8/2 Bamboo on Rigid Heddle Loom

1st off, weaving with 8/2 bamboo is possible on a rigid heddle, but I Do Not recommend it.....at least for a warp. A weft is just fine, but the yarn will not standup as a warp to the constant friction applied to a warp when using two heddles. That being said, here are the results of the experiment. 

Since I got my 1st rigid heddle loom, I always wanted it to do more. When I got a 15" Flip loom, I went straight into weaving with two heddles and double weave. I finally got the courage to order some beautiful bamboo yarn in 8/2; by far the smallest yarn I've worked with and quite intimidating I might add. 

I warped the loom with two 10 dent heddles and kept my fingers crossed that the fabric would be about 20 epi. 

I wove a header then a bit with the bamboo weft, but the weave was very loose. I realized I had to beat quite hard for the 20 epi and 20 ppi I was going for. 

Everything was going along nicely and then, the warp began to break. I made the painful decision to cut the weaving off the loom. 

The fabric is gorgeous and by far the finest sett I've been able to achieve so far on the rigid heddle. 

So, what have we learned? 

A. Do Not use fine bamboo as warp with two heddle weave; the yarn just gets shorn off by the constant friction of the two heddles. 

B. A very fine sett is possible on the rigid heddle. Next time I will try an 8/2 cotton warp with an 8/2 bamboo weft.

Happy Weaving!

A summer sunset in beautiful Bucks Co., PA