CRACKLE AND OVERSHOT: BLOCK WIDTH

Posted by Peg in South Carolina

I have woven very little overshot.  Maybe two pieces.  A long time ago.  So do keep in mind my lack of experience with overshot as you read this.
If I understand overshot correctly, block width is generally determined by float length.  As a result, the width of a block is determined by the maximum float length that will work in the particular yarn and sett one is working with.  The use for the finished piece also comes into play here.
In crackle, however, or at least in “traditional” crackle, the float length is a constant:  3 warp ends.  So block width is not determined by float length.  Rather it is determined by the number of individual threading units one creates to make up a given block width.
Zielinski talks about the possibility of weaving crackle with floats longer than three.  Weaving 60/2 silk at around 60 epi certainly provides an opportunity for working with floats quite a bit longer than three. I picked up on that possibility in two earlier blog posts:   Crackle with Floats of Four (or More) and Treadling with Floats of 4: 8 Crackle Blocks on 4 Shafts.
Weaving with more than the 3 floats, however, would reduce the warp/weft interplay.  The longer the floats, the less interplay there would be.  But the reason I am so interested in crackle is precisely that warp interplay!  What I need to do sometime is to put on a crackle warp with say 5 floats in each threading unit just to see what actually happens. That will have to wait till I am done with my current project.

“Crackle and Overshot: Block Width” was written by Margaret Carpenter for Talking about Weaving and was originally posted on September 4, 2009. ©2009 Margaret Carpenter aka Peg in South Carolina.