I'm really kind of liking this but......
2/20 merc. cotton is generally pretty solid as a warp. Sure I double the outside four ends in the heddles (but not the reed) just to give the selvedges a little more spine, but usually I have very little trouble with broken threads.
The first four towels wove up nicely but I wasn't really loving the results. Soooo - I changed the tie up. Now I only changed the tie up in the first 12 shafts. The last four shafts remained the same as the first four towels.
So why, then, did I start having broken threads? Not a lot of them, not frequently, and not on the outside edge, but the 3rd or 4th dent in???? And in the area that had not been changed? So what had changed? What was causing the breaks?
Now I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm not a patient person and I don't like fighting with my equipment - or my materials!
But one or other of the threads would break just often enough that it was making weaving these towels, which I really quite like, not fun.
After towel #4 I thought what the heck, and instead of throwing 2 picks for a cutting line I threw 3 picks which changed which direction the shuttle was entering the cloth.
And started weaving again. Passed the 12" mark, then the 18" with no breaks. By the time I got to 24 I was holding my breath! Would I make it through one whole towel with no breaks?
YES!
Can the fix possibly be so simple as merely changing which shed the shuttle begins entering the cloth?
Who knows. All I know is I finally got a towel without flaws. And I'm liking this design enough that I'm willing to risk another one to see if I can get two 'perfect' towels. And if I can, I'll go for 3 and then....4...
Still don't know why the breaks, though!
5 comments:
They are really wonderful towels...
This is stunning! Those towels give me something to aspire to :)
And it gives me hope on my VSW (very stressful warp). I keep telling myself to just cut it off and let it go but I can't seem to actually walk into the room to do that.
Maybe switching directions will keep the breaks at bay? Can't hurt to try....
It didn't help. The old fussy warp is now history and a new warp of VSY (very strong yarn) is on the warping board. It's a gift that I should have been working on all along anyway.
Sometimes one just has to cut their losses. Literally. After two towels I changed the tie up and treadling again and am hoping that this structure will weave off with no further adventures. :)
Those two towels will be extra special because there are only two of them. :)
And yes, sometimes I will cut the warp off and toss it into the Sally Ann bin. If it is being truly miserable it doesn't matter how pretty it is!
Life is too short to mess about.
Cheers,
Laura
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