February 2025: Collapse Weave
Woven by Sivia Harding
Collapse weave is a variation of simple plain weave with textural interest created by including stripes of feltable and non-feltable yarns in both warp and weft. After the piece is off the loom, it is fulled by hand. Fulling is accomplished by squeezing the piece for several minutes in warm sudsy water until it becomes felted or fulled to the degree desired. It is not recommended to use a washing machine because it is so easy to overdo-- there is a fine line between just enough and too much. Once the piece is fulled, the ruched texture is evident and the piece is rinsed in clear, cool water and allowed to dry.
I used various 30/2 and 20/2 silk yarns for my non-feltable stripes, and Zephyr (50% silk, 50% wool) and 18/2 merino for the feltable stripes. Some of the silk yarns were handpainted knitting yarns.
The scarves measured approximately 13" wide and 70" long on the loom not including fringe, and after fulling they were approximately 8-9" wide and about 54" long. Of the three scarves I wove, I noticed that if more feltable stripes were included in the weft, there was more overall shrinkage in length.
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Structure:
Collapse weave
Pattern Source:
Own design
Yarns:
30/2 and 20/2 silk yarns for the non-feltable stripes
Zephyr (50% silk, 50% wool) and 18/2 merino for the feltable stripes
Sett:
15 epi, sleyed 1-1-1-2 in a 12-dent reed. Woven at approximately 15 ppi.
Finishing:
Handwash in warm sudsy water until fulled, cool rinse, air dry. Shrinkage averaged 30% in width and 23% in length.
Loom:
12-shaft LeClerc. Note that this sample could be woven on any loom capable of plain weave. The drawdown shows 4 shafts for sake of simplicity.
Downloads:
Drawdown (.PDF)
WIF
Scarf
Finished & Fulled
Drawdown
Bio:
Sivia Harding learned how to weave as a young mother many moons ago on a 4-shaft loom, and after a few years, life took her away from weaving for many more moons. She is now relearning everything she had forgotten, or maybe never knew. Her current loom is a 12-shaft LeClerc and her favorite weave structure (so far) is 8-shaft turned twill. She is looking forward to a lifetime of exploration!
