Two Colour Tablet Woven Swirls

This pattern is a good introduction to more difficult patterns like Ram's Horn.
It looks like a complex pattern but is deceptively easy to weave; since most of the "pattern" is actually an optical illusion.

You can download this draft as a TDD file by clicking here

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials:

8 4-holed tablets 

16 red threads 

16 black threads

Weft thread in either red or black

Thread your tablets as shown in the threading diagram at the bottom of the draft. For the first four turns, turn every tablet backwards (towards you if you are sitting so that the woven band will be between you and the tablets). For the next four turns, tablets 1, 2, 7 and 8 will continue to turn backwards and tablets 3 to 6 will turn forwards. To help you remember which direction each tablet needs to turn you can push tablets 3 to 6 along the warp away from your body (forwards).
You will now have two groups of tablets, tablets 1,2, 7 and 8 and tablets 3 to 6. Turn those close to you backwards and those away from you forwards until you have completed four turns, then slip tablets 3 to 6 back to their original places in the pack. Repeat these steps until the woven band is long enough. For a wider band, use a multiple of six plus 2 tablets, so for a band with 3 pattern repetitions across the width, use 20 tablets.

The text version of this draft is as follows:

• Threading:
1. Z threaded tablet
   1. Black (#000000)
   2. Red (#ff0000)
   3. Black (#000000)
   4. Red (#ff0000)
2. Z threaded tablet
   1. Red (#ff0000)
   2. Black (#000000)
   3. Red (#ff0000)
   4. Black (#000000)
3. Z threaded tablet
   1. Black (#000000)
   2. Red (#ff0000)
   3. Black (#000000)
   4. Red (#ff0000)
4. Z threaded tablet
   1. Red (#ff0000)
   2. Black (#000000)
   3. Red (#ff0000)
   4. Black (#000000)
5. Z threaded tablet
   1. Black (#000000)
   2. Red (#ff0000)
   3. Black (#000000)
   4. Red (#ff0000)
6. Z threaded tablet
   1. Red (#ff0000)
   2. Black (#000000)
   3. Red (#ff0000)
   4. Black (#000000)
7. Z threaded tablet
   1. Black (#000000)
   2. Red (#ff0000)
   3. Black (#000000)
   4. Red (#ff0000)
8. Z threaded tablet
   1. Red (#ff0000)
   2. Black (#000000)
   3. Red (#ff0000)
   4. Black (#000000)
• Turning:
1. 8F
2. 8F
3. 8F
4. 8F
5. 2F 4B 2F
6. 2F 4B 2F
7. 2F 4B 2F
8. 2F 4B 2F

(This pattern was originally published in the November 2012 Baelfyr)

As with all of the free patterns on this site, you are welcome to weave them, sell bands woven using them, and use them to teach other weavers, just as long as you state where you found them.