{"id":3979,"date":"2023-06-01T23:08:39","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T23:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handweavingacademystatic.memberhost.io\/?p=3979"},"modified":"2024-10-25T22:19:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T05:19:39","slug":"how-do-you-create-a-namedraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/handweavingacademy.com\/how-do-you-create-a-namedraft\/","title":{"rendered":"Namedrafts and how to create them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Namedrafting is a technique for coming up with original designs that\u2019s been around for ages. It\u2019s most often used to design new overshot threadings, though it can be used in many other ways as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its most typical form, it\u2019s a system for associating each letter of the alphabet to the shafts on a loom – what\u2019s called a mapping<\/em> – and then \u201cspelling out\u201d words like names or phrases in the threading. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\"close<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can associate the letters with specific shafts in any way you choose; the most commonly used mapping simply assigns each letter in alphabetical order, like so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaft 1: a, e, i, m, q, u\nShaft 2: b, f, j, n, r, v\nShaft 3: c, g, k, o, s, w\nShaft 4: d, h, l, p, t, x y z<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve lumped x, y, and z all onto Shaft 4 together since neither x nor z comes up that often, but another common choice is to put x on Shaft 4, y on Shaft 1, and z on Shaft 2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I call this the \u2018aeimqu\u2019 mapping, which is the set of letters across the top line (that is, the letters assigned to Shaft 1). That\u2019s not a label you\u2019re likely to see anywhere else! Most people don\u2019t bother naming this mapping at all but I play with so many different mappings that I find it useful to be able to refer to them by name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note that this version of the AEIMQU mapping doesn\u2019t tell you what to do with punctuation or numerals. If your phrase doesn\u2019t contain either one, then that\u2019s no problem. If it does, you need to decide how to assign those to the shafts as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once again, any choice you make is a good one: namedrafting is a stepping stone to your original design, not an ironclad set of rules you must follow. Use the \u201crules\u201d you like, change or ignore the ones you don\u2019t; any choice you make simply makes the design more yours<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n
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\""Brussels
“Brussels Sprouts”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
Deriving an overshot threading<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve got a mapping, you can use it to spell things out. Simply write out a word or phrase and replace each letter with the number of the shaft it\u2019s mapped to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O V E R S H O T\n3 2 1 2 3 4 3 4<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\u2026and then use that as a threading repeat, like so:<\/p>\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
Easy, right? Well, yes, it IS easy, but the word \u2018overshot\u2019 is an unusual example in that, once mapped to shafts, the numbers always alternate odd and even. If you\u2019re familiar with overshot, you\u2019ll know that\u2019s a requirement of an overshot threading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the letters in your word or phrase don\u2019t <\/em>alternate odd\/even once converted into shaft numbers (and you’re planning to use the threading for overshot), you\u2019ve got to deal with spots where two odds or two evens land side by side – including at the repeats. Take the name Janet, for instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
J A N E T\n2 1 2 1 4<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
It also happens to alternate odd and even, but once repeated the 2 at the end of one repeat and the 4 at the start of the next are side by side (see the orange arrows).<\/p>\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
What to do with the glitches in the odd\/even matrix is up to you. You can insert an odd between two evens or an even between two odds, you can take out one of the odds or evens, etc. You needn\u2019t do the same thing every time, either: each spot where two odds or two evens land side by side is a choice you need to make, and you can make a different choice each time<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve dealt with the glitches, you\u2019ve got a viable overshot threading. To weave it as overshot, though, you also need a treadling. The obvious choice for the treadling system<\/em> is traditional overshot: alternating one pattern pick with one tabby pick. The obvious choice for the treadling block order<\/em> is star fashion: as-drawn-in block by block<\/em> rather than thread by thread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those are just two more choices, though. Any choice you make just makes your design more original, so feel free to use a different block order or treadling system if you know how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deriving a star fashion liftplan<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
To derive the star fashion shed order for overshot is fairly simple, particularly if you create a liftplan. Here\u2019s how to determine which sheds the pattern weft<\/em> should go through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starting with the first two warp ends at the right selvage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Look to see which two shafts the two warp ends are on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Lift the other<\/em> two shafts for the next weft pick, so that the pattern weft will float over those two warp ends.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Move ONE THREAD to the left, so that the new pair consists of a new thread plus its neighbour to the right, which was also in the previous pair.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    Repeat 1-3 all the way across the threading and you\u2019ll have a star fashion liftplan. (You could start at the left selvage and work to the right instead, of course – just pick one side and work away from it.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Here\u2019s a demo using the threading above for the word \u2018overshot\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \n    \n            \n\n    <\/presto-player>\n<\/figure>