Second Year Placement at Whitchurch Silk Mill

Within the last few weeks of my second year I decided more textiles were needed, to keep me occupied whilst away from university over the summer. Being successful at interview after applying for a lottery funded opportunity, led to a wonderful experience in a gem of industrial heritage in Whitchurch Silk Mill, Hampshire. 

http://whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk

Between May and July of 2015 I worked full time with the mill staff, volunteers and three other weave students also on placement. My responsibilities included:

·         Warping, setting up and weaving on hand and industrial Victorian looms.

·         Guiding visitors; answering questions about the mill, silk and weaving.

·         Aiding mill events e.g.  charity fundraising ball and vintage fair.

·         Supporting in the shop and café.

Whitchurch Silk Mill complete with its bell tower and mill clock that stuck on the hour

Whilst at the mill I stayed with a lovely lady called Sue, one of its volunteers, who kindly let me have a room in her beautiful hare themed home five minutes from the mill. 

Whitchurch Silk Mill's fabrics have been produced since 1817 and historically have produced ribbons, surge and silk linings for Burberry and for lining legal gowns. They are renown for their quality and have been worn in a variety of films and productions. Their biggest claim to fame is the weaving of ribbons for part of Princess Diana's wedding dress. 

Below are a few pictures of the village of Whitchurch, the mill during my time there.

2015 placement students

Whitchurch Village- The whole village was teeny. It consisted of a cross road of quaint houses and shops

One of Whitchurch's two main roads

A beautiful cottage in the village complete with decorative mint green front door, little windows and wrought iron curled side gate

Another pretty little cottage in the village with quirky rectangular windows, high skirting and yellow paintwork

View from the top floor of the mill over the lawn, river and village

View from the mill's back lawn of the river (left) and a little duckling who got stranded alone in the complex systems of water flows around the mill to power it (don't worry, this little duck who'd lost his mum got sent to the RSPCB and found a new family)

  The bobbin winding system at the mill to prepare bobbins ready for their transfer to the creel (upside down boat below) to wind a new warp (permanent threads put on the loom to be woven with) (above x1) and complete silk bobbins (the mill only wove in silk) in a variety of colours (above)

 The creel (right) and warping mill (left) that form a warp ready to be woven complete with warp threads in the process of being wound (left) and the warp itself about to be wound onto the loom (right)

The mill's specialist warp being wound on the warping mill, 'The Peter Pilgrim Stripe', designed by the man himself. Weaves made from this warp were hugely popular when sold in the mill shop

The 'Peter Pilgrim Stripe' warp set up on the creel (left) and it being threaded into the reed  to ensure threads didn't get tangled when warping (right)

Creating a warp on the warping frame for loom demonstrations and for visitors to have a go (left) and a warp formed using colours inspired by the mill (right)

The one of the many working Industrial Victorian looms at the mill complete with the first version of 'The Peter Pilgrim Stripe' set up

Threading up one of the Victorian Industrial looms, for a commission to be woven at the mill. The process of setting up these looms took far longer than I had expected, it had taken mill staff three months before we'd arrived to do 1/4 of the warp's width!

A hand weaving harness loom, one of the three hand looms at the mill

 The tying plan for the countermarch loom of the ground floor of the mill. This was an eye opener as I had only used a single peddle loom with lags which hold the pattern for my weaves at university. When mill staff explained the peddle set up to get patterns it was far less complex than it appeared. I enjoyed setting it up and altering it to create an even shed when you press the peddle to allow passage of the shuttle and weft thread 

 Threading up of the harness loom upstairs at the mill, This was a challenge as the loom was hand made and the gap between the warping back beam and the reed (grate at the front) was huge.Two people were needed to set this loom up. Although starting in early summer it was hope that the labour intensive warp would be ready for the autumn, making its colours fitting for the coming season.

'Peter Pilgrim Stripe' warp threads on the industrial Victorian loom. You can't see the weaving very well as it was woven with the back of the cloth facing the weaver to protect it. The white colour seen over the warp is the weft. White was chosen as it lightens the darker blues of the warp threads.

The Mill's water wheel which powers the Mill's electricity when in operation.The water wheel isn't used at all times as it was discovered that the loom speed created by the water flow varied with rainfall and weather conditions. Modern electricity is far more efficient. Weaving with water power is less efficient levels but the water wheel is historically important for visitor satisfaction. Here you can also see staff greasing the wheel to maintain it.

A mill tour giving information silk and how its woven at Whitchurch Silk Mill

 Canapes made and served to visitors for the Mill's annual ball to raise money for charity. These were spinach and goats cheese on a biscuit base

 The vintage fair hosted to raise money for the Mill. This was one of the many events organised and run to bring custom to the Mill and village. The fair was lovely. It sold an array of chinaware, clothing, accessories and Mill produce.

I loved working at the Mill; the highlight of my time was learning about it's vintage looms ranging from Industrial Victorian to older hand looms including counter march and harness types. It was particularly fascinating learning how to set them up using ropes and weights and how to operate and maintain them with historic accuracy.

This experience was invaluable as it gave so many opportunities and tested me on so many levels with weaving technicalities and knowledge.

Working within the tourist industry in the cafe and shop were as important a part as working on the weaving machinery. This gave me basic customer skills for my future jobs at T K Maxx and the Mercure Hotel back at Leicester. 

Weaving with the mill's primary fibre, silk was particularly interesting as it was available for weaving projects at university. I realised its full potential upon seeing the weaves at Whitchurch Silk Mill. 

Historic silk production was very expensive.The threads are incredibly fine (as thin as one strand of hair) but very strong due to the way they are wound and set up on the loom. The blending of colours within warping and weaving is more exaggerated than other fibres due to the density of threads that can be put together to form new shades.  Factors such as the extraction of the fibre from the silk worm, sheen of the fibre and way it was spun all added to its cost and extravagance of the fabric. I didn't properly appreciate the expense of weaves woven at the mill prior to this opportunity.

I can't wait to get a job in textiles after this experience, it has really excited me for what's to come in my future working life.