Draft of the Day - 9/14/15

Here's a draft I'm working on right now. The example shown is 10 epi (2 threads per dent in a 5 dent reed)

Happy Weaving!

Tying One On.....a new warp, that is ;)

After warping my floor loom with 254 threads, I decided I would tie on my next warp. Now I know that to some people, 254 ends is nothing, but when you have 3 kids under 10 running around, 254 might as well be 1000. 

When I got to the end of the 1st warp, I secured the rear apron bar with some scrap thread so it wouldn't pull out all my threading. I chose to cut the warp in front of the reed so I didn't have to re-sley the reed. My loom came with a 5 dent reed so I have been sleying 3 ends per dent to get 15 epi. 

As you can see, the old warp was green and white. The new warp is yellow and white. I divided the old warp into sections then tied the ends in front of the reed to secure them. Then I began knotting. 

In this picture you can see the new warp and it's cross at the left. You can also see how I isolated the 3 threads coming through each dent. This made it easier to see which thread got knotted next and also eliminated any tangles. 

To tie on a new thread, you make a small slip knot in the new warp thread. 

Then you place the old warp thread through the slip knot. 

Pull on both ends of the new warp thread. You may hear and feel a small pop which means that the knot is secure. To check, pull on the old thread and the new thread at the same time. If your knot was successful, the ends will stay tied. If your ends come apart, make a new slip knot and try again. 

Here is the knotting in progress. Since the tails were not too long, I didn't trim the knots. Actually I did trim some in the beginning, but got lazy and didn't want to trim the rest. You should really trim all the knots, especially with finer more "sticky" yarn. 

After tying all the knots, I pulled the knotted threads through the heddles. It was easier than I thought it would be, probably due in part to the fact that I used a slippery 3/2 pearl cotton. 

Finally, I tied the ends to the front apron bar and I was ready to weave. 

After weaving a header with scrap yarn, I found a small threading error. 

I followed the threads back to the heddles and found I had skipped one. I measured out a long length of the warp yarn. I attached one end to the weaving with a pin. I sleyed the other end through the reed and through the empty heddle. I attached a weight to the end of the new warp thread and let it hang off the back of the loom. After weaving a few picks, the new thread was secure and I removed the pin. 

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 .......

From Flip to Floor

I am now the proud owner of a Nilus Leclerc 4 shaft floor loom! The loom was part of the collection of a local farming museum, but it did not meet the criteria for the collection; being less than 60 years old. 

Here is a picture of my 15" heddle from my Flip loom laying on top of the shafts for the floor loom. The floor loom is 36" so I should be able to make some HUGE projects with doubleweave. 

I took apart the loom and shined up the wood. I took every wire heddle off the shafts then burnished the metal bars with fine steel wool and then rubbed them a drop of oil. Thanks to Steve at Twist Knitting & Spinning for giving me a few hints about the heddles. He told me to thread a blunt end needle and draw the thread through groups of heddles then tie them into bunches before removing them from the shafts. A lifesaver!

I somehow managed to sley the reed and thread the heddles. The reed that came with the loom is a 5 dent. It is huge! I'll definitely need to get some finer reeds. 

In addition to the loom, I also got all the random parts and pieces that went with it when it was donated; arm loads of stick shuttles, a basket full of bobbins, 5 boat shuttles and several skeins of hand spun linen. 

Here we go..........

Happy Weaving!

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

Waffle Weave With Two Heddles

A true waffle weave is difficult to achieve on a rigid heddle loom. Using one heddle and a pickup stick, you can achieve something very close. I've been wondering how to do waffle weave with a finer sett using two heddles. Here is what I came up with. 

I direct warped my 15" Flip Loom for two heddles using 4 ends of 8/4 cotton per slot. I threaded the heddles as usual for two heddle weaving. 

Now for the pickup stick. Put both heddles in the down position. Pickup every other thread and slide the stick to the back of the loom. 

The weaving sequence is:

1. Up (Both heddles)

2. Neutral & pickup stick on edge 

3. Up (Both heddles)

4. Down (Both heddles)

5. Up & slide pickup stick

6. Down (Both heddles)

Here is the result....

The weft floats are more narrow than with with a single heddle, but the weave still produces cells. 

After a quick trip to the sewing machine, it was into to washer and dryer. 

I steam pressed the towel and, Ta-da!!!!

The cut cotton at the ends fluffed nicely.

I also made two other towels from this warp....

Happy Weaving!

One Warp, Two Completely Different Doubleweave Projects

The possibilities are endless for your rigid heddle loom when you learn how use two heddles. The problem is that threading two heddles is much more time consuming than one. Project planning is essential. For me, it seems silly to tie on a short warp and then meticulously sley all those threads for a small project. I will show you how you can maximize your warp, and all the work that went into threading, to produce two vastly different pieces of fabric off of one long warp.

You will need:

3/2 Pearl Cotton for the warp & weft

Any bully or super bulk yarn for weft

15" or larger rigid heddle loom w/ two heddle capacity 

2 8 dent heddles 

2 pickup sticks

The 1st project is a doubleweave rug. I threaded the two heddles with cream colored 3/2 Pearl cotton. 

Weave about 1 inch of plain weave.

 Time for pickup sticks. 

1. Both heddles down. You will see that the threads are in pairs. Pickup the left thread of each pair. Slide stick to back of loom

2. Both heddles up. Slide stick 1 to the rear of the heddles. Insert pickup stick 2 in the lower shed that forms. Slide both pickup sticks to the back of the loom.

Begin the double width pattern with your header yarn. Weave about an inch. By weaving a header in pattern, it will be easier to finish your rug/mat when it's off the loom. You can't hem stitch double width cloth on the loom so the header will assist you in hem stitching after the fabric is finished or when it comes to machine stitching; whichever you choose. 

You can see from the header how it is possible to weave two completely different setts with the same warp, weft and threading.  The 1st part of the header is 16 epi, while the doubleweave section is 8 epi. 

Double Width Pattern 

1. Pickup stick 1

2. Heddle 2 up

3. Pickup stick 2

4. Heddle 1 down 

You can use any color pattern you want. Based on the amounts of yarn I had, I alternated large areas of each color separated by thin stripes of black and the other colors. It really doesn't matter. At the beginning of your weaving you should add a guide string. I measure a piece of yarn the length I want my weaving to be and pin it on. 

End with your waste yarn in pattern for 1 inch then in plain weave for one inch. 

Now for the second project, a placemat.

I wove a header in fingering weight yarn in a cream color. Then, using a blue 3/2 cotton weft, wove about 1 inch of a lace pattern:

1. Heddle 1 up

2. Heddle 1 down

3. Heddle 2 up

I wove another inch in plain weave with the cream header yarn. 

I then alternated one pick of the cream yarn with one pick of the blue. 

Depending on how much warp you have left, you can weave a placemat or a table runner. When you have reached your desired length, reverse the directions above and you're done.

Now, it's on to the sewing machine and then the washer & dryer. Keep checking back for pictures of the finished products. Happy Weaving!