When it comes to weaving I find myself drawn to the patterns and techniques of the Nordic countries. I won't say Scandinavia because while Denmark, Sweden and Norway count as "Scandi" Finland does not and it is from Finland that I often find inspiration. A more inclusive term might be the "Nordic" countries which as well as the four mentioned above includes the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.
If you're interested in the difference between Nordic and Scandinavian you might look here for info on Scandinavia or here for info on the Nordic countries.
But back to weaving. The technique that I've been exploring recently is called poppana weaving. It ties in nicely with the "make every scrap count" approach to yarn and fabric that I'm trying to achieve.
Poppana is a Finnish technique but similar approaches are seen in other cultures. For example in Japan sakiori weaving (from "saki," which means to tear or rip up, and "ori," which means weave) has the same basis - recycling and reusing old fabric to prolong its useful life.
Poppana was developed as a way to recyle old bedding and clothes by cutting them into narrow strips and weaving them into durable fabrics for rugs, winter coats, bedspreads, horse blankets, etc. Later the technique developed to include clothes woven using thinner strips of lighter weight cottons.
The fabric shown was woven on an Ashford Sampleit loom with a 5/2 mercerised cotton on a 7.5 dpi heddle. I wanted the rags to really show up and the craft cotton I usually use for tapestry weaving is just that bit thicker than the 5/2. The cotton was also used for alternating sheds of the weft to create a gridlike pattern rather than the more usual staggered pops of warp colour. One shuttle was wrapped with the cotton and the other with the poppana strips. As this was a sample piece I didn't go crazy with the colour of the mercerised cotton, opting for an unbleached colour to go with the natural tones in the fabric.
The strips were cut from scraps of fabric so there weren't any really long pieces like you'd get from a bed sheet or duvet cover or from spiral cutting a teeshirt. They were joined together using the slit technique described by Jenny at Crochet is the way. If you don't have any old bedding or clothes you want to recycle then you can buy premade poppana strips from Finnish stores such as Toika or Lankava but I made my own. The half inch strips I cut from left over upholstery fabric are not as elegant as the precut 8mm and 10mm cotton strips you can buy but they did the job.
I cut the fabric any old how, depending on the longest length of the scrap I was cutting. Traditionally the strips would be cut on the bias which can give a frayed edge, cheneille texture to the woven fabric. There are a few fraying edges but not really enough to call it a featuer, so I might trim out the more noticable ones.
There is enough fabric to make a wine carrier or a small bag. I'm leaning towards a wine carrier for when we get to go to parties again. One of my inkle bands would make a strong handle and the thickness of the poppana fabric would hopefully act as a little insulation to keep the wine bottle chilled during the journey.
What's inspiring you at the moment? Any new techniques you've been trying? Add a comment and share your new passion.
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