What is fingerweaving?
Fingerweaving is actually a Native American art that was usually done to come up with sashes, belts, straps, and other things only through a weaving process that does not use looms. Unlike the loom-based weaving process, the weft and the warp strands are not separated because all of the strands play both roles.
Some particular patterns and combinations of different colors were originally limited to specific clans or societies only, while others were widely used by the general population. The patterns that were produced through fingerweaving methods were oftentimes chosen for various designs for leg bands, belts, capes, dresses, pants, sashes, gun straps, and even shirts. For some designs that were close to costumes, feathers and beads were interwoven into the clothes.
From the French voyagers
Back in the past, the French voyagers were regarded as fur traders in the Northern part of the United States of America and the Southern part of Canada. They adapted the patterns for creating sashes and belts in order to indicate which company they belonged to for identification.
The belts they created were actually the first weight belts so that they could add more support to their stomachs while carrying canoes or some packets of beaver pelts. These weight belts oftentimes weighed up to six hundred pounds.
The Spanish conquistadors
The Spanish conquistadors utilized sashes that have been fingerwoven to proclaim which particular command they are part of. Also, the sashes are tools for recording their conquests over the Native American race.
South American styles
Contrary to what many say about the similarities between South American and North American patterns and designs, they are actually much more different than similar. In fact, their differences from one another are far more observable. Moreover, patterns from the North were slightly modified with some additional weft strands.
Basic weaves
To date, the weave that is most commonly used is the diagonal weave. People and various manufacturers love this particular weave because it creates a wonderful series of parallel lines that run down the entire length of the weave in a diagonal direction. It does not matter if the seamstress starts weaving from the left side or the right side. The only thing the seamstress should pay very close attention to is maintaining the same direction. Even a minor change in direction can change the general look of the pattern.
Loom weaving
In loom weaving, the seamstress starts off with an even amount of warp strands, but making sure that there are no weft strands. The warp strands should be divided into two groups, a bottom row and the top row as well. The seamstress can start with the top left or the top right strand and run the strand from the top to the bottom or vice versa in keeping the strands in the very same order. Through this process, an interlocked row can be produced.
For the second line of the pattern, the new top right or top left warp strand should be tucked between the top and the bottom rows, which makes a new weft strand. The top and the bottom rows should be interlinked until the entire desired length is finished.
A spinning wheel is actually a particular device that is used for spinning thread or yarns fro fibers that are either synthetic or natural. The first spinning wheels came from Baghdad in 1237, in China in 1270, and lastly, in Europe in 1280.
Moreover, according to evidence, spinning wheels have already been widely used in the Middle East and in China back in the eleventh century. Based on the diary of Irfan Habib, the first spinning wheel was brought to India from an Iranian entrepreneur back in the thirteenth century.
Replacing other methods
The spinning wheel was initially invented to replace the old hand spinning device and its spindle. The first phase of actually mechanizing the procedure was mounting the spindle in a horizontal direction so that it could be rotated with a use of a cord that encircles a huge wheel that is hand-driven.
The great wheel
The great wheel is a perfect example of this old version of the spinning wheel. The fiber will be held by the left hand while the wheel is slowly turned with the control of the right hand. According to expert seamstress, the fiber should be held at a particular slight angle to the spindle so that there is a wonderful and noticeable twist.
After spinning the yarn, it should be wound right onto the spindle by moving the fiber like as if forming a right angular shape with the spindle. The great wheel was actually famous in Europe back in the fourteenth century. It was used to spin different kinds of yarns until around the start of the nineteenth century.
Different types of spinning wheels
There are actually quite a lot of types of the spinning wheel. The most famous is the great wheel, which is also quite popular as the walking wheel or the wool wheel that is used for very rapid long draw spinning of yarns that are spun from wool itself. Another type is the flax wheel, which makes use of a double-drive wheel that is usually used with a distaff for spinning other kinds of fabric, especially linen.
The next types are the Saxony wheel and the upright wheels, which are somewhat a little similar to one another. They both have all-purpose wheels that are driven by a treadle for spinning worsted-spun yarns. And lastly, is the charkha, which is a native spinning wheel in Asia.
Rotor spinning
Before the use of rotor spinning wheels were widely accepted, all yarns were made by aligning different fibers through drawing strategies and then twisting them all together. However, if rotor spinning is utilized, the fibers that are in the roving get separated, wrapped and then twisted just like the yarn is drawn out of the cup of the rotor.
Hand-powered spinning
Spinning wheels that are hand-powered are actually powered by the spinner that keeps turning a crank for the flywheel. This is controlled by the hand, as opposed to the pedals that needs to be pressed or the mechanical engine.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy