Echo Weave

I admit I enjoy asking the question, "How can I make this more complicated?" That's probably why I enjoy playing with advancing twills, a technique that is great for creating large, sweeping shapes out of small twill building blocks. It's sort of like those mosaics where the big picture is made of tiny squares, each of which is a photograph of something else entirely. Here's an example of an advancing point twill threading, with a slightly larger point in the treadling sequence.

The shapes are great, but how to add color to the mix? Any stripes in the warp or weft would merely break up and distract from the larger pattern. I want the color to go with the flow, and this is exactly what echo weave is made for.

Starting with a base of advancing point twill, I add an "echo" that follows the first threading pattern, but starts on a different shaft. In the draft below, I've used two echoes, meaning three colors in the warp. Each color takes turns appearing on the surface.

I wind the warp holding the three colors together and beam as usual. Since the threading order jumps around, this stage is slower than normal, and I'm constantly double-checking, but it'll be worth it.

The first scarf has an advancing zig-zag as the larger motif, on top of the advancing points in the warp. Vaguely fractal-like. Advancing echoes are perfect for scarves because the layers of complexity make it look interesting both from a distance and close up.

Hei hei, and happy treadlings!

Carol