Beyond Plain Weave on the Inkle: Part 2, Pebble Weave

Once you’ve mastered plain weave, there is a world of options for creating incredible designs in your inkle-woven bands. In my previous article, I wrote a bit about turned krokbragd (which you can also learn about in more depth in my video course) as well as simple and Baltic pick-up.

Another technique you’ll sometimes see is pebble weave—in fact, the Winter 2022 issue features a pebble-weave project on the cover! But what is pebble weave, and how do you use it on the inkle loom?

Allison Irwin used pebble weave to create the raised lettering pattern on her Folow Your Star Bookmarks.

Pebble Weave

Most commonly associated with South American countries and backstrap weaving, pebble weave is a style of bandweaving done around the world. Pebble weave uses the same weight yarns as Baltic-style pick-up with the pattern yarn being twice the size of the background yarn. Unlike Baltic pick-up where pattern threads are manipulated every pick, in pebble weave, a plain-weave shed alternates with pattern shed one and then pattern shed two.

In Baltic pick-up, a pair of background threads separates the pattern threads. In pebble weave, the background threads are all heddled and the pattern threads are unheddled. Traditionally, a wide range of patterns—including geometric, floral, human, and animal—can be woven. The back of the band shows the pattern as background, or in the negative, compared to the front of the band.

Onward!

While these are the most common pick-up methods, there are many others to explore. You can learn more about turned krokbragd, basic pick-up, Baltic pick-up, pebble weave, and other techqniues in the resources I’ve listed below.

Further Exploration

Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands by Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez
The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory by Anne Dixon
Baltic Style Weaving on the Inkle Loom by Marieke Kranenbur
Three-Color Pickup for Inkle Weavers by Annie MacHale
Norwegian Pick-Up Bandweaving by Heather Torgenrud
Andean Pebble Weave by Laverne Waddington