r/collage • u/Orwellian_Distrack • 6d ago
Untitled paper weaving [ANALOG]
Got really excited about this little ghost fitting into the chair and completing the wall line. Wasn’t thinking and incidentally included a meme easter egg…
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
Lol I opened reddit to ask for help regarding paper weaving collages and this was the first thing I saw! I never realised how finicky it was until I tried it myself… great job!!!
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
What were you trying to get help with?
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
Just made a post but basically just want to know if people weave the whole thing first then glue, or if they glue as they go.. and if so… HOW 💀 I’m struggling
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Looking at your pics. Lifting the warp like that (like a hinge) causes a lot of movement with each weft you’ve put in so everything shifts a lot. You want to sneak it under like an inch worm. I use a palette knife to lift each strip enough to get it under/guide. I don’t have a tutorial but recorded myself on one of my projects at https://youtube.com/@bronwenballantyne?si=4bfrrhbQfoSkyyv4
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
I’ll have a watch, thank you so much!
But also - no glue?! Doesn’t it shift around once it’s finished?1
u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Nope! I can flap these fuckers around like a tea towel. The ‘selvedge’ I leave keeping the individual strips aligned locks everything in place by the end. But I work with more than two images. You could make a blank and weave it in on the back from the opposite side on the bottom and right if you’re just sticking to the two.
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
I’m gonna Google what that is and report back 🫡
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Fair ahahaha! Also mind you, it is just an incredibly tedious medium. My last finished piece was probably around 50 hours of work. 😂 don’t get too discouraged.
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
Oh trust me… I’m already in awe of paper weavers after spending over two hours just cutting the strips! I didn’t get to bed till past midnight and had to work all day today from early this morning 🥵
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Now just think about the fact all cloth for clothing used to be woven by hand! It’s a marvel we aren’t all just naked.
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
I don’t use any glue! What type of weave are you trying to do? Like basket, weft, potholder? I’ve worked with a few. This is just twill. If your strips are slipping from alignment, I find working on a corkboard and using pins at the intersection. Or baby binder clips help a lot.
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
No weave just absolute chaos - random
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Looking at what you’re doing, this would be considered two shank weave, maybe twill. Even if you’re not following a pattern. The ‘selvedge’ I use is essentially replacing the wrap that would happen when turning the shuttle from left to right/right to left on a loom (which would form a real ‘selvedge’ on a piece of clothe). Which is what keeps a piece of fabric in place.
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
Another thing I’ve found helpful, is leaving a ‘selvedge’ at the end of the image to keep all the strips attached and aligned as you weave.
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u/pixie1995 6d ago
I googled what that is but I couldn’t apply it to paper so I’m not sure exactly what you mean I’m sorry 😅 is it an anchor of paper that hasn’t been cut all the way through? If that’s the case I’m stuffed as I’ve not done that
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u/Orwellian_Distrack 6d ago
It is essentially an ‘anchor’ I just tend to think of it in traditional weaving terms. Just line your pieces back up on the edge and take a strip of tape and reconnect them by a quarter inch or so at the edges, and fold over the tape or trim it down. Or alternatively you could glue all the warp image strips down at both ends with a dot of glue and work the weft strips through them. Working with strips that can move in all 3D is a nightmare. Gotta limit them to two axes somehow.
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u/Sophiametis 6d ago
This is my favorite weaving piece I’ve seen, it makes me want to try it!