Magic in the Water

 

Digital microscope view of loom state cloth woven in the 'new to me' weave structure.  Reed marks are clearly visible and the threads are pretty much straight on the 'grid'.  There is little curvature or bending of the threads.  The warp and weft threads are clearly distinct.  The web looks very 'thready'.

Same weave structure (different cloth) after wet finishing.  Reed marks have been reduced enormously, although they are still visible if you look closely at the cloth.  But the threads have 'bloomed' and shifted closer together.  Slight curvature can be seen as the threads go through the weave structure and in some cases, it gets hard to follow one thread through the cloth without very careful tracking.  This can make fixing errors a bit challenging, but once the needle is in the grid, it gets easier to follow the path of an individual thread.

Some new weavers get very confused when they first begin weaving - and wet finishing - their webs.  There is a phenomenon called 'tracking' that appears, primarily in plain weave.  But, the new weaver says, why doesn't it happen in other weave structures?

Well, it does.  But the dynamic is different because in plain weave the latent twist energy has no where to go as the threads go over and under each other, so the yarns can tend to poke up and out causing weird lines in the plain weave.

In other weave structures, those areas are longer, so there is more room for the threads to shift and move without causing such structural evidence in the finished cloth.

Cotton and other bast/cellulose fibres do NOT full.  They do, however, bloom.   The fibres swell and will shift and shuffle themselves around in the weave structure.  Some weave structures will encourage this effect more than others.  Bedford cord, honeycomb, lace weaves, pique,  and others, rely on this shifting of the threads to develop their final state to it's maximum effect.

Twills generally don't seem to change appearance much, except when you get up close and personal, as in the two photos above.

The loom state sample is quite 'thready' but after wet finishing the motifs resolve and become more cohesive.

And this is why I always recommend that a new weaver does a sample and *wet finish* it to find out what will happen when the web hits the water for the very first time.  

Many new weavers are anxious about the 'washing' of their brand new cloth.  But the thing is, it isn't truly 'cloth' until it has been wet finished.  

Why do I call it wet finishing and not simply tell folk to 'wash' their webs?  Because frequently the wet finishing process will use hotter water and more vigorous agitation than regular 'washing'.

Anyway, if people want to know more, Magic in the Water is still available    You can purchase a print copy (magazine format) or pdf (digital).  Or I'm available to do guild programs/seminars on this (and other topics which are listed on my website   Yes, I know I don't have the s on the URL.  I'm hoping to get that fixed at some point but I don't have the skills so I'm waiting until my web master has a few free minutes to deal with it.