how to weave overshot quotation

This post is the third in a series introducing you to common weaving structures. We’ve already looked at plain weave and twill, and this time we’re going to dive into the magic of overshot weaves—a structure that’s very fun to make and creates exciting graphic patterns.

Overshot is a term commonly used to refer to a twill-based type of weaving structure. Perhaps more correctly termed "floatwork" (more on that later), these textiles have a distinctive construction made up of both a plain weave and pattern layer. Requiring two shuttles and at least four shafts, overshot textiles are built using two passes: one weaves a tabby layer and the other weaves a pattern layer, which overshoots or floats, above.

Readers in the United States and Canada may be familiar with overshot textiles through woven coverlets made by early Scottish and English settlers. Using this relatively simple technique, a local professional weaver with a four-shaft loom could easily make a near-infinite variety of equally beautiful and complex patterns. If you’d like to learn more about overshot coverlets and some of the traditions that settlers brought with them, please see my reading list at the bottom of this article!

As it is twill-based, overshot will be very familiar to 4 shaft weavers. It’s made up of a sequence of 2-thread repeats: 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, and 1-4. These sequences can be repeated any number of times to elongate and create lines, curves, and shapes. These 2-thread repeats are often referred to as blocks or threading repeats, IE: 1-2 = block 1/A, 2-3 = block 2/B.

There are three ways weft appears on the face of an overshot cloth: as a solid, half-tone, or blank. In the draft image I’ve shared here, you can see an example of each—the solid is in circled in blue, the half-tone in red, and the blank yellow. Pressing down the first treadle (shafts 1 and 2), for example, creates solid tones everywhere there are threads on shafts 1 and 2, half-tones where there is a 1 or 2 paired with 3 or 4, and nothing on the opposite block, shafts 3 and 4. Of course, there’s not really nothing—the thread is simply traveling on the back of the cloth, creating a reverse of what’s on the face.

Because overshot sequences are always made up of alternating shafts, plain weave can be woven by tying two treadles to lift or lower shafts 1-3 and 2-4. When I weave two-shuttle weaves like overshot, I generally put my tabby treadles to the right and treadle my pattern picks with my left foot and my tabby with my right. In the draft image I’ve shared above, I’ve omitted the tabby picks to make the overarching pattern clearer and easier to read. Below is a draft image that includes the tabby picks to show the structure of the fabric.

Traditional overshot coverlets used cotton or linen for warp and plain weave wefts, and wool pattern wefts—but there’s no rule saying you have to stick to that! In the two overshot patterns I’ve written for Gist, I used both Mallo and Beam as my pattern wefts.

In the Tidal Towels, a very simple overshot threading creates an undulating wave motif across the project. It’s easy and repetitive to thread, and since the overshot section is relatively short, it’s an easy way to get a feel for the technique.

The Bloom Table Squares are designed to introduce you to a slightly more complex threading—but in a short, easy-to-read motif. When I was a new weaver, one of the most challenging things was reading and keeping track of overshot threading and treadling—but I’ve tried to make it easy to practice through this narrow and quick project.

Overshot works best with a pattern weft that 2-4 times larger than your plain weave ground, but I haven’t always followed that rule, and I encourage you to sample and test your own wefts to see how they look! In the samples I wove for this article, I used 8/2 Un-Mercerized Cotton weaving yarn in Beige for my plain weave, and Duet in Rust, Mallo in Brick, and Beam in Blush for my pattern wefts.

The Bloom Table Squares are an excellent example of what weavers usually mean when they talk about traditional overshot or colonial overshot, but I prefer to use the term "floatwork" when talking about overshot. I learned this from the fantastic weaver and textile historian Deborah Livingston-Lowe of Upper Canada Weaving. Having researched the technique thoroughly for her MA thesis, Deborah found that the term "overshot" originated sometime in the 1930s and that historical records variably called these weaves "single coverlets’ or ‘shotover designs.’ Deborah settled on the term "floatwork" to speak about these textiles since it provides a more accurate description of what’s happening in the cloth, and it’s one that I’ve since adopted.

Long out of print, this fabulous book covers the Burnham’s extensive collection of early settler textiles from across Canada, including basic threading drafts and valuable information about professional weavers, tools, and history.

This book contains the collected drafts and work of Frances L. Goodrich, whose interest in coverlets was sparked when a neighbor gifted her one in the 1890s. Full of charming hand-painted drafts, this book offers a glimpse into North Carolina’s weaving traditions.

Amanda Ratajis an artist and weaver living and working in Hamilton, Ontario. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design University and has developed her contemporary craft practice through research-based projects, artist residencies, professional exhibitions, and lectures. Subscribe to herstudio newsletteror follow her onInstagramto learn about new weaving patterns, exhibitions, projects, and more.

This post may help explain how my needle pillow cloth was woven. These pieces were made on the same warp. I had made a dozen or so pillow fronts and backs (in plain weave or tabby). Then I got creative and played with ideas of what else could be woven on the same warp. This is a scroll I made. I used the fabric I wove on the needle pillow warp for the background. It measures 7 ¾” x 26” including fringe.

I wove some samples and decided to make this for my scroll. The warp was handspun singles from Bouton. I wanted to see if I could use this fragile cotton for a warp. I used a sizing for the first time in my weaving life. The pattern weft is silk and shows up nicely against the matt cotton.

Here is a piece with two samples. The I used silk chenille that I’ve been hording dyed with black walnuts. In one part I used the chenille as the pattern weft. It looks similar to the needle pillows except I used only 1 block. The tabby was black sewing thread, I believe. For the flat sample, I used the reverse: the chenille for the tabby weft and the sewing thread for the pattern weft. Again I only used one of the blocks.

For this sample I used all sewing thread (easier with only one shuttle.) Again I used only one block and the pattern and tabby wefts were sewing thread. I do love to try things.

Warning!Sometimes the floating wefts don’t seem to meld together. See how the floats snug up to each other in the needle pillows and in the Chenille sample above? Read below.

This illustration and quote are in The Weaving Book by Helen Bress and is the only place I’ve seen this addressed. “Inadvertently, the tabby does another thing. It makes some pattern threads pair together and separates others. On the draw-down [draft], all pattern threads look equidistant from each other. Actually, within any block, the floats will often look more like this: [see illustration]. With some yarns and setts, this pairing is hardly noticeable. If you don’t like the way the floats are pairing, try changing the order of the tabby shots. …and be consistent when treadling mirror-imaged blocks.”

The origin of the technique itself may have started in Persia and spread to other parts of the world, according to the author, Hans E. Wulff, of The Traditional Crafts of Persia. However, it is all relatively obscured by history. In The Key to Weavingby Mary E. Black, she mentioned that one weaver, who was unable to find a legitimate definition of the technique thought that the name “overshot” was a derivative of the idea that “the last thread of one pattern block overshoots the first thread of the next pattern block.” I personally think it is because the pattern weft overshoots the ground warp and weft webbing.

Overshot gained popularity and a place in history during the turn of the 19th century in North America for coverlets. Coverlets are woven bedcovers, often placed as the topmost covering on the bed. A quote that I feel strengthens the craftsmanship and labor that goes into weaving an overshot coverlet is from The National Museum of the American Coverlet:

Though, popular in many states during the early to mid 19th centuries, the extensive development of overshot weaving as a form of design and expression was fostered in rural southern Appalachia. It remained a staple of hand-weavers in the region until the early 20th century. In New England, around 1875, the invention of the Jacquard loom, the success of chemical dyes and the evolution of creating milled yarns, changed the look of coverlets entirely. The designs woven in New England textile mills were predominantly pictorial and curvilinear. So, while the weavers of New England set down their shuttles in favor of complex imagery in their textiles, the weavers of Southern Appalachia continued to weave for at least another hundred years using single strand, hand spun, irregular wool yarn that was dyed with vegetable matter, by choice.

Designs were focused on repeating geometric patterns that were created by using a supplementary weft that was typically a dyed woolen yarn over a cotton plain weave background. The designs expressed were often handed down through family members and shared within communities like a good recipe. And each weaver was able to develop their own voice by adjusting the color ways and the treadling arrangements. Predominately, the homestead weavers that gave life and variations to these feats of excellent craftsmanship were women. However, not every home could afford a loom, so the yarn that was spun would have been sent out to be woven by the professional weavers, who were mostly men.

And, due to the nature of design, overshot can be woven on simpler four harness looms. This was a means for many weavers to explore this technique who may not have the financial means to a more complicated loom. With this type of patterning a blanket could be woven in narrower strips and then hand sewn together to cover larger beds. This allowed weavers to create complex patterns that spanned the entirety of the bed.

What makes overshot so incredibly interesting that it was fundamentally a development of American weavers looking to express themselves. Many of the traditional patterns have mysterious names such as “Maltese Cross”, “Liley of the West”, “Blooming Leaf of Mexico” and “Lee’s Surrender”. Although the names are curious, the patterns that were developed from the variations of four simple blocks are incredibly intricate and luxurious.

This is only the tip of the iceberg with regard to the history of this woven structure. If you are interested in learning more about the culture and meaning of overshot, check out these resources!

The National Museum of the American Coverlet- a museum located in Bedford, Pennsylvania that has an extensive collection of traditional and jacquard overshot coverlets. Great information online and they have a “Coverlet College” which is a weekend series of lectures to learn everything about the American coverlet. Check out their website - coverletmuseum.org

Textile Art of Southern Appalachia: The Quiet Work of Women – This was an exhibit that traveled from Lowell, Massachusetts, Morehead, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee, Raleigh, North Carolina, and ended at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland. The exhibit contained a large number of overshot coverlets and the personal histories of those who wove them. I learned of this exhibit through an article written by Kathryn Liebowitz for the 2001, June/July edition of the magazine “Art New England”. The book that accompanied the exhibit, written by Kathleen Curtis Wilson, contains some of the rich history of these weavers and the cloth they created. I have not personally read the book, but it is now on the top of my wish list, so when I do, you will be the first to know about it! The book is called Textile Art of Southern Appalachia: The Quiet Work of Women and I look forward to reading it.

Weaving Overshot with Madelyn Van Der Hoogt DVD 92 Minutes From heirloom coverlets to dazzling contemporary household textiles and garments, overshot is one of the handsomest of weave structures. Whether woven in miniature on a towel or largescale in a rug, overshot is striking. In this video, Madelyn van der Hoogt teaches everything you need to know to explore the many faces of overshot. You"ll learn: How to read, weave, and play with overshot drafts Techniques to achieve balanced patterns Why halftones happen, and how you can use them in your designs How to spot and weave overshot in rosefashion and starfashion How to combine overshot threading with other treadlings, with spectacular results Ideas for playing with color and materials Along with Madelyn"s video workshop, this DVD gives you a printable booklet on overshot weaving, complete with planning exercises, reference materials, and overshot projects you can learn from and use. Order your copy of Weaving Overshot today

Because I was so drawn to the beautiful earthy nature of this shield,I knew I just had to weave a table runner using similar colors.  I wondered if I could mimic the same feelings of texture in the personality of the shield.   That became my artistic challenge, to bring the look and feeling of this piece to a handwoven table runner.

As I began to plan the structure of the piece I knew that using an overshot technique for my weaving would probably give me the visual texture that I desired.

The overshot technique in weaving is accomplished by using two different thickness ofthread alternated in the weaving rows.  The pattern row is made using the thicker of the two threads and usually skips over several threads to achieve the desired pattern that you are weaving.  The thinner of the two threads is woven across the warp before and after each thicker pattern thread to “lock in” the pattern thread.  The thinner threads are woven in tabby (weaving speak for plain weave).

I feel that using the overshot weaving technique helped me to capture the textual feeling I wanted for this runner.    Here is how the project progressed and a list of the yarns that were used.

For the warp threads (threads going from the front to the back of the loom) and the tabby threads I used a dark brown cottolin yarn.  Cottolin yarn is made from 60% cotton and 40% linen.   The pattern thread used was an 8/4 cotton yarn.  The 8/4 refers to the size of the yarn.  The cotton yarn was about twice as thick as the cottolin yarn, thus the raised overall textural look and feel in the runner.

With the color pallet and types of yarn I chose and using the overshot technique, I felt like I was able to achieve the look that I wanted for this project.  What do you think??

Half way through  my weaving  I decided I wanted to add a little something special to the piece that would bring the cultural influence in the tribal shield that inspired me to create this project to begin with.  As I searched for that special something, I found a vendor on Etsy that imported fair trade beads from Africa.   Handmade metal and hand-carved bone beads.    I was pretty excited!   Special handmade beads from another artist to compliment a handmade runner, just what the runner needed forthat finishing touch.  When the beads arrived I laid them out on the runner that I was almost finished weaving and knew it was definitely the perfect accent!

Adding the beads to the finished runner was a long and tedious task but definitely worth the work, time and effort when I saw the finished project!!  Once the beading was finished all that was left was to do the finishing wash and block drying and trimming off any overlapped threads in the weaving.

I love how the runner turned out!  I feel it definitely has the look and feel of the inspiration photo.  This runner would look beautiful with many types of dishes or pottery.  Here is an example…..

After I finished this runner I decided to make this same style in a couple more colors.   In a future post I will show some pictures of those finished runners too.

I actually had some beautiful brass and bone beads leftover from my weaving projects so I made those into some fun jewelry pieces .  I’ll have some pictures of those in my next blog post.

Weave structures often have specific threading and treadling patterns that are unique to that particular weave structure and not shared with others. This book takes you out of the traditional method of weaving overshot patterns by using different treadling techniques. This will include weaving overshot patterns as Summer/Winter, Italian manner, starburst, crackle, and petit point just to name a few. The basic image is maintained in each example but the design takes on a whole new look!

Each chapter walks you through the setup for each method and includes projects with complete drafts and instructions so it’s easy to start weaving and watch the magic happen! Try the patterns for scarves, table runners, shawls, pillows and even some upholstered pieces. Once you"ve tried a few projects, you"ll be able to apply what you"ve learned to any piece you desire!

Advanced weavers with 8-, 12- or 16-harness looms will find a lot of useful information here. The purpose of this book is to present a number of weaves from which a wide range of designing is possible. Charts have been developed to assist in tying up, pegging or feeding the information to the computer so that precious time may be saved to apply to the designing aspect. Concepts are given in a terse but clear and to the point format eliminating the need for in-depth study. Once you understand the concepts you"ll understand many different multiple harness weave systems. After a short section explaining the Charts and Terminology used in the book, the author provides chapters that cover: Beiderwand, Crackle, Damask, Diaper Twill, Dimai, Double Two-Tie, Double Weave, Lace Weaves, Overshot, The Profile Draft, Summer & Winter, Tie-ups and Twills. There is a large bibliography for those who wish to do further study and a complete index at the end.

You can still buy titles in other formats (hardcover, paperback, audio CDs) with a Books on First gift card as well as buy a Books on First giftcard which we will send especially to that lucky recipient (free postage!).

“The Mermaid Scarf & the Freeform Overshot Technique" 20-page FULL COLOR eBooklet By Lisa Rayner NOTE: CHART NOT INCLUDED. Purchase the chart for my 2018 Mermaid Scarf 2.0 separately. This ebooklet is a freeform overshot technique primer that uses my 2015 Mermaid Scarf and five freeform overshot projects woven by other people around the world as examples. I wove my original Mermaid Scarf 1.0 with a PICK UP STICK on my 25-inch-wide Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom. Warp 3/2 weaving cotton, tabby weft 10/2 weaving cotton, pattern weft fingering wool singles. Watch my short freeform overshot video on my Lisa Rayner Handwoven"s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lisaraynerhandwovens. This booklet contains: * A detailed description of the weave structure of freeform overshot. * Close-up photographs of the BACK of my Mermaid Scarf showing design detail. * A description of my creative process and inventing the technique. * A detailed, easy-to-follow description of how to weave a Mermaid-style scarf of your own (no pattern chart). * Excerpts and photographs from blog posts I wrote while I was weaving the scarf. * Directions on how to apply the freeform overshot technique to any weaving project. * Photographs of freeform overshot scarves and comments from five other weavers. * How to use weaving software to design freeform overshot patterns. * How to weave freeform overshot-style patterns on a dobby loom. Handwoven magazine published my short article on my Mermaid Scarf in the Nov./Dec. 2015 issue. This ebooklet is MUCH longer, MORE detailed, and easier to follow than the magazine article. The article was only three pages long and the editors shortened my version of the article even further. This ebooklet is 20 pages long and includes a lot of written information and many color photos not included in the magazine article. Reading this eBooklet requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0 or newer. This booklet does NOT contain a Mermaid Scarf chart. In November 2018, I finally designed and charted a Mermaid Scarf 2.0. You can purchase this pattern chart separately in this shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/650996510/ebook-mermaid-scarf-pattern-20-freeform?ref=shop_home_feat_3&pro=1. A Mermaid Scarf Yarn Kit is also available. It includes the warp and tabby weft in different color choices and the Wisdom Poems sock yarn pattern weft included in the original: https://www.etsy.com/listing/651253852/mermaid-scarf-yarn-kit-only-yarn-only?ref=shop_home_feat_4. I also sell a COMPLETE kit that includes the Mermaid Scarf 2.0 Yarn Kit, Mermaid Scarf 2.0 chart, and freeform overshot ebooklet here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/654077978/complete-mermaid-scarf-20-freeform?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1. Do you wish you could weave fabric with complex Jacquard-like patterns? Do you like tapestry motifs, but want to weave wearable, drapeable cloth? You can weave such fabrics on any loom, from rigid heddle looms, pin looms, backstrap looms, and even full size inkle looms, to simple shaft looms, multishaft table and floor looms, and dobby looms using the freeform overshot technique. Most looms require freeform overshot to be woven with a pick up stick. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be duplicated, reprinted or shared electronically without written permission from the author, except for brief quotes and reviews. Respecting copyright supports the important work of authors. In addition, my patterns are for personal use only, not commercial use. Thank you.

The requirement was to take a "traditional" overshot threading, weave a repeat of that, then weave it in "rose" fashion, then in "monk"s belt" fashion. (There were other options as well, but this is what fit on the scanner flat bed. Besides, it"s the "star" and "rose" fashions I want to talk about here.)

Not every overshot draft can be effectively converted to "rose". If you look at the above photo, the top design has very strong diagonal lines running through the entire motif. The middle sample, has very strong circles in the design - the "rose".

An overshot threading can be woven in other weave structures. If the design has small units/blocks, it can be woven in a 2:2 twill, lacey, honeycomb along with others.

Overshot is characterized by areas of floats (generally considered the design/motif), half-tones and plain weave. Larger sized designs may have very long pattern floats, so sometimes the pattern float is tied down so that there is no plain weave area as such, but only the floats and half-tones.

When going to overshot on eight shafts, it is possible to have no half-tones at all, or weave the overshot motif in double weave so that you don"t have long floats, but still retain the motif. Much like I have been taking overshot motifs and converting them to twill blocks (because I have the 16 shafts needed to do that.)

I frequently use the traditional Snail"s Trails and Cat"s Paws motif for tea towels. It"s a fairly large motif which has a strong graphic look to it.

The warp on the loom right now is the Canadian Snowflake twill (derived from the 8 shaft Swedish Snowflake into a four shaft twill) which I converted into twill blocks.

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Lots of people think that overshot must be a complicated 8-shafts-and-above weave structure, but that is far from true. Most overshot designs can be woven on 4-shafts, and once you get into a weaving rhythm of pattern-tabby-pattern-tabby, weaving goes smoothly as the beautiful patterns emerge on your loom. That said, designing and weaving overshot requires a bit more concentration than plain weave.

Here are five tips from designer Pattie Graver, author of Next Steps in Weaving, to ensure great overshot results. The first three are probably ones you’ve already heard about weaving other structures, but the last two are about looking at overshot designs and color choices in a mindful way.

I follow the advice of Helene Bress in The Weaving Book: “Identify a diagonal line that appears in the cloth as you weave and try to keep that at 45 degrees.” I keep a protractor by my loom!

Consider putting on at least an extra yard of warp in order to get a feel for the draft. This will allow you to test for proper beat, colors, and other “what-ifs.” I often put on a 6-yard warp and use at least half of the warp for sampling.

You may wish to choose a different starting/stopping point than the one specified. As you study the drawdowns, you will discover that some drafts have small sections that can be woven separately from the overall design.

A small portion of the overall pattern makes a nice border on this Primrose Table Runner designed by Norma Smayda and woven by Ann Rudman, Handwoven November/December 2017. Photo by George Boe.

If warp and pattern weft are too close in value, the overshot designs will not appear in strong contrast. Remember, too, that the eye follows light, so bits of lighter pattern weft add interest to the cloth.

Debbi Rutherford used name drafting to create this overshot pattern and then used a variegated yarn for her pattern weft. Handwoven January/February 2017. Photo by Joe Coca.

Today, I completed my reading of “Next steps in weaving” by Pattie Graver. I am glad that I picked up this book at my local library because I found it to be filled with a logical step by step process of learning about structures using a 4 shaft table loom.  The Book covers Twill, Color-and-Weave, Overshot including Mok’s Belt, Summer and Winter, Lace – both Atwater Bronson and Huck.

In each chapter Pattie explains the new structure in detail and presents both a sampler project and a functional project for the weaver to complete. The samples are going to weave up in an afternoon or evening, the projects will take a bit longer. The goal of the book is to have the weaver get used to making samples that are completed separate from a project warp, and are used to explore the inner workings of pattern design possibilities using only changes in structure.

The project that I will be completing from this book are the samplers. I have been weaving on 8 shafts or more for a while I have yet to explore all of these structures on a 4 shaft loom.

My favorite project to try will be the shadow weave. In this book Pattie Graver provide a very thorough explanation  of how Shadow weaves can be created from twill drafts. I have not seen this type of explanation before.