Rep Weaving
Rosalie Neilson's work in warp-faced rep weaving involves developing abstract designs on a 16-shaft loom — where two shafts control the color of one block.
Virtual CNCH 2020 Rep Details
Practical details for the Rep Weavers of the Virtual CNCH 2020 Conference, San Francisco California. Photos include starting and ending wefts, splicing, and how to tension weft across a wide warp.
Block Design in Rep Weave
A block can be either a pattern coloration or a background coloration. Warp-faced rep weave has the same appeal to Rosalie as weft-faced block weaves. In both techniques, there is an intensity of color coupled with the play of design blocks.
Brunhilde
My partner in weaving is a 16-shaft Macomber loom which I named Brunhilde, after the famous operatic Diva. I create the compositions and she does the singing. I use a sectional warp beam, warping an inch at a time, to simplify the process of putting on complex warp stripes. I use the computer software program called Fiberworks PCW to create my designs, and a Dobbytron to operate the treadling and tie-up of my loom.
'Ripsmatta'
Rep is sometimes referred to as "ripsmatta", a Swedish term for a rug characterized by the alternation of thick and thin picks of weft, or ribs (also known as "rips" in Swedish).
An Exaltation of Blocks features a
Warp-faced Rep Weave chapter
An Exaltation of Blocks is a two-volume set of books by Rosalie Neilson on symmetric block design. The 140-page Volume One describes how motifs were developed to provide the interactive Toolkit of 72 printed Design Pages and 49 Transparent Overlays. It includes chapters on how to convert 6-block patterns into three different weave structures: Summer and Winter, Huck Lace, and Warp-faced Rep. It also includes a chapter suggesting ways to change symmetric motifs into asymmetric patterns. Volume Two contains the Toolkit of twelve envelopes where the Pages and Overlays are stored. The Toolkit is divided into two sections. Section One Design Pages and Transparent Overlays jump starts a weaver into 6-block patterns suitable for 8-shaft looms. The Section Two Design Pages illustrate the 1,024 4-block motifs which are also compatible with 8-shaft looms. The Transparent Overlays convert these into 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-block motifs suitable for looms with more than eight shafts.
The 9” x 12” book comes with its own storage box and retails for $125.
This is the second printing of the book.