| (Click on Thumbnails to see full size) | My second ikat attempt was a huge jump on the learning curve .First I made some narrow warps with indigo blue dots on white cotton to see how narrow and how close together the ties could be made and still have a distinct pattern. With my skill level I could easily do quarter inch ties - one quarter of an inch apart. These bands were saved to be assembled into a composite warp. | |
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The next design motif I called "Flames". It was made on a graph scaled to size, I used a seam-allowance-measuring tool to measure and mark of the parts of the pattern. A purple non-permanent textile marker was very handy as it allowed me to accurately place the marks, but would fade out in a day. | |
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To speed up the tying process the warp was folded in half lengthwise twice. By folding it over a dowel, then folding it over another dowel again I ended up with one dowel at one end of the warp and three dowels at the other. The single dowel was clamped to my small loom at one end of the living room. The three dowels were tied to my warping reel at the other end of the room as shown in the photo. Sacks of weights were placed on the base of the reel to ankor and hold the warp tight. |  |
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Motif 3. -- I had been to Kasuri Dye Works in Berkeley and
was inspired to try a dogwood flower motif from one of their "Intangible
Treasures" What a treat to unwrap and see that the pattern works! |
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Assembing the Warp and Dressing the Loom  |
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