Space Invaders Have Taken Over My Loom

Submitted by Syne Mitchell on April 26, 2010

A couple of people have asked about the 40th blanket project... It's still a pile of warp chains at this point. Why? Because aliens have taken over my big loom.

Space Invaders

This is a project that I put on the loom (mumble-mumble) a year ago, for Lillian Whipple's fine-thread study group. It was the first thing I'd designed for my new 16-shaft loom, and my first-ever Taquete design, so I enthusiastically put on 9 yards.

Problem the first: I hadn't thought through the scale of the project. My warp is 140/2 silk, warped at 72 ends per inch (4/dent in an 18-dent reed). That means that even at 8 inches wide, this was 576 threads to measure and warp.

Problem the second: I didn't consider the implications of Taquete on the weaving. As a double-faced weave, Taquete takes twice as many weft shots to weave, and it's a weft-faced weave, so even using a relatively thick weft (60/2 silk) the number of weft shots per inch (ppi) was 114.

9 yards of cloth, at 114 ppi, takes 36,936 weft shots to weave off. (Loom waste never looked so good.)

If you hate warping, might I suggest weaving fine-thread Taquete? You'll only have to warp every year or so, and will have a wealth of design opportunities to play with.

As for me, I'm (finally!) nearing the end of the warp. Slowly, I'm shooting these alien invaders off my loom. As soon as I'm done, I'll put the 40th blanket project on the loom.

Note: Details and the weaving draft for this project will be published in an upcoming issue of the Complex Weaver's Journal.

Comments

Wow, nine yards of aliens! I

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 13:27

Wow, nine yards of aliens! I would be a zombie by the end. :^)

Aliens on the loom

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 13:30

I applaud your courage. I would be an alien basket case!

Love it!

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 14:35

Congrats on getting through this project, it's wonderful!

Very encouraging -- suddenly

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 15:32

Very encouraging -- suddenly my 6 yards of 40-picks-per-inch weft-faced twill doesn't seem half so intimidating :-)

space invaders

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 16:08

I am impressed! I have been eyeing my loom... dreaming of doing some fine Scandinavian table linens... I have never ever ever warped with sewing thread. I have 3 very large dogs.

Please send those invaders here. They can do penance by warping MY loom! Jennifer

alien invaders

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 16:22

I would love to know how you did that! When the specs are out in Complex Weavers Journal, can you give us a heads up or a link as to how we can find it? I need to get the OLD project off my 16 shaft loom to make room for something new! I need more challenges to help me learn to design.... Thanks for sharing the inspiration.

That is completely awesome!

Submitted by Anonymous on 26 April, 2010 - 20:42

That is completely awesome! Looking forward to reading about it in CW. I'm taking Lillian's taquete workshop at Convergence this summer, but I'm only attempting it on 8 shafts.

8 shafts

Submitted by Syne Mitchell on 28 April, 2010 - 20:31

Actually, you can weave the basic aliens on 8 shafts. It was the gun and explosion that took the other eight.

Thanks everyone for the kudos! I was rather pleased with this design. After it's appeared in CWJ, I'll check and see if I can repost the draft here.

Glad to help

Submitted by Syne Mitchell on 28 April, 2010 - 23:39

Gee...Glad I could help. ;>

Awesome!

Submitted by Melissa Ludden ... on 29 April, 2010 - 05:14

Showed this to Kevin this morning. You're his new weaving hero. Totally awesome!

Syne, I still love your

Submitted by Anonymous on 29 April, 2010 - 05:18

Syne, I still love your Aliens. However, with that much warp you could design something else on the same threading. Now that you're at the end, it may not matter.

Other designs

Submitted by Syne Mitchell on 29 April, 2010 - 12:38

True. That is the cool thing about taquete. If I get bored with the aliens, I just might. Matrix letters, anyone?

Space invaders!

Submitted by Anonymous on 12 May, 2010 - 04:55

Holy WOW that is awesome :) I would LOVE to do this kind of thing. The more I read on weaving the more shafts I want on a loom *wistful sigh*

Invaders

Submitted by Anonymous on 18 May, 2010 - 07:00

Not that it isn't FABULOUS just as it is, but do you have plans for the fabric?

Hmm, that makes perfect

Submitted by Anonymous on 19 May, 2010 - 08:49

Hmm, that makes perfect sense. The original Atari graphics were 8-bit. You can google "8-bit Invaders are Perfectly Formed" from Fashionably Geek for a tongue-in-cheek representation of the invaders. (I have no affiliation with that site whatsoever, by the way.)

I wonder....I could do this with some lashes that would pick up those rows. That would let me do 8-bit graphics on 8 shafts.

With the rest of your warp, you could start weaving another old classic game --Frogger!

Awesome !

Submitted by Ankauf-Videospiele (not verified) on 14 April, 2011 - 13:26

Great ! That Space Invaders I need too.

nice project

Submitted by A. Weaver (not verified) on 29 April, 2011 - 05:34

Hey it sounds really very interesting one as you have done different sort of project. This like project i have never seen before. Space invaders over some loom is really very new innovativ thing. Your work is really appreciable. military schools

You did make some interesting

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You did make some interesting points over there. Thanks a lot.

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Space Invaders...

Submitted by Bill hoppkins (not verified) on 24 May, 2011 - 01:06

That is a really nice game..

I enjoy it every time i play..

Also it relaxes my mind and is a bit competitve..

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The most popular arcade games

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The most popular arcade games ever made. Space Invaders was originally going to be called something completely different as the aliens were originally soldiers which you had to shoot down. Thanks for sharing the informative post. Regards,

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My earliest memory of Space

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My earliest memory of Space Invaders is playing on my parents' old PC when I was a young boy. The objective is to prevent any one of the aliens from landing on the bottom of the screen, which ends the game. The player has an unlimited ammunition supply.evening clutches

haha

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little space invaders have taken over my karate classes for kids I call them children. lol. The kids wear these little white suits and tied belts tha usualy karate gear.

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I wonder....I could do this

Submitted by Anonymous Mike (not verified) on 27 September, 2011 - 02:58

I wonder....I could do this with some lashes that would pick up those rows. That would let me do 8-bit graphics on 8 shafts.

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If you hate warping, might I

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