The end of a 10/2 warp

Frankly, I never thought this would be a blog post of mine! I've used so many yards of 3/2 cotton that it has become my standard and I love it. That said, when the drafts for the Bertha Gray Hayes overshot workshop came out, I had some choices to make. I could thread 5/2 cotton at 16 epi or 10/2 cotton at 20 or 24 epi. Since I wove with 5/2 at 20 epi previously,and thought the results a bit stiff, I went with 10/2 with a sett of 20 epi. 

After the workshop was over, I still had quite a bit of my 7 yard warp left so I decided to weave a scarf. One of my favorite variations from the workshop was rose fashion, on opposites. In the picture below, it is the green section...

I liked the feel of the bamboo that I had used for the sampler so I used the same yarn but in a coppery color. 

I ran out of the copper color just shy of 60 inches. I had just enough warp left to try one final technique that Norma Smayda showed us. She called it Allenstand....

I didn't have multiple colors in the 10/2 so I used 5/2 for tabby & pattern which made the design a bit chunky, but I like it. 

I must say I'm sad to be done with the Trellis warp. Though I didn't like it much at all initially, it did grow on me. 

Here is the finished scarf.....

I'm very happy with it. The bamboo is shimmery and the off white compliments the copper perfectly. It has gorgeous drape and a fabulous feel❤️❤️❤️

Happy Weaving!

All Kinds Of Stuff

Wednesday was my 2nd meeting as a member of the Hand Weavers of Bucks County. I'm so happy to find such a wonderfully talented as well as welcoming and receptive group. I must remember to take pictures after "show & share" as there are always amazing goodies to be seen. 

At the meeting, I received my draft for our upcoming workshop with Norma Smayda focusing on the overshot patterns of Bertha Gray Hayes. I received Trelis Pattern #55. 

Frankly, I wish I had gotten a more interesting draft, but I know I have a lot to learn and I hope that the simplicity of the draft will allow me to better understand the weave structure itself. 

I finally got the new parts for my Macomber! I've never had any new parts so I'm dazzled by the shininess of the new heddles. 

I ordered 30 treadle hooks. I had 8, so I figure that will keep me busy for a while. I'm trying to get one piece off my 1st 8 shaft warp that I am happy with.  I keep finding mistakes too late when I've gone too far to unweave. The pattern detail on 8 shaft overshot is amazing, but I probably should have warped the loom for the 1st time in a twill. 

For all of you who have enjoyed the Rigid Heddle tutorials, I am working on some Rigid Heddle Overshot using 2 heddles, a heddle bar and pick up sticks. I've got a TON going on now, but I hope to have some more time to work on this in early summer. 

Finally, I thought I'd introduce my other new acquisition... A 4 harness Dorset loom on loan from the guild for the workshop. 

Ok, so I now have 3 floor looms in one room in my house! Yikes! I am amazed that my husband is still talking to me 😉

Happy Weaving!

Summer & Winter Weave On 4 Shafts

I've been wanting to try summer & winter weaving for a while now. I started drafting patterns in early January. When the last warp was finally finished, I wound another 11 yard warp, this time in 5/2 pearl cotton. I used a sett of 15. For overshot, using 3/2 as warp, I used a sett of 10. The recommended sett is 12-18. I figured that for summer & winter, since it's also a tied weave with a thick pattern weft, I should do the same with the 5/2. It's recommended sett is 18-24 so I used 15. Next time I might open it up even more to 13 or 14. 

Once threaded and tied on, I decided to sample each treadling available when using 4 shafts. I have included the treadling sequence in brackets below as blocks A & B. Tabby, shafts 5 & 6, is used alternately with every pattern pick. 

From top to bottom, 

1. Dukagang (A 1111/2222  B 3333/4444)

2. Brick (A 1212, B 3434

3. O's (A 1221, B 3443

4. X's ( A 2112, B 4334) 

I went with X's (which gives you O's on the other side) and used Brown Sheep Fingering wool in a gorgeous teal for pattern weft. 

I LOVE it!!!!! 

 

When I finish this scarf I'm going to do one in Kauni yarn but I haven't decided which color. I'm going to use the brick method for more crisp lines. I can't wait to see what it will look like!

Happy Weaving!

Overshot, Rose Fashion

Still working off that 11 yard warp, I decided to play around a bit. I decided to weave off the rest in rose fashion. I corrected my threading error and changed the threading on the end to work with the "rose" pattern. I also added a twill border, 2 repeats of 4 threads on either side. 

Here is the draft......

My tie up was : 4&3, 3&2, 2&1, 4&1 and using treadles 5 & 6 for tabby.

Here is a piece using Kauni yarn as pattern weft.......

I really have to get a better replacement pin for my temple ;)

This piece has a dk weight alpaca/wool knitting yarn as pattern weft.....

I'm trying to finish this warp, but as you can see, it's quite chilly at the loom today. 

Hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow. Up next, summer & winter scarves.

Happy Weaving!

Log Cabin - 3 variations on one warp

I hadn't woven log cabin in a while so I decided to experiment with it a bit. I warped the loom with Nature Spun Sport wool in natural and charcoal at 10 epi. 

First I did a four color log cabin using a light grey and teal wool for weft. 

Then I tried a brown alpaca wool as weft....

Finally, I used 5/2 black pearl cotton as weft. 

Though I like the first two fabrics, the third is my favorite. It is light and gauzy and fabulous. I'm definitely making that again, but probably with a solid warp. Would make excellent curtains. 

Happy Weaving!

Full On - Adventures In Wet Finishing Wool

Well, I got done one scarf. I'm not sure how with my 3 year old son leaving me little presents like this.....

I wanted to try a two stick header, so I advanced enough warp for fringe. Then I wove a 1 inch header in scrap yarn, changed the shed & inserted one stick. I changed the shed, inserted the second stick, them wove another inch in scrap yarn. After advancing the warp a bit, I got out the scissors. 

Here is the scarf fresh off the loom. 

It measured 12"x 82" on the loom under tension. 

I folded one stick under the other and lashed the sticks to the apron bar. 

After I adjust the tension, I'll be ready to weave scarf # 2. Now for the wet finishing. 

I have hard water so I used a bit of detergent ( use dish soap with soft water) mixed with warm water to scour the wool. 

I tried fulling the scarf by hand in hot water, but it hasn't fulled enough for my taste. 

I'm going to cross my fingers and throw it into the dryer. I realize now that my sett was a bit to close for the wool to full a lot. The next scarf will be in plain weave so we'll see if there is a big difference in the final dimensions. Stay tuned.

Happy Weaving!

I've Got The Woolies!

I'm scared of wool. Well, not so much scared as apprehensive about the finished product after fulling. I see nightmarish images of my carefully woven fabric shrinking away to nothingness. Also, as someone who suffers from Psoriasis, I've tended to work with bamboo and cotton and have steered clear of notoriously itchy wool . In my experience, bamboo and cotton fabrics can be soothing to sensitive skin. They are also easy to work with and easy care. That being said, I've always looked longingly at the beautiful skeins of wool throughout my local yarn shop and thought that I'd be brave enough to work with them one day. 

Sooooo, I bought 2 cones of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Fingering wool in White and a vibrant teal-ish blue. I wound 240 ends as flollows: (20w,40b,40w,40b,40w,40b,20w). I sleyed 2 ends per dent in a 10 dent reed for 20 epi. I hope the fabric is not too dense after fulling. Maybe I should've used a looser sett. We will see. I planned on two scarves; one tabby & one 2/2 twill, so I threaded 1,2,3,4 across.

I had 3 broken warps to tend with while winding onto the back beam. The wool threads don't slide through the heddles as easily as with cotton and a few of the warps became stuck to one another as I wound them through. To accommodate the twill I plan on doing, I began my threading on shaft 2 and ended with a shaft 3. This threading ensures that the selvedges thread is caught on each pick. This is one of my favorite new tricks. Goodbye floating selvedges!

Here is the 1st few inches of weaving. 

So far so good. Hopefully I'll have the 1st scarf off the loom tomorrow. 

Happy Weaving!

Direct warping a 4 shaft floor loom?!?!?!?

Direct warping a floor loom. Yes, that sounds crazy, but necessity is the mother of invention. Here are my two main issues; no warping board and a huge 5 dent reed. After warping my newly acquired floor loom twice, taking the warp chains to the reed, then sleying the reed then threading the heddles, I thought there must be an easier way. Then I thought I could double my epi to 10 by sleying two threads per slot. Why not combine both steps at once?

I pulled out my cricket loom and put the 25" 5 dent reed in the rear slot. Then I literally warped my dining room, going from the counter, around my son's high chair, around another chair then to the loom. I pulled a loop through and placed it on a wooden dowel at the rear of the reed. 

I know the tension is horrific and this will make some experienced weavers cringe, but I wanted to try this crazy idea.

I took the pre-threaded reed to the loom and secured it. I guess I should have mentioned that I was warping front to back. Sorry ;) Working in small groups, I took loops off the dowel and cut them, then threaded the heddles. For this pattern I threaded 1,2,3,4 across the warp. 

Here is the warp in 3 stages; threaded, cut & ready the thread, uncut loops still on the dowel.

Though quite ridiculous in its execution, this idea did work and I had no threading errors. I will direct warp my reed again, I'll just make sure to watch the tension on the warp more carefully. 

Here is the weaving in progress .......