Ask Madelyn: Doubleweave on 4-Shafts

Dear Madelyn,
Is it possible to double weave a black and white checkboard design on a 4-shaft loom? If so, where can I obtain the threading and tie up?

Thank you,

––R L Schenkman

Hi!

It is possible, but you have to do it with pick-up. That means that you use a pick-up stick to choose the checkerboard squares. It's time-consuming because you have to pick up the design for every pick you weave.

Our March/April 2010 issue of Handwoven is all about doubleweave and there is a checkerboard in it but it is woven loom controlled on eight shafts. I don't know a specific reference for an exact checkerboard with pick-up, but you can find out how to do pick-up in several good articles in a previous issue of Handwoven, January/February, 1999, pp. 35–49. There are also several good books about the subject, including Jennifer Moore's.

Hope this helps!

––Madelyn