I am conducting experiments in chambray. A traditional cloth of plain weave in two colors, but finding my own pairings beyond the standard blue-and-white. I have set out to test first the yellows, creating a color gamp that shifts between yellows, golds, and peachy apricots.

I warped my tiny sample loom in a sequence using four distinct shades of yellow. For the weft I wove the same sequence in the four yellows to see the true solid shades on the diagonal, then I introduced white — the traditional chambray partner — see how it tones down the yellows to unique pale versions? I then wove in subtle pale pink, which created a soft cross-weave that gently changed the yellow to apricot, and a deeper pink to a beautiful terracotta.

Because chambray is a plain weave, the weft and warp threads are equal, so in a balanced weave the new color should be a perfect mix of two. When the pink wefts interlock with the four shades of yellow warp, they don’t fight for dominance, instead, they melt into each other… the bright yellows soften, the pinks lose their coolness, and a rich, glowing spectrum of new colors emerge. This color gamp shows how yellow isn’t just a single note … with the right chambray pairings, it is a chameleon.

Chambray — a new category in my cloth weaving exploration where I refine color blending, and something I can easily do now thanks to my little Ashford sample loom, I am ready to pair up colors and see them come alive, so excited about my summer “gamping” trip!

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣

Although its just a sample, a color gamp, to show how the different colors look together, I need to list the exact colors I used so that I can come back to this and repeat. Also, just a weaving critique, I suspect that 30epi is too dense for 16/2 cotton, because the tell-tale “collapsed weave” is happening, that mottled unevenness, where the yarn doesn’t “bloom” evenly due to the too-close sett.

• Yarn: 16/2 cotton from Bockens, warped in a sequence of yellows; 104, 101, 2030, 0020. I then wove the same sequence in the weft first, before weaving with natural 2000, pale pink (468) and rose (471).
• Loom: Ashford 10″ Sample Loom
• Warping method:  Direct warp method, threaded through two 15 dent reeds.
• Sett on loom: 30epi