely.
On the other hand, with differrent fingers . . .
silk is a natural fabric with wonderful wearing qualities, compared to synthetic. Though for a strip of decorative fabric, such qualities would be minimal except for luster, color and detail of the weaving.
Let’s see . . . for an 8 inch wide strip . . . 8 X 24 = 192 ends = 192 heddles. One can quickly run out of heddles at high density sets. At 48 epi = 348 ends/heddles
For a 12 inch wide strip . . . 288 ends/heddles; at 48 epi=576 ends/heddles.
I have metal heddles, that would be a lot of weight!
On the other hand, with different fingers . . .
PERHAPS with an inkle loom, you could try weaving a 1” ribbon of 24 or 48 epi and see how it would go.
Or set that up on your regular loom.
How many harnesses do you have?
I have 8 harnesses. If you have only 4 or 2 . . . I’m not sure the level of detail possible would be worth the bother of such a fine set. I’m sure some weavers would argue that. Some wouldn’t.
It is probably possible to weave one of those shimmering fabrics where the color is one cast from one angle and another color cast from a slightly different or certainly 90 degree angle—I think one can do that on 4 harnesses.
I don’t know if it works on 2 harnesses with one color in the warp and one in the weft, or not.
Anyway—thanks for returning my head to weaving for a bit.
Am eager to get my loom going again after the sunroom is built—Lord willing and the Creek don’t rise up.