These beautiful bands are one step up from plain weave bands in difficulty. It’s the first step into pickup. The patterns have a 6 row repeat with a pickup every three rows. There are a few patterns on Pinterest. I have them pinned in my Latvian Flower Pattern file which is within the Fiber Arts file.
I wrote directions for doing Latvian Weave for my students and will repeat it here.
I’m assuming you know how to read the threading pattern given at the bottom of the pattern. If you haven’t done this before, it’s quite easy. Start on the left hand side. Notice the pattern is a zig zag. It starts with 2 reds followed by 2 greens… when making your pattern, follow the same pattern. Put your colors down in a zig zag which stand for heddled and unheddled threads. If you will use a rigid heddle, look and see whether it starts with a slot or hole on the ends. Heddled are your holes and unheddled are the slots.
I always recommend recreating the pattern with your colors. Keep things as easy as possible. It only takes a few minutes and can save you a great deal of time and frustration.
Latvian flower patterns-
starts with a plain weave pattern
then every 3 rows there is a pickup
A pickup can be a thread pulled up, or
a thread pushed down
Look at the pattern and Choose 4 colors
Using graph paper, make your own threading pattern using your colors. Just substitute your colors for the original ones.
Lay out and Color in the pattern
Notice the outside threads are also the weft color. Make sure the weft color is the color in the center of the flower.
Look at the Pattern
Row 2 keeps the 2 center green up
Row 5 has a push down of the 2 center threads
Warp the 23 threads, set up weave
Reference to detailed notes (next pages)
starting on the correct shed, follow the pattern
Following the warping pattern above, remember to read the pattern on a zig-zag - red, red, green, green, yellow, yellow
Warp and set up your weaving
Weave about an inch plain
Look at your heddle - are the holes or slots on the outside?
directions are set up for holes on the outside.
this means - heddle UP is 2 threads wider than heddle down.
Look at your pattern.
Notice the odd rows are wider than the even rows
Therefore you will be heddle up on odd rows
and heddle down on even rows.
The pattern must begin on the correct row!
* The pattern begins on an UP row (row 1)
However, there is no pickup on this row
Weave it normally, but before changing sheds to Heddle down
Insert a skewer, knitting needle (we’ll call this the keeper)… under the two threads that will remain up in row 2 (the center green ones)
Pull the keeper down to the edge of your weaving
Now change sheds
Push your keeper up the warp to the edge of the heddle. This lifts those two threads up to the level of the UP threads
Place your beater through the shed and turn it vertical to hold the shed open
Pass the shuttle
Weave the next two row’s normally (no pickup)
Row 5 has a little red bar across the center two threads.
That is the weft.
Before passing the shuttle, use your pickup stick/beater to pull those two Threads down so the shuttle passes over them
To do this, pass the stick through the shed and up and over the two threads indicated, then back to the center of the shed and out the other side
Turn the stick vertical to hold the shed open
Pass the shuttle
The weft will appear above the two center threads
Weave the next two rows normally - no pickup
Repeat from * above for the remainder of the warp.
Pickup is the term used when threads are manipulated up and down during the weave. It can be very complex or very simple.
In my experience, the Latvian Flower Weaves all follow the same pattern with a pickup row every three rows. Here on rows 2 and 5.
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