Canvas Weave

I was looking through one of my weaving books on loom controlled lace and I was intrigued by canvas weave. I know you are thinking of a tent but that’s not the type of weave I’m talking about. This weave structure is used to make Aida cloth, so in reality if you cross stitch or do needle point you could make your own Aida cloth.

This is a very simple weave to create and works on the principle of basket weave. With the exception that there is a tabby stitch on the out side of the basket weave. The tabby is your grounding stitch and the basket weave creates the lace effect.

Another advantage with canvas weave is you get a doubled thread in the ground weave for even more textural interest. The double thread is unavoidable in true canvas weave so you need to plan accordingly when you are designing a piece with canvas weave in it.

As I mentioned before this is very simple to weave and very quick. My goal on this piece was to have just a subtle variation with the colors, which I achieved. But I also got a little extra texture element the neutral threads are just the slightest bit thicker. Which give this piece a perfect effect.

The book I was talking about is Handwoven Laces by Donna Muller and covers many other lace structures. This last picture shows a close up of the piece