Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Some fascinating upholstery

This was the upholstery on a chair in a small inn in Lubeck, Maine.  Thought you might like to see it.  It is obviously doubleweave, but how many shafts would it take as a dobby?  How many shuttles? Any guesses?  You can click on it to see it up close.  It was lovely on a small occasional chair.

2 comments:

  1. What a great find! It is deceptively simple. While each patterned square would require 4 shafts, I am guessing, there are four different arrangements in the squares, total 16 shafts for the patterned squares. Then, assuming the plain red area is plain weave, 2 shafts for that. So my guess would be 18 shafts total.

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  2. I think the red ground is satin, so I would guess we would have to add another 6 shafts for that. That makes 24. Definitely within the possibilities of a dobby loom, but might also have been woven on a jacquard, of course. It all depends upon what the mill had. Anyway, it is a fun piece.

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