Under Pressure

 

plasticine woven into plain weave*

after compression

I bought some 'proper' plasticine yesterday and today I rolled out some 'threads' and wove a bit of plain weave with them.

The goal of doing this little experiment was to try to show how the threads flatten and spread out into the empty spaces between each other when they are exposed to compression.  They also get squeezed together and 'lock' into each other, like a log cabin with the rounds of logs notched so that the structure becomes a lot more stable and secure.

The other thing that shows quite clearly, I think, is how the two sets of threads undulate as they curve around each other.

Now, plasticine isn't thread, but the point is, it behaves in much the same way once woven and compressed.  I haven't tried lifting the compressed sample off the table yet, but I suspect that it would not immediately fall apart like the uncompressed version would, now that the warps and wefts are locked into each other.

In this photo the crimp that develops in the threads after compression is clearly visible.

And this is why I am so careful with my terms.

Wet finishing - the very first time the woven web hits water, gets scoured and agitated, and even, perhaps, compressed.

Hard Press - is not ironing, but the application of pressure to the cloth while still damp from the initial wet finishing.  You *can* apply compression later, but it is easiest done while still damp, in my experience.

No, I don't use a pressing cloth.  Yes, I apply the sole plate of the iron (with a Teflon cover) to the cloth.  Yes, this increases the shine in the cloth - if it isn't desired, you can spray the cloth down after compression and the threads will absorb the water and swell which will lessen the flatness of the surface and reduce the shine.

Hard pressing is not a difficult job, but like so many other things about weaving, a time consuming one.  If you have a lot of pressing to do, put on some lively music, or an audio book, or binge watch a favourite tv program.  Keep pressing until the impression of the iron is no longer a sharp imprint.  

And a reminder that the majority of fabric in a fabric store has already been wet finished.  If it has not (and there are some off shore manufacturers who don't) it is a really good idea to run the fabric through the washer/dryer (as appropriate) and apply a good hard press to it before starting to work with it.  Because one of the things that happens in that first exposure to water is the dimensional loss - something you want to have happen *before* you sew something with it, not *after* you've spent all that time sewing the thing.

*I plan on doing a twill example, but rolling the plasticine out into 'threads' is hard on my hands, so I'll do that tomorrow, maybe...