Finger-Manipulated Weaves-Part 4
This post is the fourth in the series, looking at finger-manipulated weaving techniques. The first post described the general attributes of these weaves and the methods of leno and Mexican lace. The following post looked at Spanish Lace. The last post was Brooks Bouquet. Today is the decorative technique of Danish Medallions.
The basic Danish Medallion uses a button-hole type stitch to create rounded groupings of plain weave. The magic happens when these groupings are outlined with a different color or a heavier design thread. Sounds simple enough, yet there is opportunity for so much variation, as you’ll see in the following samples.
Samples
As with the samples in the previous two posts, the warp and weft are 8/2 unmercerized cotton, natural (3360 yd/lb) sett at 20 epi. The warp is threaded as a straight draw and treadled as plain weave. I used a variety of weft for the outline thread - (below from left to right): 8/2 cotton (natural, medium green, hunter green); 10/2 cotton (hand-dyed with weld); handspun wool (multicolor)
A single row of medallions would make a nice border at the ends of scarves, towels, curtains, or table runners. Danish Medallions can also be an all-over design. In my sample below, I wove rows of alternating offset medallions. Removing the plain weave between the rows would create a “brick” look.
Danish Medallions can be combined with other finger-manipulated lace weaves to create more elaborate borders. Here, I added a row of 2/2 leno between rows of medallions.
A Deily Medallion is a variation where several loops of the design thread radiate from one point. I created a little flower border with two colors of outline weft. I added a tiny bead to accentuate the flower’s center. The downward pointing outline threads are referred to as crow’s feet or chevrons.
Another pretty variation is to change the weft color that fills the inside of the medallions. The outline yarn is medium green and the fill weft is yellow. I combined rows of medallions with 2/2 Mexican lace. The outcome is an attractive lacy fabric.
This last sample has a lot going on, really too much for my taste. However, it demonstrates a lot of different ideas to incorporate into Danish Medallion designs.
The medallions are stacked on top of each other, staggering their placement.
Thick handspun is used for the outline thread. The thicker the outline thread, the more pronounced the design, and using a heavier yarn makes a textured cloth.
In the center row, the weft fill is woven on opposites with two colors.
Additional Features of Danish Medallions:
It can work on any warp threading that can weave plain weave.
It is excellent for two-sided articles as the design looks the same on the front and back of the cloth.
It can be used instead of hemstitching on the end of the fabric to keep it from unraveling.
More Variations
Vary the width and height of the medallions. Weaving more weft picks between the outline threads makes fatter medallions. Weaving over more warp threads will make longer medallions.
Tightly cinch the outline thread, creating rounder shapes and a lacier appearance.
Add multiple beads for decoration, weight, and movement; this is especially nice on shawls.
Resources
Best, E. (2005). Lace by hand [free E-book available here]. great resource for all the finger manipulated lace weaves
Bixler, S. Danish medallion [Video]. Long Thread Media Courses. https://learn.longthreadmedia.com/courses
Patrick, J. (2010). The weaver’s idea book. Interweave. Chapter 2 Finger-Controlled Weaves-Danish Medallions, 47-52.
Spady, R. (2021, MJ). Danish Medallion. Heddlecraft, 16-25.
In the final post of the series, we’ll look at combining all of the finger-manipulated techniques into a project.
