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Weaving Blankets on a Narrow Loom

2013-05-23T18:49:00Z

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Hi Madelyn!

I read with interest the info about the new Blankets and Throws on Four Shafts eBook. My widest loom is only 36" wide. Can I weave any of the projects on that loom or on my Baby Wolf?

—Sarah

Hi Sarah!

I should have addressed that question in the Weaving Today post about the eBook and also in the introduction to it. By definition, a blanket or a throw tends to be a wide sort of cloth. But because many of us don't have looms that are 60" wide, the designers of these projects also had relatively narrow looms. As a result, all but two of the projects have weaving widths of 36" or narrower. None, however, are as narrow as 25"; so you can't weave them exactly as they were designed on your Baby Wolf. You can eliminate repeats or parts of color orders (even though a piece 25" wide is not what we would normally call a blanket or throw). A better option for that loom is to weave them in two or more panels and sew the panels together. You have to do a bit of calculating: how to reduce/adapt the number of threading repeats or color orders in the warp and how much warp length to add to weave two panels instead of one.

When you weave the first panel, you'll also need to keep track of exact sizes of any pattern repeats or color orders in the weft so that when you weave the second panel, you can match those sizes. When you sew the two panels together, use a figure-eight stitch and the same yarn as in the piece, stitching under a warp thread on one selvedge, then up, and then up and over the edge to go under a warp thread on the other selvedge, then up. You can usually ease in any slight variation between the two pieces as you sew, and wet-finishing and pressing will take care of small irregularities.

Another option, if you have eight shafts, is to weave the blanket in two layers on the loom (what we often call "doublewide"). This presents some drafting challenges. To learn more about doing that, you can start with the eBook Doubleweave, Doublewidth! I like to think of the eBooks as great ways to learn about a technique in depth, not just as collections of projects—as springboards for getting a cloth you want on the loom you have, not just reproducing what someone else has done.

I hope you'll weave a blanket!

—Madelyn

Winding Multicolored Warps

2013-05-22T09:03:00Z

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Hi Madelyn!

I am winding a warp for the Sotis Cloth table runner from the most recent Handwoven(March/April 2013, pages 30–31). Is there any way to wind this warp besides tying on one color to the other at each color change (there are three colors in this warp)? I can see that doing it this way will be a slow go. I have looked through all my weaving books for a reference to this issue but don’t see one. Thanks for any help you can offer.

—Susan

Hi Susan!

If you warp front to back, you can sometimes wind each color as a separate warp chain and then sley each chain separately, putting the threads of each color where they need to go in the reed. This only works for sleying orders that make it possible to figure out where each color goes in the reed, however. Since in this draft, there are places where 3 ends of a color are threaded and the sleying order is 4/dent, figuring out where to sley the colors separately would probably be a nightmare.

So, I'd wind the colors in the designated order as a single chain. But I never cut and tie as I change colors. Just wind the ending thread 4 or 5 times around the peg where it ends to secure it (either the start peg or the end peg). When you need to use that color again, simply pick it up and continue, leaving the windings on the peg. When you take the warp off the warping board, you just cut the loops at both the start and end pegs and the extra windings will all fall out. (If you are a back-to-front warper, this will mean you'll have to tie to the back apron rod rather than use the uncut loops, since both ends must be cut with this method unless all colors were used for even numbers of threads (and can therefore all start and end on the same peg).

Note that if there are an uneven number of ends in any color, you'll be beginning and ending that color sometimes on the end peg, sometimes on the start peg. Let's say you wind 3 pink ends and end up at the bottom peg. Then you wind four blue or whatever number of ends of the other colors, ending at whichever peg. Then, to wind 3 pink ends again, just pick up the pink end and wind back to the top, down to the bottom, back to the top and end there. (The threads don't know which peg is which once they are cut.)

The awkward part of this process is that the cones must rest on the floor under the peg where they last ended. Sometimes when multiple cones are used, the threads coming from them to the pegs can twist together, requiring a bit of management. Even so, this awkwardness is worth the time saved by not cutting and tying the ends. I do show how to do this in Warping Your Loom, and I have no doubt the awkwardness is also conveyed.

—Madelyn

Sectional Beam Warping with a Raddle

2013-05-17T09:00:00Z

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Hi Madelyn!

I have just finished reading your answer to the question about warping a sectional warp beam and would love to know more about your last sentence on beaming a sectional beam without using a sectional warping method (spool rack, tension box, etc.). I have a loom with a sectional beam that I do not use much.

—Mary

Hi Mary!

I think I might have answered this before, but maybe it's worth doing again. My sectional warp beam has 2" sections. I created a raddle as long as the beam is wide (just by hammering finishing nails in a smooth board) with the nails spaced ¼" and 1¾" apart. For each warp, I determine the number of ends that will go evenly evenly into each 2" section on the sectional beam at a width closest to the warp's width in the reed. I then place this number of ends into each of the 1¾" spaces on my raddle and place the raddle on the back beam so the ¼" (empty) spaces are centered over the pegs in the sectional beam. I then wind the warp on the warp beam, and the ends fall into each section like a flat ribbon. The ¼" spaces keep the threads from hitting the tops of the pegs or falling into the wrong section.

I am a front-to-back warper, so I don't use a raddle except in this situation. To warp using my sectional beam, I sley the reed, thread the shafts, and tie the warp onto the back apron rod in bouts that are divided into the 1¾" groups that will go in each section of the raddle (I take each 1¾" group, divide it in two, take the two groups over the apron rod, under it, back up on each side, and tie them in a square knot). When they are all tied, I advance the warp so that the knots are a few inches beyond the back beam. I then bring the raddle up under the warp and onto the beam. (Since the 1¾" groups are somewhat separated from each other from my tying them on the rod, the threads are easy to place into the corresponding 1¾" sections in the raddle.) Then I tie the raddle to the back beam and wind on, applying tension the same way I do for all warps (winding a turn and then going to the front of the loom and tightening the warp by pulling firmly on groups of threads).

For back-to-front warping this way, I'd use the "sectional" raddle instead of the usual raddle. I would wind the warp and cut the end loops rather than place the apron rod through them. Then I'd tie the warp onto the back apron rod in 1¾" groups and do everything as above except I'd place lease sticks in the cross instead of sleying the reed and threading the shafts before winding.

Whether you use the traditional method for sectional warping or the one described here, you'll have the advantage of not needing to use paper or sticks between the layers of warp. However, the threads must fall into each section like a flat ribbon, distributed very evenly throughout each section.

—Madelyn

(The last time I wrote about this, I was reminded by a reader that the pegs on some sectional beams can be removed, turning a sectional beam into a regular one.)

Weaving and Copyrights

2013-05-10T09:00:00Z

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Hi Madelyn

I’ve read the Weaving Today eBook Know Your Rights: Copyright 101 for Weavers. After collecting 25 years worth of Handwovens, are there any patterns that could be woven for resale? Your magazine is to be used as a resource, but if you can’t use the drafts or part of the drafts, change colors and patterns what’s the point?

—Beverly

Hi Beverly!

Your question (and concerns) are probably shared by other readers. Know Your Rights explains that copyright law (which is not something Handwoven created) protects the published content in the magazine, i.e., the specific written instructions for projects. That means that you can't follow the instructions in Handwoven to make a replica to sell or to show as original work. It doesn't mean that you can't get ideas or information or ways to use weave structures and colors from Handwoven projects as you create your own designs for pieces you sell or show as original work. And, of course, you can always follow any of the instructions to make pieces to use yourself or give as gifts.

In your question, you use the word "pattern." Sometimes weavers refer to drafts for weaving as "patterns." Most drafts for weaving are commonly known; that is, most of us use plain weave, twill, or a selected block weave to design original pieces. The "draft" we use is usually not original--it's part of our general weaving heritage. But the number of repeats and the specific fibers and colors and their arrangements have infinite potential for variation, and those arrangements should be unique to an original piece of work.

Most of our readers weave for their own pleasure rather than for profit. The increase in guild sales over the last decade or so (and weavers' participation in State or County fairs) has probably made questions like yours come up more often. Guild members, even if they are new weavers, are encouraged to make things for guild sales or enter pieces in fairs, and most new weavers need help coming up with successful designs. It's important that they be encouraged to develop their own work, however. A good way for them to do this is to follow the instructions for a project in Handwoven, and as they weave it, think about ways that they can make it better. This doesn't mean just changing green to blue, but careful thought about the proportions of colors, the yarns, the setts, everything that can be done to make it a better scarf, towel, placemat, rug—and then designing and weaving their own piece for sale or show.

I would say that the "point" is that you can use Handwoven to learn how different yarns, colors, and weave structures work together without having to use them all yourself to find that out. That seems pretty wonderful to me. We did, by the way, feature a column for a number of years called "Weave to Sell" (check the index for issues), which granted permission (from Handwoven and the original designer) to make the piece for sale (though not for show as original work).

—Madelyn

More on Sectional Warping

2013-05-08T09:00:00Z

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Hi Madelyn!

I have hunted in vain for instructions about warping a sectional beam. I have the tensioner but how do I know how much to put on each section? Can you direct me to a source, preferably one that doesn't leave out steps?

—Sylvia

Hi Sylvia!

Handwoven did publish an excellent article by Betsy Blumenthal on warping with a sectional beam ("Sectional Beaming," Handwoven, November/December 2004, pages 68-71, available as a download). Each step is accompanied by a photograph.

But briefly: Your sectional beam is probably divided into sections of either 1" or 2" each. You would first need to know the warp sett for the project you want to weave. If, say, you want to weave a fabric 18 inches wide at 24 ends per inch, then you'd wind 24 ends each into eighteen 1" sections or 48 ends each into nine 2" sections. If your number of threads can't be divided evenly by 24 or 48, you can spread the warp a bit wider or a bit narrower to fill the sections evenly. (If one section has fewer threads than another, the warp won't go into the section at the same circumference and will end up with a different tension.)

When you know how many threads have to be wound in each section, you will wind one spool for each of them and place it on a spool rack. All the threads go from the spool rack through a tensioner (usually some pegs that the threads go over and under) and then through a miniature reed in the box that keeps the threads in order. You'll wind all 24 or 48 threads into the first section for the number of yards you want your total warp length to be. Then you cut the threads (usually enclosing them with masking tape to keep their order for threading) and move the tension box to the next section and do the same thing. Since you are winding the full warp length into every section, you'll need each spool to have on it the number of yards of desired warp length times the number of sections you'll be filling. So if the warp is 5 yd long and you are filling 20 sections, each spool will need to have 100 yd wound on it. For this task, sectional beamers also need a "counter," a device that measures the number of yards you wind on each spool. It is this part that discouraged me from sectional beaming, which I did try. You worry that there might not be enough yarn on each spool in spite of the counter, so you put on a little more. After the warp is wound, you might have 48 or 60 or some number of spools still on the spool rack, all of which have some yarn on them. You then need to do something about that before you wind the spools for your next project.

I do like the fact that sectional beaming requires more weaving tools, which I love. So, I have my tools for sectional beaming, even though I don't use them. For many years, the spools for my first sectional beaming project remained attractively arranged on my spool rack. Since then, I've found many other uses for the spool rack, though my tension box continues to acquire dust. (Meanwhile, I devised other methods for beaming a sectional beam without sectional beaming.)

—Madelyn

Can You Predict Fulling?

2013-05-01T09:00:00Z

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Hi Madelyn,

I am a relatively new and unschooled weaver and am delighted in the process, if not always the result.

I also spin and want to use some of my homespun merino (not washed in the skein) to weave and wet-finish to a light fulling when done. However, I have not found any source that tells how much shrinkage to expect when fulling a fabric. I know this will vary with the yarn used and processing time, but I need to know some approximate figures.

In other words, if I need to set the width to 12 inches and weave 9 feet, will I get a scarf that is only 6 inches and less than 5 feet long? I may need to spin some more yarn, depending on your answer. My yarn is a light fingering-weight 2-ply, and I assume the sett would need to be fairly open. I am undecided whether to use a commercial yarn for warp and my handspun for the weft.

—Gail

Hi Gail!

Wrap a ruler very loosely and start with a warp sett (ends per inch) that fills 1/2 inch on the ruler. Err in the direction of loose. There is no way to know the sett for a wool yarn without working with the yarn first. You should plan to weave a little and then cut off and wash a small section to determine shrinkage and fulling and then plan accordingly. You can resley after sampling as long as your initial guess is fairly close (you might end up with a slightly narrower or wider scarf than originally intended, but you'll be close enough).

There are too many variables to know the shrinkage beforehand with accuracy: the degree of twist, the composition of the wool itself, the degree of fulling, and the desired hand. I would start with allowing at least 25 percent shrinkage to determine whether or not you need to spin more yarn.

I would definitely use the same yarn in both warp and weft. If you don't, the two yarns are likely to full differently.

—Madelyn

Counting Heddles

2013-04-24T08:31:00Z

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Madelyn is busy teaching this week, and so we bring you a classic Ask Madelyn, published March 28, 2012

Hi Madelyn,

Would you do something on easier ways to count heddles—like marking every 10th one or inserting a different style heddle every 10. You must know about every trick in the book. (BTW, I love Weaving Well.)

—Sue

Hi Sue!

Did I neglect to say in the Weaving Well video that I hate counting heddles more than any task related to weaving? Oh, I'd much rather run out of heddles at the middle of threading and have to wrench the heddle bars (this always turns out to be on shafts that are in the middle, not shaft 1 or shaft 8, say) out of their sockets and have all the heddles on one end of the bar fall off so that I then get upset and go away and then after I've recovered I go back and cut the ones that fell off and got bent off with wire cutters and wrangle new heddles onto the bars and force the bars back into the sockets and then still need a few more heddles because I still didn't count right so have to make some string heddles and then. . .

I'd much rather do that than count heddles.

Seriously, I think you just count them. If you mark every tenth one, the day will come when you need one of those marked ones in a place where it will be out of order and pretty soon it's all awry. Some people color the heddles for each shaft, too, so that it's easier to identify the shaft you are threading. But sooner or later, you'll need twice as many heddles on one shaft, and you'll move some orange ones onto the yellow shaft and then. . .

If I were a really good person, I would figure out how many heddles I need for any draft and then count mine on each shaft. I would also do all my threadings from the center out so that I would have half the heddles on one side of the center pin holding the heddle bar (on the looms that have center pins) and the other half on the other side. But I am over-challenged by having to thread one side backwards.

And I always just want to start threading, so I look at the shaft and say: I'm sure there are enough heddles.

I hope you'll do as I say and not as I do.

—Madelyn

Don't Pack a Sectional Warp

2013-04-22T08:16:00Z

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Hi Madelyn!

A bunch of us weavers were chatting, and not one of us knew why, when you use a sectional warp, you do not need to pack the layers with paper when you are beaming on. Why is that?

Thanks!

—Donna

Hi Donna!

You don't need to pack a sectional warp beam (as long as you make sure that each layer of warp goes into its section like a flat ribbon of evenly spaced threads, filling the section entirely) because there is no way that any of the threads can drop out of their layer into a lower layer, disturbing their tension.

We pack the layers of warp on a non-sectional warp beam because it is very hard to achieve the even, tight, and complete spread of the warp threads that would keep all threads in their proper layer, especially the edge threads, which drop off the outside edges of the warp and therefore go on at a smaller diameter at the edges if there is no packing. The pegs in each section prevent the "falling off" of these edge threads. Even with a sectional beam, if the warp is very open and very long, it is possible that the threads won't pack evenly in each section. In that case, sectional beamers can insert sticks as they beam (since the pegs prevent inserting paper).

(Someone once showed me a method of beaming a non-sectional warp that made each successive layer on the beam narrower than the last. They warped back to front, sleying the warp in a reed instead of a raddle. Then, as the warp went on, they slowly changed the angle of the reed out of parallel to the back beam so that the changed angle of the reed made the warp narrower and narrower. The new positions of the warp threads kept them from cutting through the layers, and the narrowing edges prevented threads from dropping off. I thought it was clever.)

—Madelyn

When to Count PPI

2013-04-18T00:19:00Z

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Hi Madelyn,

When I wish to weave at a particular ppi, do I count the threads under tension or with slack tension? I like to count when the tension is tight because it seems to me that when tension is released, the amount the web relaxes is not consistent, as when you have been weaving for several hours compared to, say, half an hour. When the tension is tight, I have to know how many fewer picks to weave: one less per inch, one less per 2 inches, etc. A good guess is okay for many items, but what if I want to achieve a perfectly balanced weave? What would be the best way to do this?

—Irene

Hi Irene!

Your thinking is correct. After you release tension, depending on the length of time the tension is released, the threads continue to relax. A measurement taken with tension relaxed is not likely to be as consistent as one taken under tension (your weaving tension is usually very consistent). For balanced weaves, you are trying to weave a certain number of picks per inch to match the ends per inch. If you are using a temple (stretcher), the web is spread in the weft direction pretty close to the same way it is spread in the warp direction; so when tension is released, for example, a cloth with a warp and weft sett of 24 ends and pick per inch should relax equally in both directions. Therefore, working for 24 picks per inch measured under tension will give you a perfectly balanced cloth. If there is any variation, there might be slightly more take-up in the warp direction. You could guess about that, but I have never had a problem assuming that the relaxation will be equal for both warp and weft.

Different weave structures make a difference, of course. And, the denser the setts, the less change will happen after relaxation. If there is a great difference between warp and weft setts (warp rep or weft rep, for example), there will be a difference in relaxation between them, but in that case you won't be trying to match picks and ends per inch.

So, I'd do what you are doing and measure under tension, aiming for equal numbers of weft threads per inch as warp threads per inch with balanced weaves.

—Madelyn

All About Beating

2013-04-13T00:17:00Z

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Hi Madelyn,

I've been weaving for a year or so, and I've had the opportunity to weave with various yarns and weave structures, but one thing still puzzles me. (Yes, there are lots of others, but I won't go into those now!) It is this: When is the best time to beat? With an open shed? A closed shed? After changing the shed? Are there any "rules?”

It seems to me that perhaps the answer is, "It depends." Well, if so, on what?

—Liz

Hi Liz!

I have answered this question before in a slightly different way, but it might need a little more explanation. I'm afraid the "right" answer is, yes, "it depends." There are reasons for making certain choices, but usually people develop a habit of doing it one way and then they keep doing it that way.

If you beat with an open shed, there is less stress on both the weft threads and the warp threads as the beater brings the weft to the fell of the cloth. That is a good thing. However, I have noticed that when my students beat on an open shed, they end up pulling the weft thread flat as they beat (eliminating any weft slack), which causes too much draw-in. They do this because the hand with the shuttle is in front of the beater, so they bring the hand and shuttle forward as they bring the beater forward, pulling the weft flat as they go. In class, therefore, I recommend placing the weft in the shed at a 30 degree angle, closing the shed (locking the weft in place at that angle), and then beating.

I also follow that process myself when I'm using smooth, strong yarns. With sticky threads (mohair, for example) or fragile threads or threads that I want to place very exactly, I bring the beater forward on an open shed, very carefully maintaining the weft angle as I use the beater to place the weft. (For weft-faced weaves, I bubble the weft carefully and then beat on the open shed, change the shed, and then beat again.)

Many experienced weavers place the weft, close the shed, make the new shed, and then beat (locking the weft in place with the changed shed). This process does drag the weft through the warp threads similarly to beating on a closed shed, but it is fine for smooth strong yarns. I don't do this because I keep better track of where I am in the treadling if I think about the new shed after the old one is completely gone. Most of my projects are heavily pattern-oriented and require thinking about what comes next, and any new confusion can throw me off.

One thing is for certain: there are no absolute rules!

—Madelyn

Using End-Feed Shuttles

2013-04-11T00:15:00Z

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Hi Madelyn,

I recently purchased two end-feed shuttles in an attempt to improve my selvedges. Can you tell me if there are yarns that would make using an end-feed shuttle difficult? Are there times when an end-feed shuttle would be inappropriate to use?

—Cathy

Hi Cathy!

An end-feed shuttle operates with a pirn instead of a rotating bobbin. The problem with a rotating bobbin is that when the bobbin is full, it rotates fewer times than when it is empty to unload the same length of yarn. More rotations put more drag on the yarn, so the bobbin pulls more on the edge threads as it empties.

A pirn is stationary, and the yarn is pulled off the tip of it the way it is pulled from a cone. The tension on edge threads is applied by passing the yarn through a tensioner on the shuttle, which can be adjusted so that just the right amount of drag is placed on the selvedge threads as the shuttle is thrown.

There is a slight difference in the drag between one edge and the other, however (for one thing, the distance between the tensioner and the edge is greater, since you don't turn the shuttle as you throw it back and forth). Usually, you adjust the tensioner so one edge is an eeeeeeense tight and the other edge an eeeeeeeense loose.

Winding the pirn has to be done in a very specific way. You wind the base first, and then move in sections toward the point, going back and forth and lapping over as each successive section is filled. You need to wind with tight tension or sections of yarn will pull off the pirn as you weave instead of just the outside strand.

For this reason, it could be that both very sticky yarns (mohair) and very slippery yarns could be a problem (the first not wanting to pull off, the second not wanting to stay on as needed).

Also, when a yarn is pulled off a prin, a twist is added to it, in the same way as when it's pulled off a cone. If the twist that's added untwists a loosely spun yarn or adds twist to an overspun yarn, that could also be a problem.

Really, though, for most situations, an end-feed shuttle is a wonderful tool. I don't use them only because, truth be told, I love the sound of a rotating bobbin and the feel of a boat shuttle.

—Madelyn

Wondering about Warp Color Order

2013-04-02T20:03:00Z

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Hi Madelyn,

A couple of years ago I purchased the eBook Best of Handwoven: Top Ten Towels on Four Shafts. I made several Keep It Simple Towels and would like to move on to the Rosepath Plaid Towels. I have woven several items in my weaving journey but never anything with a Warp Color Order chart.

I believe the chart is instructing me to begin the warp with the color white. My first question is about that! Each wrap around the warping board (from the starting peg to the end peg and back to the starting peg) creates 2 warp threads. The chart says that I need 37 white ends and that there are 431 total ends. All warp stripes are odd numbers of threads.

How should I wind the warp threads?

—Cathy

Hi Cathy!

You are right to interpret the chart as telling you to start with 37 white threads. You can read a Warp Color Order starting from either side (left or right). If there is some particular way the colors need to be threaded on the shafts, you just have to make sure you start threading with the side of the warp chain that matches the color order in the threading draft you are following.


Warp Color Order for Rosepath Plaid Towels

The Warp Color Order you are working with is symmetrical, however, so you can read it and thread it from either direction and it will be the same. It does start with 37 ends of white, which will mean that you make 18 full trips (start peg to end peg back to start peg) for 36 threads (each full trip makes 2 threads, just as you say). Then, you take a last "half" trip with white from the first peg to the end peg for 1 thread, cut the white thread, and tie a red thread to it. Then you make two full trips (up to the start peg and back) to make 4 threads, then a half trip back up to the start peg for a 5th thread. The 5 red threads are followed by 27 white, which will mean 13 full trips and one half trip. You'll continue in this way, cutting and tying, sometimes at the start peg and sometimes at the end peg.

—Madelyn

Sampling for a Wide Warp

2013-03-20T09:00:00Z

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Dear Madelyn,

My question stems from problems I have had when weaving a sample. How do you sample for sett on a wide warp, for example 36" or 40" wide? My experience has been that a narrow sample isn't really an accurate sample for a wide woven piece. The sett looks fine on the small sample, but when warped and woven in a wider width, the weave turns out much looser than the one sampled. For example, I wove a sample of 10/2 pearl cotton 10" wide in a huck lace weave at 20 epi, which looked perfect when washed, but when translated to a 36" wide warp, looked too loose, and it seemed like 24 epi would have been better. Several times I have even re-sleyed for a closer sett when the wider warp seemed too loose, but that is a lot of extra work. Perhaps you have solved this problem?

—Jean

Hi Jean!

I think that you are perhaps ascribing the wrong reasons to your observation that the wider piece ends up being looser. When you beat, you are actually applying force to the fell of the cloth. I was a physics major for a semester in college until I realized—er, well for one thing, I didn't have as big a slide rule as all the other majors—so I remember a few formulas. An important one for weaving has been: force equals mass times acceleration. This means that when you beat, the mass of the beater and the speed with which it hits the fell determine how closely you can beat in the weft relative to the density and number of warp threads.

Therefore the more warp threads you have and the closer they are together the more mass/acceleration you are going to need to accomplish the same weft sett. If you weave a sample at 10" width and then weave the fabric at 30" width, you are going to have to up the acceleration to get the same weft density. In cases where you are trying for a dense weft sett, sometimes this can't be done.

Huck lace in 10/2 pearl cotton at 20 ends per inch should be woven with 20 picks per inch, no matter how wide the cloth. Really, your 10" sample was sett too open (10/2 usually works best at 24 ends per inch). You actually should be able to beat in 10/2 pearl cotton at 24 ends/24 picks per inch at any warp width, whether narrow or wide; it just takes practice with your beater and loom and careful measurement.

But for pieces that do need some forceful beating for a closer weft sett, I never sample with a narrow warp width. I like to put on an extra yard or more and sample with the actual warp width. If I do discover a need to change the sett of the warp (which would be to make it more open, i.e., fewer ends per inch, if I needed to beat in more picks per inch), I just change the sett of the warp and start over.

—Madelyn

Apron Rod Issues

2013-03-15T09:00:00Z

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madelynv@interweave.com

Madelyn,

I am enclosing a photo (shown below) to help you visualize my issue. The string that ties the back apron rod to the warp beam on my loom has slowly been stretching. I'd like to find a different system, but am not sure what to do.

—Mary

Hi Mary!

I've answered this question before for a different loom, but the solution will work for any loom. If you drill holes in both the warp beam and the cloth beam (about 6" to 8" apart), you can insert a length of Texsolv (link-loop) cord through the hole and then back through one of its own loops. All of the cords can easily be cut exactly the same length, and Texsolv cord will never stretch. The apron rod can be inserted in a loop made at the other end of each cord (easy to make by pulling the cord through the last loop at the end of it).

I would also recommend replacing the metal rod with a wooden one. The rod needs to be strong enough to support warp tension without bending, but you'll find not having to contend with the weight of a metal rod will make all of the tying-on steps easier to make.

—Madelyn

Floating Selvedge Tension

2013-03-13T09:00:00Z

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madelynv@interweave.com

Hi Madelyn!

When does one choose to hang weights to tension a selvedge? Or beam the selvedge with the project warp? I have seen the selvedge wrapped with the warp on table looms—maybe this is because there is no depth to hang a weight. Then, in a video, I have seen large weights hung separately on a selvedge that is not wrapped/beamed with the warp. Or as a general practice, should all selvedges be weighted separately and not beamed?

—Rob Murphy

Hi Rob!

This is an excellent question. First of all, we are talking here about only the floating selvedge, the thread that is added at the edge of each side of the warp but is not threaded through a heddle. The weft always goes around it on both sides. Because that is the case, it does not actually "weave," as in take the up and down path of the rest of the warp threads. Therefore, it also does not "take up"; in other words, no extra amount of thread is used for that path. This means that if you did not weight it, it would become looser and looser. Floating selvedges should always be weighted.

You can choose to beam the floating selvedge with the rest of the warp, or you can add it as an additional thread suspended from the back beam. I like to beam them just because it looks neater, and then I just hang a 2" or 3" S-hook right on it; the S-hook drops down to hang invisibly from the warp beam. If you don't beam the floating selvedge, the easiest way to weight it is to do a lark's head knot around the S-hook (easy to pull out and reknot as needed). Another advantage to a beamed floating selvedge is that you never think about the S-hook once you've hung it. The single advantage to an unbeamed floating selvedge is that if the floating selvedge breaks, you can just pull the broken end up to the woven cloth, wrap it around a straight pin, and keep going. However, you should never have so much draw-in that the floating selvedge breaks.

—Madelyn