Advanced Card Weaving: Birka 12

Here's another fun pattern for you history buffs!  This is Birka find #12

This person (Russian, if I figure it correctly) has already mapped out this pattern pretty clearly, it's just a matter of knowing how to read the thing.

Warp your cards like it shows above.  Turn your cards to the AD "home" position.

Turn all the cards four quarter-turns forward, passing the shuttle between each turn.

When you have returned to the home position, you will split the deck.  Turn cards 1, 8-13 forward (away from you); 2-7 back (toward you).  You will do this for three quarter-turns.

Then...reverse!  Turn cards 1-7 forward; 8-12 back; and 13 forward.  You will do this for three quarter-turns, back to the home position.

Repeat the pattern--four quarter-turns forward, then the split pack.

As you can see, this means that the 1 and 13 cards are always turning forward...the rest of the cards will be turning four quarter turns forward at the end of every pattern.  This results in a great deal of twist in the threads, which you will have to eventually deal with.  About every yard and a half of completed weaving, I will untie the knots (one card at a time) and untwist.  It's just the way this pattern works.  I often will turn the 1 and 13 cards with the cards adjacent to them, which still builds up a twist, but not at twice the speed.

Here's mine, in progress...


And finished!