Scott & Deb's Place

An alternative notation for tablet weaving with 2 decks.

When tablet weaving complex patterns one frequently has to resort to splitting the cards into two decks. This is particularly applicable to double face weaves but can also be used for other complicated patterns. One then has to remember the turning order of both decks in addition to knowing when to move cards from one deck to the other. The following notation I developed after noticing certain patterns in the turning sequence of cards.

The typical notation for turning cards involves a simple F for forward and B for Backward. In a complex pattern, cards may be independently going both forward and backward at the same time. Going through a single deck, card by card, can be time consuming and prone to errors. When doing such patterns it becomes obvious that separating the cards into 2 decks, one for forward turning and one for backward turning, will alleviate some of the confusion.

In this 2-deck notation I will refer to the deck closer to the weaver as the front deck, and the deck further away as the back or rear deck. Where as a single deck can go only 2 directions, forward and back, the 2-deck structure allows for 4 possible combinations of simultaneous turning: both decks forward (F), both decks backward (B), front deck forward with rear deck backwards (D), and front deck backward with rear deck forward (U). The graphics below may better describe this motion than the words.

In this new system, there are now four terms for the turning of both decks simultaneously: Forward, Backward (both), Up, and Down. The first two terms refer to the decks moving in the same direction. The latter two refer to the apparent motion as seen from in between the decks. With Up, both decks are turning up in the middles, with Down, both decks are seen as turning down in the middle.

So what does all this mental juggling give you? Let's start with a simple double weave, say red and yellow. If we follow a simple turning pattern, 2 Up - 2 Down - Repeat, with the standard tie down, we get each deck continuously producing the same color, one red and one yellow. This is about as simple a turn sequence as you can get. With the turning out of the way you can now concentrate on the actual pattern, which at this point simply consists of switching cards from one deck to the other. On alternating turns you simply move cards back and forth between the red and yellow deck as needed.

It does take a little work to make a 2 deck draft out of a normal turning pattern and most people will find it useful only for simple double weave. With a little bit of work however, I was able to make a 2-deck draft out of Thora's Birka pattern. If you notice the original draft, there's a lot of turning in sets of 2, similar to the double weave above. I use this notation for my own pattern of the spiral trim that is on much of my garb. The patterns take some time to figure but they should speed up the actual weaving and help eliminate errors from getting lost in a complicated pattern.