Hallstatt 152 - A new yarn

Hallstatt 152

November 2022

Materials: Maysville Carpet Warp (8/4 Cotton)

Tools: 12 weaving cards

Length: ~ 66 cm (26 in)

Width: 15 mm (0.59 in)

 

Having completed a couple of sample tablet weavings and still wanting to do more, I figured it was finally time to acquire some more appropriate yarn. The Sashiko thread had worked fine, but it came in fairly small skeins, so it was inconvenient and costly to use for any weavings of significant length. I ended up ordering some tubes of 8/4 Maysville Carpet Warp.

Skipping ahead in the "Weave along with Elewys" video series, I wove a version of the "Hallstatt 152" design. This one is based on a scrap of fabric dating from 800-400 BCE, found in an old salt mine in Hallstatt, Austria. The pieces found in that excavation are some of the oldest examples of tablet weaving to be uncovered by archaeologists. The particular design I followed here was an initial recreation of the piece found in Hallstatt, which was later determined to be inaccurate (archaeologists now believe it was woven using a more complex "skip-hole" tablet weaving technique).

Weaving with the new yarn was a little tricky initially, as it took me some time to get used to the heavier weight and increased friction of it. As a result, this piece came out lumpier than I'd like. But it also seemed sturdier and more durable than my previous weavings, suggesting that this carpet warp would be good for creating practical pieces such as belts and straps.

References

1. Weaving pattern: http://ladyelewys.carpevinumpdx.com/2020/09/02/weave-along-with-elewys-episode-4-hallstatt-3-halltex-152/

2. Weaving tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdMOyh87FgU 

3. K. Grömer. "Tablet-woven Ribbons from the prehistoric Salt-mines at Hallstatt,
Austria – results of some experiments" 2005: https://www.academia.edu/11916994/Tablet_woven_Ribbons_from_the_prehistoric_Salt_mines_at_Hallstatt_Austria_results_of_some_experiments