Re-Inventing Twills

Twills have staggered weft floats. This 121-page monograph develops the concept of a twill from the idea that the smallest float must be over two warp threads and under the next. Many different twills are then obtained by simply varying the combinations of over and under. Four shaft twills can be balanced or unbalanced, straight, broken, pointed, undulating, advancing or irregular. Many of these twills can be woven weft-faced. This repertoire of twills can expanded in three additional ways: by using the treadling of one twill on the threading of another, by combining twills, and by applying different treadling methods to a variety of twills. Color receives special treatment: how to showcase a pattern with color and how color-and-weave patterns disguise the twill to produce interesting motifs. Planning a project using a twill requires that the repeat of the pattern match the total number of threads; this is discussed with a variety of examples for the different circumstances that arise. Other topics specific to twills are also covered: how to read a twill draft, selvages, warp sett, and hints on weaving twills. The monograph concludes with notes and acknowledgments.