I’ve been wanting to attempt making sprang fabric for awhile now. I even made a small sprang loom from a trimmed elm branch. Sprang is a type of weaving where all the threads are warp threads (vertical), with no weft (horizontal). The threads are twisted around each other and the fabric is worked from the top or bottom simultaneously (what is done with threads at the top happens in opposite to the threads at the bottom). AI tells me that sprang dates back to the bronze age, although it seems like the summary was gleaned from Wikipedia, which at least gives me a list of references that confirm this art is ancient.

I had some #10 crochet cotton next to my chair (crochet is probably my youngest craft), so decided to use that after watching a video from Sally Pointer, who is an accomplished heritage educator.

I achieved several rows without too much panic, but then the fabric started to make a hard bias twist that made it difficult to sort where the threads needed to go. I gave up and removed it from the loom, took a picture, and consulted a Sprang group on FB.

I was assured that twisting is what sprang does, and to try wool which blocks very well. While scanning the group posts, I also noticed that some weavers secure the edges to the loom periodically, which would also help manage the twist. I was told that narrow bands are particularly susceptible, and another way to manage the phenomenon is to switch twist direction, which is a more advanced technique. I have my marching orders.