In the original pansy
design, each flower was comprised of 29 blocks, eight triple blocks and
five single unit blocks. The total number of warp ends required to thread
the flower would be 103 ends.
8 triple blocks X 11 warp ends/block = 88 ends plus 5 single unit blocks
x 3 ends/block = 15 ends
Angela reduced the size
of the "pansy" by eight blocks, changing the triple blocks into
double blocks. Her flower requires 71 warp ends.
8 double blocks X 7 warp ends/block = 56 ends plus 5 single unit blocks
x 3 ends/block = 15 ends
The Memphis Weavers used 10/2 cotton sett at 24 epi for the warp in their Friendship Coverlet Project. If Angela had threaded a triple sized block, the weft would have floated over eleven ends which would have been a half inch float - not a practical length for weft floats in a coverlet. However, if the warp had been 20/2 cotton sett at 32 epi, the weft floating over eleven ends would measure one-third inch, a much more practical float length.
Angela continued to reduce all triple sized blocks to double sized blocks and dropped two triple blocks from the center to further reduce the design by another 40 blocks. With the two reduced sized pansies, a total of 56 blocks were removed from the original design.
Angela's profile draft now contains 47 single unit blocks and 50 double sized blocks. Following the simplified threading discussed at the beginning of this article, each single unit can be multiplied by three warp ends for a total of 141 ends; each double sized block can be multiplied by seven warp ends for a total of 350 ends. The combined total number of warp ends is 491. Warp ends can be added or dropped in pairs at the turning blocks to increase or decrease the overall width. As it is, Angela's design with a warp sett of 24 epi would yield a woven design that is 20 ½" wide.
The original pansy and butterfly design had 44 single blocks which would be threaded on 132 warp ends; and 53 triple sized blocks threaded on 583 ends. The total number of warp ends is 715, and if sett at 32 epi, the overall woven cloth would be 22 inches wide. Pairs of threads could be dropped in the triple blocks so that the numbers of warp ends in each could be reduced from eleven to nine ends. If this change was made, the total number of warp ends in the triple blocks could be reduced by 106 ends to 477 ends. Adding the remaining 132 ends from the single blocks makes a total of 609 ends. If the warp sett is 32 epi, the width of the warp would be a little more than nineteen inches. Again, pairs of ends can be added or subtracted at the turning blocks to increase or decrease the final size of the woven cloth.
