It’s been a while since I have written about my apprenticeship. Between subsistence gathering and traveling up into the Yukon I haven’t woven as much as I would have liked. I have progressed ever so slowly though.
I’ve moved down into the design field of the robe. Beyond the borders the next steps are framing the design field. The side borders need to be brought down about 2 inches so measuring the design field can be done. That is when the exact design field measurement is taken and sent to the printer to make a design transparency that is used as a guide when weaving. Then the vertical braids are measured & set, which outlines the different areas of the design field.
Ready to begin weaving the center design which is the humanoid face. First the eyebrows need to be shaped with the white weavers, once shaped then a black braid is set to frame in the eyebrow. One trick I learned about weaving the arch in the eyebrow, was to weave about 5 extra rows starting in the middle of the eyebrow. Find the center and begin there with two to three warps (depending on the size of the warp you are using) and weave 5 to six rows. Then, begin the remainder of the eyebrow by weaving from the far left or right (depending on which eyebrow weaving) and weave back and forth. Use the transparency often to make sure you are staying within the design.
Once the eyebrows are completed, then the start of the mask is woven, and this can be done to the weaver’s choice. It can be yellow or blue. I chose blue for my robe. The eyes need to be shaped after the beginning of the mask is woven. Simultaneously, the eyes are being shaped and the top of the nose is also being shaped. This first part is setting/framing in the eyes and the nose with braids. There are three braids for the eyes and two for the nose. At the same time, the border of the design has two braids. In total, to weave one row you are managing 19 braids and each braid has 3 weaver strands and in addition the weaver that is filling in the design. So, at one time you are managing 57 strands of yarn! Whew! That is why it takes about 8 hours to weave an inch of Chilkat design. Other notes about the eyes, when you start the circle of an eye traditionally it was believed that you must weave the circle until closed. Never start a circle and stop.
The eyes are completed, and the next step is to finish weaving the nose. This too presents numerous braids to track and interlock with the blue mask weaving under the eyes. The braids that shape the vertical V between the mask and the nose was very technical. I had to watch Lily’s video of this step probably 10 times while weaving it at the same time. I probably took it out at least 5 times till I thought it was right. I may gain more confidence as I progress along with all the designs in this robe.
I’ve completed the nose and have begun the shaping of the mouth of the humanoid face. The framing braids were placed underneath the completion of the mask. Now, the remainder of the face is woven with white weavers and braids set to shape the mouth. The next few days will be spent weaving the mouth and closing the design of the face.
All in all, this apprenticeship & weaving with Lily has been a rewarding experience. I am happy to share with folks who want to learn the art of weaving. On that note, I did teach a class for weaving a Ravenstail Headband that 10 students participated in. I’ll save that for my next blog.