Saturday, February 25, 2012

Warpology


During winding I keep the threads as close to the base of the pegs as possible.


This warp I'm using 8 yarn packages to make 4 stripes.  Each spool/cone sits below a reed and each yarn gets threaded through the reed to prevent the packages from tipping over.  The yarn feeds straight up from the tube/cone through the reed.


I just let the unused threads dangle off the last peg at the bottom.  It looks a bit messy but the reed keeps the threads in their order.


Here is the first half of the warp tied off ready to remove from the warping board.  I tie off the four 'arms' of the cross rather than the waist.  I found that if I tied the waist of the X the threads got compressed together and were difficult to sort out for rough sleying.  (Or for threading when dressing the loom front to back.)

And here is the first warp chain in the plastic bin.  I let the end with the cross dangle out over the side of the bin so it's easy to find.  On my Leclerc warping board I can wind up to 15" in warp (depending on the yarn). This warp is about 24 inches so I wind two chains about 12" each.

Tomorrow I'll wind the second half of the warp and it will be all ready for when I get home.

6 comments:

barbara said...

Hi Laura,
I am trying to see on the picture, do the threads from each spool go straight up from the spool and through the reed? The light bulb just came on, you have them in the color you need in sections on the floor, and use only a few threads at a time ...... I was thinking this might be useful for sectional warping, and just realize that won't work. Weaverly yours & safe travels. Barbara

Unknown said...

Just love it!! Beautiful textiles you create. I like to draw lace and textiles...please visit me at
www.sweetnuptial-ideas-at.com
and
www.befreckledallover.blogspot.com

Is weaving relaxing?? It seems like it would be...

Take care,
Jenny

Klara said...

Hi Laura,
Please check whether I've got this right: You wind a 12-inch-wide warp on what looks like at most 2 inches of peg space. Meaning you layer the warp ends. Which means the ends wound later are longer than the ends wound earlier. As you are using very fine yarns (well, finer than I've ever worked with so far) the length difference seems to be negligible - at least it doesn't cause you any problems.

But, when I am working with rather thick yarn (e. g. one that would be a good fit for a 40/10 reed, simply sleyed) - isn't it better when I wind end besides end to the ends of the pegs? That's what I've done so far (I built my warping board with rather sturdy pegs and kept them so short that they seem pretty inflexible to me, and I try to keep the tension rather low, so as not to bend the pegs), and it worked fine, too. Except it was rather annoying having to do several chains for wider warps (but there weren't all that many of them on my RH loom).

Are my conclusions right or could I put several layers of thicker yarn on my warping board without it changing anything?

Thanks for sharing your experience with us! Klara

Laura Fry said...

Hi Barbara, yes, I'm only winding two threads at a time making stripes in the warp. The yarns are set out on the floor in the order in which they are being used (in this instance) from left to right and reverse.

Hi Jenny, yes, I find weaving very relaxing. And at times frustrating when things go 'wrong'!

Hi Klara, no I don't layer them, I lay them side by side and then push them close together. As I wind, I keep pushing them close together. I show this on CD Weaver - will mail the cd on Monday so you can see how it works (although the video clip on You Tube is the same as on the cd)

cheers,
Laura

Anonymous said...

Laura, I like your idea of using the reed to keep all the threads in order and untangled. I am going to use this the next time I warp using more than 2 colors. You always teach me something new! Thank you dear lady.

Laura Fry said...

I use the reed even when I'm only winding from one yarn package. The thread comes straight up off the tube/cone and it doesn't try to tip the cone over or snag on the top of the tube. :) I learned that tip from Allen Fannin's book Handloom Weaving Technology.

cheers,
Laura