Double Width Weave

I’ve been intrigued by double width weave for quite some years now, ever since I first started weaving I’ve been marvelling at the idea that you can put on a narrow (ish) warp and after weaving it magically doubles in width - how cool is that! So when I enrolled in Jane Stafford Textile School of Weaving this was one thing I specifically wanted to learn.

Previously when I read about double width weaving in weaving magazines and books I always get confused, somehow my small brains couldn’t fathom when you warp your loom on 1-2-3-4 shaft and you then weave shaft 1 and 3 for top layer and 2 and 4 for bottom layer… I sort of understood the concept but I couldn’t envision it. Jane however dispelled that myth for me in her videos, her explanation is very clear and concise and seeing her in action made all the difference. So I set about making my own double width project.

My plan was to weave a blanket using DK yarn, I had a lot of DK yarn in my stash that’s not in sweater quantity, some have been around for quite some time, so I thought it would be good to use some of these up.

you can see the two layers forming 😍

My first try didn’t come out as I had envisioned, my sett was off… in an attempt to make a soft and lofty blanket I had planned the sett at 5 epi, I thought the yarn would bloom and full in the finishing but it didn’t, not as much anyway. So the blanket is a little flimsy, but the moment I took it off the loom was very satisfying, it did feel like magic 😃

There’s a problem with the centre fold…

I thought the mark would come out after finishing, it didn’t 😔

So I promptly wove a second blanket, this time my sett was 8 epi which actually made things a lot easier, especially sleying using a 8 dent reed. I like the feel of the second blanket a lot better.

The lighter panel in the photo above is the middle and this time there is no visible mark, you can’t even tell there had been a fold.

My project notes from the 2nd blanket:

Weave structure: plain weave

Warp length: 270cm

Width on the loom: 51cm

Sett: 8 epi / 8 ppi

Total warp threads: 324

Loom waste: 50cm

Shrinkage/take up: 10%

Yarn needed for the warp: 945m

Yarn needed for the weft: 989m

Sleying: 2 per dent on 8 dent reed

Final measurements after washing: 180cm x 92cm (without fringe)

If I were to weave this again I will make this again I would make the warp a little wider, perhaps 55cm on the loom so that the final width will be around 100cm. Although my second project is still a satisfying size and I’m really happy with it 🥰