, one-by-two;
, two-by-one; and
, two-by-two (27 in. × 26 in. over all).
In specimen 4-3890a the warps were grouped in pairs throughout the breadth of the cloth. In the first eight and one-half inches of the length, the weft is single and for the remaining fifteen and one-half inches the wefts are paired. This results in plain-weave variations of two-by-one, or semibasket weave, and two-by-two, or basket weave.
In setting up the loom for specimen 4-4056, twelve inches of the breadth were warped with units of single 2-ply warp yarns ([fig.6], right) and the remaining fourteen inches were set up for units of twin warps ([fig.6], left). Several plain-weave variations were found. The weaver introduced single and twin wefts at irregular intervals throughout the length of the cloth. Therefore, in the portion where the single warp unit interlaces with single wefts, a simple one-by-one, or plain weave results; where the single warp unit interlaces with twin wefts, a one-by-two, or semibasket weave occurs. In the portion of the breadth where warps are paired, interlacings of two-by-one, or semibasket weave, and two-by-two, or basket weave, occur.
Owing to the difference in length between the two side edges of specimen 4-4056, the weaver started making adjustments before she had woven half the length of her cloth. In order to restore a working edge at right angles to her warps, she introduced incomplete or fill-in wefts; that is, weft yarns entered on the long side and carried a distance across the web and then turned back in the next shed ([pl. 8],a). The largest number of fill-in wefts occurs roughly at a point about a third up from the end. Here, seven wefts were introduced, one after the other, all entering from the same side of the web ([pl. 5],e). The distance across the web that these various wefts were carried ranges from ten to twenty inches. At each turning point of the weft there is a kelim slit.
STITCHERY
Three very familiar needle techniques occur on the Chincha plain-weave cloths. Breadths are seamed together with whipping stitches or running stitches, or are laced together with the antique seam, often called the baseball stitch ([pl. 8],d). The effects vary with the depth and tightness of the seaming. Some of the whipping stitches are left loose so the two breadths lie flat, their selvages barely touching; other stitches are drawn so tightly that the selvages form a ridge ([pl. 5],b). The smallest stitches are taken under two or three warps less than one-eighth inch deep and about one-eighth inch apart. Deeper stitches found on the coarse wrappings and one bag (4-3889) range from a quarter-inch to three-eighths of an inch in depth and the same distances apart.