Glamp Shawl

Gamp isn’t a word you hear too often so it may need explaining: A gamp is a woven study of color interaction and/or weave structure. For this Glamp color-and-weave Shawl, Deb Essen played with two sections of warp stripe patterns using two colors and then used the same two colors in her weft in seven different weft patterns to create a wearable gamp of color-and-weave patterns. The Glamp Shawl shows that plain weave can be anything but plain!

The color-and-weave patterns in the shawl look complex, and to be sure, they do take a bit more concentration than warping and weaving with only one color, but the end result is well worth it. You’ll get all kinds of ideas for future projects as you work on this shawl, and you may even get a few while you wear it. Color-and-weave creates great patterning on towels, scarves, and anything else you might want to weave.

Deb Essen uses color-and-weave to create patterns that only look complicated to weave.

Deb used a knitting yarn with some stretch in it and advises anyone weaving the shawl to keep that in mind when warping and weaving. You don’t want to pull individual ends while warping or warp it too tightly. You also need to be careful when weaving so you don’t beat your weft too hard, or you will lose some of the beautiful patterning.

To finish her glamorous shawl, Deb kept the fringe long and then tied it with alternating knots adding beads as she did so. It makes an interesting and fun end to a thoughtful study of color-and-weave. Find it today in Easy Weaving with Little Looms 2018.

Project at a Glance:

Equipment needed: Rigid-heddle loom, 17" weaving width; 10-dent heddle; 2 stick shuttles.

Yarns: Bearfoot (Mountain Colors).