Finished Bedford Cord samples

This photo shows 2 finished Bedford Cord samples side by side. The picture on the left has a mixture of aqua and pink, aqua and red and aqua and purple weft pairings, whilst that on the right has a mixture of lime green and orange, lime green and red and all red wefts.

The picture above, whilst not very sharply in focus, shows how altering the treadling sequence and colour sequence affects the appearance of the finished cloth. The sample is turned 90 degrees, and the section to the left uses the traditional Bedford Cord treadling which weaves two picks of the odd numbered cords with one weft colour, followed by 2 picks of the even numbered cords (or alternate ones if there is an odd number of cords overall!) with a second weft colour. Where tiny red triangles can be seen at either side of each cord rib, (top and bottom of the ribs in this photo) this is where the red wefts and green wefts intersect in the grooves as plain weave. In the picture to the right, one pick of one colour alternates with the next pick in the second weft colour with a treadling which weaves one pick each of adjacent cord ribs alternately. Here, the intersections in the grooves are slightly different as a result-they are no longer a true plain weave and the ribs do not appear quite as pronounced-personally I prefer the appearance of the version on the left, although the second version is easier to beat evenly.