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Cloqué &
Deflected Double Weave
By Holly Brackmann
Weaver’s,
Issue 44, Summer, 1999, p. 66-67.
Cloqué, from the French term for "blistered," causes
cellulose fibers such as cotton or linen to shrink violently, producing
some interesting bumps, folds and distortions when woven in combination
with other non-shrinking fibers. Cloqué is an industrial
technique introduced to American textile artists by joy Boutrup,
a textile engineer at the Denmark Design School.
The cloqué technique
used for the samples in this article involves immersing the woven
fabric in a lye (sodium hydroxide) solution. Natural cellulose fibers
such as cotton and linen shrink when exposed to lye solutions but
are not damaged. Some types of viscose (rayon) dissolve completely
in the process; silk and most synthetics are not damaged and do
not shrink.
Cloqué produces
results that are more pronounced and is effective with different
fibers than wet finishing alone. (see Vicki Masterson’s article
"Texture with Deflected Double Weave," Weaver’s,
issue 44, Summer, 1999, p. 64-65).
Deflected Double Weave
Open or loosely woven fabrics work best with cloqué, since
they allow fibers to shrink and more. Deflected double weave (see
Weaver’s, issue 44, Summer, 1999, p. 54-58) is an ideal structure
for this technique. Long floats connect loose areas of plain weave
in two distinct layers. A fiber that shrinks can be used for one
of the layers, causing the fiber in the other layer to move and
contort. The float areas allow maximum movement to occur.
The samples shown here
are woven using the deflected double weave draft. The warp for one
of the layers is 302 natural silk sett at 40 epi (4 ends in each
block) and for the other 20/2 navy blue cotton at 20 epi (6 ends
in each block). Weft fibers and treadling orders vary for each sample,
both of which affect the resulting distortions.
The Samples
In Sample a the treadling is "as-drawn-in,’ and the same
fibers are used in
the weft as in the warp.
Sample b also uses the
same fibers for the weft as in the warp but varies the treadling
order of the blocks, creating different color interactions.
Sample c substitutes
linen for the navy cotton in the weft. Since linen
contracts more violently in lye than cotton, shrinkage is most evident
in this
piece.
In the lower half of
Sample d the weft materials are the same as in the warp; in the
upper half poly-metallic threads are substituted for the silk weft.
Thetreadling order (d) produces stripes of light-colored wavy fibers
that seem to float on a smooth dark background.
Sample e substitutes
4 strips cut from a marbled silk scarf in place of the silk weft
to produce a much bolder pattern than in Sample a, which uses the
same ‘as-drawn-in’ treadling.
Sample f substitutes
gold gimp for the silk in the weft. It shows the most extreme distortions
in the weft since the gold gimp does not shrink at all but instead
twists and contorts between the areas where it is held in place
by the silk warp. Both Samples c and f use the same treadling order
but look very different because of the rigidity of the gold gimp
weft in contrast to the softness of the silk weft.
The Cloqué
Process with Lye
This
is a dangerous process and should be used with extreme caution.
Fabrics are immersed in a 20-33% lye to water solution. Lye is extremely
caustic and great care must be taken to protect eyes, hair, skin,
and nails. Wear goggles, an apron, respirator, and gloves. Add the
lye gradually to the water in a plastic tub (approximately 12 oz.
Red Devil brand lye to 2 cups of water).
The mixture will become
very hot due to the exothermic chemical reaction. Allow the solution
to cool below 70 degrees F. before using.
Put the lye tub within
another tub of cold water to cool the mixture more quickly. While
still wearing your goggles, gloves and respirator, place the fabric
in the lye solution, and watch the immediate shrinking action. Hold
the fabric over the lye solution and squeeze out the excess lye
solution. Place the fabric in a second plastic container filled
with running water to rinse thoroughly.
Take care to avoid splashing.
Finally, place the fabric in a third plastic container filled with
2 teaspoons acetic acid to 1 gallon water. The acid solution will
neutralize the residual lye. The fabric will feel slippery until
the lye has been neutralized.
Once the slimy feeling
is gone, wring out and rinse the fabric in running water. Leftover
lye can be used again, but should be properly labeled and covered
when not in use. Lye must be very diluted before putting down the
drain, followed by an acetic acid bath to neutralize the drain.
To learn to work with
lye solutions, it is best to take a workshop in the technique and
become familiar with safety precautions and proper handling.
Originally
published with weaving drafts and photographs in
Weaver’s,
Issue 44, Summer, 1999, p. 66-67.
Reprinted in The Best of Weavers; Fabrics That Go Bump, XRX,
Inc.,
2002, p. 94-95.
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