Material Limitations

Here is the next warp in this series ready to go into the reed and then the loom.

One of the benefits of working so frequently with the same quality of yarn is that you become very familiar with its characteristics and limitations.  

What do I mean by limitations?  By that I mean I know the quality of cloth it will produce given weave structure and density.  I know how 'perfect' I have to be in terms of process.  I understand when I can let an inconsistency go, or if I have to deal with it.  I know how it will behave in the wet finishing.  And feedback from my customers lets me know how well it performs.  

If I want to change the quality of the cloth I have a pretty good idea of what changes to my process, equipment and techniques need to happen in order to get something desirable.  

This knowledge did not come from the first or tenth time I used this yarn, but from constantly trying different things and then analyzing my results.  

Knowledge comes from trying this, trying that, then comparing the different approaches within the context of developing a quality of cloth.  It's called experience, and experience is personal.   Understanding how far to push and still get what you want is part of what keeps me coming back to the studio, over and over again.  Because when you change one thing, everything can change.