I wove a short length of Summer & Winter sample on the table loom this week. The warp is 2/20 mercerized cotton; the weft includes 2/20 cotton, 2/60 cotton, 2/17 wool, wool boucle in three sizes, and an unknown synthetic discontinued boucle. The sett is 36EPI. Here are some views.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsfX1a8HzbYd0JZJQM6vRzZkvJR_VuVmckzNv8OG9p_mmmpfhhWZV-N8VeMNn945qqcvuJBjmqjGQsmyzEduy2zHqROrv7qoWLtl0mESrwc9aDTL03PcX5zUJTvrWMP-dL6eY/s320/P1230196+(Medium).JPG)
With boucle, it's better to exaggerate or simplify shapes they are not stripy or horizontal, unless you are trying to create that look. (Think Monet's Waterlilies.) I would love this in merino warp and merino or mixed boucle in the pattern weft in a bigger scale for jacket/coat fabric if I could sew, or for a skirt if my body shape were a bit more elongated...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBss28gcmGV-SQChZ0WWpAa7j9mZA8hgVo2sEW8j-odRoCmwF12K5ZoxspAwBBmPn6dUEskqWkUtcT272KVurUN9c-P8Dg6oRpiYJOj7hyphenhyphenr7YOkefFE3xg-OSIjCVTSqTSUI5/s320/P1230187+(Medium).JPG)
Dukagang creates the most visible design, but also the most blocky in appearance? At the top is the late, lamented discontinued yarn.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIsGLRuth8J4dd6Mn8_tIro4kUwVtV25_LngMzBYMaaSGtWusytWWM0rNeItYYpmyKSULHBvPaa0xg-r17T9qeukIH2YUFvui2uC4Fbg0rHEmCN8di8K0kBhoGV_YIuk7ZyYV/s320/P1230193+(Medium).JPG)
In some places, I can see the shapes of individual units!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-K8dnuGddXz882lyGX7mZ1TTFJ0ji6HoyscPxU5Dk0IAdUXGa46iVRFTohno4fS9M-kCFp671msr0bvZbN4T3dnNAOrQmu7FWmFsDx6sBOYstDsWDmf-NIiVyxj1xDbeUbvR/s320/P1230178+(Medium).JPG)
I used 2/20 cotton in the tabby at the bottom, and 2/60 cotton towards the top. I don't know if you can tell, but naturally the pattern color is more saturated and the hand a tad slinkier, but the blocks need to be elongated to achieve the same appearance, i.e. more picks and longer to weave.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qjl_xG77CzmDcS2AaKINkT3RmwS4XweJ2OypCLINmVPO0xADWHGfQtbmY5t_PRrNvzJqnqQ6dso95NnpcCP7MQ06tVsdSGS3Srz5pjLsmZkgO_5nIkj3fqCrhW-zi_XtSvxV/s320/P1230190+(Medium).JPG)
I got a little sassier and used 2/60 cotton in the tabby in a pale yellow to create the metallic shine I like in combination with the warp color. I don't know if I achieved it, but it adds another dimension to the appearance of the cloth. A spool of orange (complementary) sewing thread in the tabby would be most interesting to experiment.
I don't like the hand of S&W in general, but particularly using 2/20 cotton both ways. Because I want to see the blocks I pack in the weft very tightly, creating a solid, unkind hand. I doubt I'd want to wear a blouse in this material. To remedy this, I could loosen the sett and the pick, but I'm not good at controlling my picks, so this will be a bit challenge.
I can tolerate the hand where I used 2/60 cotton in the tabby and 2/20 in the pattern. Wool boucle pattern wefts give sponginess to the cloth, which I like. In both of these cases, I have to make the blocks longer vertically if I were to weave the design I intended .
Thus far, I find the blocky look "old", and by this I mean, "dated", not historical or nostalgic. But using small blocks in a larger context and/or better use of colors could/would improve this, I think.
I'll fix the the threading mistake, (big strip in the middle, edited out from the photos :-P) and sample some more.
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