Shadow Weave Samples

My small weaving group did a weave-along, and we chose an 8-shaft shadow-weave gamp. In addition to the towel (or table runner), we each wove samples to swap. Here are my samples:

Shadow weave samples to swap

A gamp is a weaving term that means a piece of cloth with a pattern or set of colors in the warp (the length of the cloth) and a pattern or set of colors in the weft (the width of the cloth) such that the final cloth has a series of squares where the different patterns or colors intersect. It's a fun way to see how colors and/or patterns interact.

Shadow weave on the loom (looking sideways)

This gamp was modified from Handwoven Magazine (Jan/Feb 2004). It is shadow weave, which requires alternating dark and light colors (my dark was always black). Each warp stripe has a different threading to make a different pattern, and each weft stripe has the corresponding treadling.

Our samples were full width but had only four rectangular repeats; enough to show the pattern but quick to weave. Each sample took about 35 minutes for me to weave.

I cut off the samples and will tie on the remaining warp to make a table runner. It's neat to see the different patterns; some are pretty, and some are pretty ugly!