Egyptian Sprang Cap

 Egyptian Sprang Cap - CE 400 to 699 AD, Whitworth Art Museum, Manchester UK

So this is how a fiber adventure starts. Somebody created a Pinterest page of Sprang pictures
http://pinterest.com/rosemaryeskew/sprang/

I post the link on the yahoo group Sprang_List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sprang_List/

One of the questions asked was "does anyone have a clue how the yellow is incorporated into this Egyptian piece? seen alone here:"
http://emu.man.ac.uk/emuwebwag/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=21756

Which is the cap pictured above. I would like to see the bottom edge but it is cropped out of the picture. I was poking around the the picture and it seemed like the yellow is a supplementary yarn.

If you would like to see how such a cap is constructed you should download this document (1.3MB MS Word Doc format)

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie/documents/Textiles_in_the_Petrie_Museum

It shows construction of common pieces of traditional Egyptian clothing. Including a sprang cap with twined edging. It even shows the gathering at the top and the rope securing it. So if twining is common maybe the yellow is supplementary yarn.

 So I enlarged and digitally enhanced the picture using a program called Photoscape. Above you can see the red/green creates the open mesh familiar as sprang. The yellow yarn seems to fill the gaps in the mesh created by the red/green yarn. I expect there are knots on the inside where the yellow yarn circles are made.

 Looking at enlargement near top of the cap you can see yellow stripes are part of the design. The top of the cap in this case is the "middle" of the sprang. So maybe the yellow yarns are carried along the inside of the cap, kind of like stranded knitting. It also looks like the yarns are somehow twined together then interlinked. This is a fascinating possibility of technique.

 Finally, I enlarged the right side edge to see how the side was sewn up. I can't see it very well, except that it appears to be less organized in that area than the rest of the piece.

So that is a short adventure in sprang. If you have any theories to share, feel free to comment.

Have good day!

EDITED TO ADD:
Sarah Goslee gave us this link on Sprang_List,
the yellow yarn kind of floats on the back side of the piece.

Collingwood describes it, and see also here:

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/donisfuff/coptic.html

Kelsey Museum of Archaeology - 202 Sprang Specimens
To view click on link below, 
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kelsey2ic?from=index;size=20;start=1;type=boolean;view=thumbnail;rgn1=ic_all;q1=sprang

Whitworth Art Musuem, click link below and enter "sprang" in search box
http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/collection/

SWSG Sat Aug 2012

Sacramento Weavers and Spinners Guild Saturday Group met on Aug 11 2012 at Arcade Library on Marconi St. We opened the meeting with a review of the upcoming events. Then we went around the circle with our "show and tell" period to catch up on each other's projects. I forgot my camera and had to use my phone camera. My apologies.

Upper left: Ardeth brought a rep weave made with rag weft. Upper right: Betsey brought a shawl she finished weaving. Lower left: Stephanie brought a cotton baby blanket she wove. Lower right: Lynn brought some little baby booties made with handspun angora rabbit fiber.

Then Connie gave us a class on Crochet basics.  Upper left: Connie in front of her multimedia presentation with computer videos to assist. Upper right: Lisa is experienced at crochet and cranks out the pattern easily. Lower left: Stephanie and Betsey work on the pattern. Lower right: I am making this look much more difficult than it is. I need a lot more practice. Also in attendance was Tanda, who could not stay long but she stayed long enough to learn how to crochet a simple edging for a dress she has knitted.

Connie also brought many samples of items crocheted as inspiration and evidence of the versatility of crochet. Also noted was the fact that crochet uses a lot of yarn making pieces weigh more compared to woven pieces of similar size. And yet crochet also creates fine lacy fabric.

One picture I did not get was of the awesome christening gown Connie is making. It is almost complete.

It was a good day!

Sprang Class Lambtown

I am scheduled to present a sprang class at Lambtown USA
Oct 6 2012, Dixon Calif.

We had a "test class" at my Saturday group and I'm confident I can get beginners started with a little sprang bag.

D-2 Sprang – A Twisted Adventure(2 hours)
Franco Rios
Saturday 9 am to 10:50 (pending)

Class description: “Sprang – A Twisted Adventure” is an introduction to the old string craft known as Sprang, which is a technique of interlinking yarns on simple frames to create an elastic fabric. Sprang was commonly used for different kinds of headgear, such as caps, hoods, bonnets, hairnets as well as for stockings, mittens, collars and sashes. Also for bags. Students will be introduced to the technique and shown how the sprang technique is worked on a small frame. At the end of the class student will have the makings for a small sprang bag. Materials for class will be provided. Students do not need to bring anything. All levels of experience are welcome.

Cost: $25
Experience: none .
Materials to bring: none

Class size limited to: 8, Will take walk in students up to the max of 8 students in class

See more classes at:

Go here to get application: http://www.lambtown.com/Applications/2011%20student%20registration.doc