Card and Inkle Weaving Anonymous

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About Card and Inkle Weaving Anonymous

My vision for this group is to have a place to share our Card or Tablet woven projects (both unfinished and finished pieces), as well as Inkle weaving projects. We could also share pictures of our setups, looms and stuff. Pictures of workshops, events, and examples of how the bands are used would also be appropriate. :)

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Background on Card Weaving
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Card Weaving is an ancient craft in which simple cards, or flat tablets, form the “loom”, Yarns are threaded through holes in a set of cards or flat tablets. These cards are rotated to create patterns in the weaving. Card weaving has traditionally been used for making strong, narrow, decorative bands. In China, card weaving was used to make reins, bridles, and saddle girths. Nomadic tribes in Turkey used long card-woven bands to tie, suspend, and attach a variety of items. In northern Africa, card weavers in local markets wove valuables into belts. The monks of Burma wore card-woven girdles that were red on one side and yellow on the other. In Bulgaria, the traditional peasant costume includes a card-woven sash 20 to 27 feet long in bold patterns that were wrapped several times around the waist. In Yugoslavia, woolen card-woven bands with long fringes were used to trim aprons. In Greece, the red garters of the national costume were card woven. Bands with inscriptions were used as love tokens in Iceland and Persia. Almost without exception the bands from the past were narrow, strong, and decorative.

Card weaving developed and continues to exist in widely scattered parts of the world. It has remained basically unchanged over two thousand years, is easy to learn, and required little equipment. Nonetheless, it is a sophisticated craft capable of producing complex weaves and woven structures unachievable with any other technique. –(“Card Weaving” by Candace Crockett, page 7 – 8)

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Background on Inkle Weaving
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Inkle weaving has been around for centuries. In early times, these narrow strips were used as belts, headbands, bag handles, or straps to tie and support things. When sewn together, the strips could be turned into bags for gathering and carrying. These strips were also used aesthetically to decorate clothing. An inkle-woven strip has even survived from the first century AD. The actual origin of the style of weaving referred to as "inkle weaving" seems to have originated in many areas of the world, wherever textile arts have developed. For many centuries, this type of weaving was done on looms such as the bow loom, the forked-branch loom, or the back-strap loom.

For those familiar with Tablet (or Card) Weaving, inkle weaving is similar to producing a tablet-woven band using just two holes in opposite corners of the card and rotating in such a manner: one-half-turn forward, one-half-turn backward, repeat. -(From www.inkleweaving.com/notes/history.html )

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To learn more about Card weaving and to see examples:
www.lindahendrickson.com/
www.whitewolfandphoenix.com/

To learn More about Inkle weaving:
www.inkleweaving.com