{"id":3565,"date":"2015-07-06T14:26:50","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T14:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/?p=3565"},"modified":"2015-07-06T14:26:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T14:26:50","slug":"6-block-8-shaft-plaited-huck-tote-bag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/?p=3565","title":{"rendered":"6-Block, 8-Shaft Plaited Huck Tote Bag"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_1037\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The draft for this pattern is from a workshop Laurie Autio gave our guild in fall of 2014, called “Designing for Block Weaves Using Twills as Profiles.” \u00a0In the post I wrote I about this I called it a ‘blended draft’ which Laurie says it is NOT! \u00a0So I’m not certain what to call the procedure of taking a twill circle (1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5…etc) and using that sequence as a profile draft for plugging in a different weave structure, such as huck.<\/p>\n

Here is the plaited twill draft that was used for the profile:<\/p>\n

\"plaited<\/a>\u00a0Here is the draft. \u00a0The huck draft of little sections of 5-thread repeats that create either a weft float or warp float are threaded according to the twill pattern above. \u00a0There has to be a better way to say this, and when I find it I will rewrite!<\/p>\n

\"Laurie<\/a><\/p>\n

I \u00a0wanted a subtle woven huck fabric so for the warp I used three very close colors of 2-ply wet spun linen whose weight is a bit heavier that 16\/2 linen. \u00a0I’m sorry I cannot say exactly what it is. \u00a0I have a large stash of unlabeled linen cones of linen and silk cones from a dear weaving mentor, and none of them are labeled!<\/p>\n

WARP<\/strong>
\nLaurie recommended that I give the McMorran yarn balance information about the yarns I used. \u00a0I have never felt confident in trusting this little device. \u00a0When I perform the procedure on the same yarn multiple times I never get the same number! \u00a0My three warp yarns gave me a range of yardages from 1325 yards per pound (ypp) to 1750 ypp. \u00a0They are slightly different \u00a0grists, so it is conceivable that their yardages would be somewhat different, but a difference of over 400 ypp is a bit untrustworthy to me. \u00a0 And here is another reason that it is hard for me to trust this little gadget! \u00a0My cones of linen are thicker than 16\/2 Bockens linen, yet they also look like they have less twist. \u00a0That might make them lighter weight in spite of looking thicker. \u00a0Yardage for 16\/2 linen is 2700 ypp, and my ‘thicker’ yarns ranged from 1325 – 1750 ypp.<\/p>\n

I made the warp by holding the three yarns together, separated between my fingers. \u00a0I put the spools on a spool holder and ran the yarns up to a hook in the ceiling and then down to my finger tensioning technique. \u00a0I made a 1 x 1 cross since the yarns are a little hairy and I didn’t trust having adjacent yarns in the same cross. \u00a0My warp was sett at 12 epi, and sleyed 2-per-dent in a 6-dent reed. \u00a0The warp was 25″ wide and I used my Baby Wolf for this project. The pattern repeat for this draft is 30 threads. \u00a0At 12 epi with 10 repeats I needed 300 warp threads, which was 10 pattern repeats across the warp.<\/p>\n

WEFT AND WEAVING<\/strong>
\nThe weft is a single ply linen that is rougher than the warp. \u00a0It has lots of thick and thin areas, so I think the McMorran yarn balance will be even less accurate. \u00a0I measured three times and averaged my findings for a result of 1900 ypp. \u00a0I wove to square the pattern. After weaving the necessary yardage for the front and back of the bag, I wove plain weave to the end of the warp for the handles and the top of my lining.<\/p>\n

FINISHED FABRIC<\/strong>
\nI wanted the front and back of the bag to be roughly square before doing the box corner at the bottom. \u00a0I have a tote that I made from commercial fabric that I cut 24″ square to begin and I love the proportions of that bag. \u00a0I knew I would not get a finished fabric 24″ wide on the Baby Wolf, so I thought I would just use whatever width I did end up with for making my size determination. \u00a0After washing the width of the bag was about 20″. \u00a0I put in cutting lines (two plain weave picks in a contrasting yarn) after weaving 24″. \u00a0I thought the shrinkage would be greater lengthwise than in the width, but my cutting lines ended up longer than my fabric was wide. \u00a0If I had not woven in these cutting lines, I could have changed the proportions of my bag. \u00a0With the cutting lines I put in, the bag became somewhat taller than it is wide.<\/p>\n

This photo was taken after I machine washed the fabric on a normal setting and set outside to dry. \u00a0You can see the cutting lines and where I switched to plain weave (at the top of the photo) for the handles and part of the lining. \u00a0I used a commercial linen fabric for the lining; \u00a0it is brown\/tan\/black plaid that you can see in the little loop for the button in the next photo.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0861\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SEWING THE TOTE BAG
\n<\/b>You can use the directions I wrote for the\u00a0smaller tote bag<\/a>\u00a0that I made last summer, changing the size of the pieces you cut to match your fabric, roughly 20″ wide by 22″ long.<\/p>\n

For this particular bag I used the directions below. \u00a0After some thought (and because I did not have enough handwoven fabric!) I decided to omit the zipper that is detailed in the beginning of this video. \u00a0I am now happy that I decided to omit the zipper since the bag opens wider with only a button and loop closure. \u00a0The contstuction method for this bag has different order of sewing the pieces than my written instructions from the previous bag, and I just loved having the handwoven fabric at the top of the lining. \u00a0I think that is more professional looking.<\/p>\n