Winter Side Up

Day 274: And here we go! These first two motifs are shown "winter side up," and are woven on one of my favourite summer-and-winter threadings. "Winter" is the dark side where the floats are more visible. I prefer weaving "winter side up" because it's easier to see treadling errors than on the lighter "summer" side. As I've mentioned before, the two sides are not exact opposites of each other. This is due to the fact that in the weft, the tabby threads separating the coloured pattern threads are the same colour as the warp. However, the pattern which emerges on the back is almost (almost, but not quite!) opposite: light blocks separated by dark bands. When laundered, the fibers plump up and the pattern becomes more pronounced as the long floats expand to conceal the tabby ground.

Summer-and-winter weave was very popular in Colonial America, and as a general rule, linen or cotton was used as the warp and tabby, with a heavier wool thread for the overshot pattern. The technique experienced a return to popularity during the mid-1900s, and I came to love it as a child while nestled under the blue and white coverlet on my bed. I was intrigued by the not-quite-reverse character of the weave. Blankets such as mine were fairly common by then, woven entirely of cotton in the traditional blue or red on a white ground. Mine had a sailboat worked into the design. Today, I prefer to work summer-and-winter with cotton threads of equal weight whether I'm making tea towels like these or a full-sized throw.