Blurring the Edges

This is one of the new hand-woven wall hangings I have been working on. I’m very pleased with the ‘blurred’ feel of the patterns - giving the pieces a painterly quality, and a sense of dynamic movement.

I’ve been looking for ways to suggest a more gestural ‘mark-making’ - along the lines of the central image below… playing with yarn and structure on the loom.

The technique is achieved with a wool single-ply extra weft which is secured into the structure of the fabric at intervals, but elsewhere is allowed to float over the surface. The ground weft is woven in a very fine cotton yarn - barely seen on the front of the cloth, but anchoring and stabilizing the piece. In the image on the right below you can see the back of the cloth showing the real structure of the piece.

I am very pleased with the results, and excited to be showing them at Future Heritage at the Design Centre in Chelsea next week. It is a wonderful showcase of exceptional craft, founded and curated by journalist and craft champion Corinne Julius, and I will be in great company.

For details of Future Heritage please see the link here