- Choose a structure that is a form of Atwater Bronson
- If desired, select a profile from another draft and adapt it to Bronson
- Use 10/2 pearl cotton, sett at 20 epi for a weaving width of approximately 9”
- Put on 4 to 4 ½ yds to allow everyone in the group to weave their samples with some left over for drop-in weaving for guild members in December
Charlotte C’s Project:
I chose to start with #610 in Strickler*, and then change the block sizes to have a 5:3:2 progression to the center. Weaving this piece was a good learning experience for me. Not only did I learn about block design, but it was also interesting to see how the beat would change depending on the relative amount of lace in the row. Having the other samples to weave in addition to mine was even better, as I learned something different from each one.
Graph paper design and finished cloth shown below:
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I started with a few drafts from the Strickler pattern book (not lace patterns) and learned how to transform those profile drafts into a draft using Atwater Bronson tie-up and treadling. I decided on Strickler pattern #547, adjusting the structure so that it would be a viable cloth and a pleasing design. I then created a profile draft and the final draft and drawdown so that I could weave the pattern. I had to truncate the pattern so that there were only 2 repeats of the pattern – that was all that would fit within the 9-10” width of our samples. I found that working with a profile draft was a learning process and I am still learning! It was a good experience in taking one design and changing it. I probably would not have done this without the challenge. All in all, a successful learning experience.
Profile draft, draft and finished cloth shown below.
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Sharon G’s Project:
I enjoyed this project very much and learned a lot. Atwater-Bronson lace proved to be an ideal structure for learning about how to use and adapt profile drafts to create interesting and attractive lace patterns and to produce varied patterns from a single threading draft.My inspiration was a project in the May/June 2011 issue of Handwoven for making “Dotted Swiss” napkins with Atwater-Bronson lace. The project can easily be woven with or without the Dotted Swiss accent which is created by making a single float in the plain weave background fields. |
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These variations included:
- Adapting the tie-up using guidance from Carol Strickler’s discussion of A-B lace in her book A Weaver’s Book of 8-Shaft Patterns to create “turned Bronson” where both warp and weft floats appear on the surface of the cloth.
- ·Adapting the treadling profile draft by assigning different treadling blocks to the profile sequence. One example is shown in the photo on below.
I chose to weave the Dogwood Flowers from Strickler, page 184. It is lovely woven with one color, but I did weave with a soft pink and loved the delicacy of it.
Now, on with my adventure: The first thing was I did not understand Strickler’s draw-down. Try as I may, my brain did not “get it”. There are times in my life that I had to ask my wonderful friends for help! I cannot say enough about friendship. They willingly were there when I asked. I am blessed, Jackie Heller and Linda Hardison.
The advice I shall share is read the beginning of the chapter on Bronson in the Strickler book. It does explain the process and I’m sure each of you have your network of friends to help.
My next problem was I had a “skinny” flower….kinda anemic looking. Thanks to Jean Johnson, I learned I should weave each section twice and my blossom bloomed!
Example: Pattern begins with 1-3-1-3-1-2………next section, 1-6-1-6-1-2 this is the “skinny look”
I have reworked the draft to take care of this by weaving each section twice.
Example: 1-3-1-3-1-2……1-3-1-3-1-2……1-6-1-6-1-2…..1-6-1-6-1-2 My healthy looking flower!
Hope this helps in your weaving adventures.
Shown below, draft & finished cloth.
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The inspiration for my Atwater Bronson draft was from an article by Barbara Elkins in the May/June 2005 issue of Handwoven Magazine. I used the center portion of her draft as a starting point. The main color used in the warp was Mineral, but I added some warp stripes in a contrasting color in Quarry. I was pleasantly surprised about how easy it was to warp this structure and also the treadling. It was very easy to quickly get in a rhythm and this was true for all of the different drafts. For the weft I used different colors from the warp and as usual, I liked the depth of color that resulted. My draft was woven with the weft floats on top and I was not expecting to see how different the samples looked on the other side with the warp floats predominant instead. One of my samples, where I used an off-white for the weft, was a big disappointment and I almost didn’t complete it. But I’m really glad I did because when I got it off the loom and looked at the back, with the warp floats predominant, It was actually my favorite sample. Just further evidence how important it is to sample, sample, sample. Some things are just too unpredictable.
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*Strickler, Carol. A Weaver’s Book of 8-Shaft Patterns. (Fort Collins, CO. Interweave Press. 1991)