Sunset Reflections

This project invites you to weave a transparent ground cloth of linen with four types of supplementary weft inlay.

About this Project

Thirty-five years ago, Doramay Keasbey published her book Sheer Delight—Handwoven Transparencies, introducing American weavers to this beautiful and versatile form of decorative weaving. Elsewhere in the world, transparencies were more common. Scandinavians, for example, have woven transparencies for more than a century, using them as room dividers or window dressings. Transparencies can be displayed on the wall, but their true beauty shines when they are hung away from the wall or near a window.

The basic format of transparency weaving is a loosely woven ground cloth, usually linen, interspersed with supplementary weft inlay. Areas of ground weave remain see-through—more translucent than transparent—while areas with supplementary weft become opaque. The inlay is typically used to create tapestry-like imagery, either pictorial (think birds and flowers) or abstract (think geometric shapes).

This project invites you to create your own transparency-weaving adventure based on four recommended design elements. In the process, you’ll learn the fundamentals of transparency weaving, which you can then apply to more advanced geometric or pictorial designs.

Details

Structure
Plain weave with inlay weft.

Equipment
2- or 4-shaft loom, 13" weaving width; 15-dent reed; 1 shuttle.

Yarns
Warp: 16/1 Line Linen (4,800 yd/lb; Bockens), any color, 374 yd.
Weft: Ground weft: 16/1 Line Linen, various colors, 306 yd.
Inlay weft: A variety of novelty yarns, such as textured, metallic, thick-and-thin, or variegated.

Dimensions
Width in the reed: 12 ⁵⁄₁₅".
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 54".
Finished size: (after damp-finishing and hemming) 12¹⁄₄" x 51".