Skip to main content

Support

thread count 4x5.jpg

Magnified ruler for counting threads

The painting support is a woven textile. The simple “plainweave” structure has one weft thread repeatedly passing over one warp thread and then under one warp thread. Like bedsheets, the “threadcount” indicates the number of threads per unit of measure. The number of threads counted on the painting using a magnified ruler is approximately 30-32 per centimeter.

Fiber PLM.jpg

Cotton fibers seen through a microscope.

Tiny samples (1-2mm long) of the warp and weft threads were examined under a microscope with light passing through the sample. The long ribbon-like fibers have a relaxed twist, characteristic of cotton.