An Exaltation of Blocks - Huck Lace Towel 4a, Handwoven Magazine May/June 2008

The block design on the left is a pattern created from the Design Pages and Transparent Overlays from An Exaltation of Blocks ©, a book in progress by Rosalie Neilson. The block design is one of 30 different patterns for huck lace towels featured in the weaving project published by Handwoven magazine, May/June 2008 issue, pages 58 to 61.
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To develop the threading, treadling and tie-up plans for the above design, it is re-drawn on a huck lace design grid developed by Ruth Morrison and used with her permission. The design shows horizontal (=) and vertical lines (||) which alternate checkerboard-style representing either weft or warp floats. Above each column is a number, in this case 3.4.3 - 6.5.6 - 7.8.7 - 6.5.6 - 3.4.3. These numbers refer to the shaft in each threading block which will be raised or lowered to create weft or warp floats. The 4-part symmetric block design pictured at the top of the page is drawn as shaded squares in the left side of the grid diagram immediately below.

On the right side of the diagram are the shafts required for plain weave in each group. Picks 1,3,5 are listed at the far right, whereas picks 2 and 4 are listed next to the design. If a square in the design grid is filled in, notice whether the square contains a horizontal or vertical set of lines. If horizontal, this represents a weft float, and that shaft's number has to be subtracted from the sequence. If vertical, this represents a warp float, and that shaft's number has to be added to the sequence. Row by row, the shafts which are lowered are crossed out (meaning they will not be lifted) with a red line, while the additional shafts which have to be raised are added to the right of the plus sign.

Because of the 4-part symmetry of the design, only one quadrant of the design is unique. Since there are duplicate columns and rows in the 15 x 15 grid, only one quadrant needs to be analyzed to determine the tie-up. The upper right quadrant of the design is selected for analysis, and is redrawn onto a 8 x 8 grid.

The translation of the block design into the threading plan, treadling sequence, and tie-up for huck lace appears below. The threading plan of 75 warp ends and treadling sequence of 75 weft picks forms a single pattern. To create a threading and treadling plan large enough for a towel, repeat the pattern three times with plain weave areas in between. Begin and end the towel with 15 ends threaded for plain weave on shafts 1 and 2; then separate each pattern with 15 ends of plain weave also assigned to shafts 1 and 2. Repeat the treadling plan five times, with 15 rows of plain weave between patterns. You can choose to weave the same pattern throughout the towel, or you can can change the tie-up for five different patterns in each towel. Begin and end each towel with at least two inches of plain weave for a folded hem. The full draft appears on page 61 in the Handwoven magazine May/June 2008 issue.

The shaft numbers are shown as they first appear in the sequence, but are not repeated when duplicated in the design, leaving those spaces blank. We now have the unique shaft designations for this design as shown on the right hand side of the diagram. These numbers will determine the tie-up which goes into the final threading and treadling plan for this towel design, pictured at the bottom of the page. The variable portion of the tie-up box, shaded in pink, uses these numbers. The outer un-shaded part of the tie-up box shows the shafts used for the plain-weave background.