Winding Warps

 

Warp winding station

Close up of cross

More angst on line about warp winding, warp beaming, general dissatisfaction with the whole warp dressing process.

Warping is not difficult, but is *is* complex.  It is a process fraught with invisible considerations - a combination of physics and well, what appears to be 'magic' when someone who is good at it, does it.

But it isn't magical.  It is a precise series of steps that needs to be done in order, consistently, applying tension when necessary and controls that do not hinder the process, but enable the weaver to precisely get the job done.

It is not helped by getting frustrated, but examined and adjusted to better suit the situation at hand.

In other words...it depends.

I see all sorts of comments and they are all fine - as far as they go.  But hardly anyone tells why they do what they do.  

Here is my attempt to explain what I do, and why.

1.  Warping station

I place the board so that it is solidly against the wall.  It doesn't shift around or wobble. I can wind with some tension (not a lot, just to keep things happy) and press each pass of the yarn down towards the base of the peg.  I do not overlap the threads but place them beside the ones that have gone before which keeps each pass of the yarn pretty close to even - in tension and therefore length.  When I press them towards the base, some of the threads closer to the base might overlap, but they do that by increasing their tension in order to climb over/under the previous ends.  Once they are released from that path, they go back to the same tension and length as the other passes.

2.  Generally I use two ends at a time.  In the first photo you can see the two tubes each standing on a peg to keep the yarn stable and evenly winding off the spool because each end is threaded through a reed that takes the yarn up off the tube, centered.  Each yarn can balloon outwards without catching on each other or anything else.  This keeps the yarn from spiraling out evenly tensioned, not catching and jerking on its journey to the warping board.  I set each tube so that it empties in the same direction, in my case to come off the tube in a counter clockwise direction.  Whatever you do, be consistent.

3.  I keep a finger between the pair of ends as I find the yarn comes off the tubes smoothly.  Some people don't and say they don't have any issues.  Personal choice.  The cross is a 2x2 cross.  By doing two ends at a time I halve the time I need to spend winding the warp.  I find that using 2 ends in a pass generally makes things go more smoothly, especially if the yarn is a bit hairy or textured.

4.  I count out as many threads as I need in an inch or so.  In this case the epi will be 20 so 10 passes or 20 threads in a 'bundle'.  I use a counting string of a thicker yarn, contrasting in colour.  The thicker yarn is made even thicker by trebling or doubling and doubling (for 4 strands in the bundling yarn) and then as I complete each bundle of one inch (or whatever is appropriate for the warp) I twist the two ends of the bundling string to create a X between the previous bundle and the next.  Continue to done.  (If more than 15" in width in the reed, I will wind two chains.)

5.  When the warp is wound, I tie a single 'knot' to secure the counting string.  The yarn is hairy enough that is all that is required, so it is easy to pull gently on one of the 'strings' to loosen the knot and quickly and easily removed the string when it is time.  

6.  Tying the cross is done by tying the entire (half) warp above or below the cross with a single string, bundled in the same way as the counting string.  I do not tie the actual waist of the cross because I find that compresses that area and makes it more difficult to separate the threads later.

7.  Then the choke tie is tied, about 18" or so from the cross.  See second photo for a close up shot.

For this tie, the whole point is to secure the warp chain and discourage it from sliding around and becoming messy.  So I do the same thing with the choke tie and introduce a twist into the chain about 1/3 of the way through, then another 2/3s of the way into the chain, and then I pull very firmly on the tie to make sure the yarn is trapped as much as possible in the tie.

8.  Take one more close look at the warp chain.  Does it look correct?  All the ties have been tied?  Then cut the warp yarns off (they can be loose, the counting string will control the threads).  Pull the bottom peg out and then carefully drop the warp into a box/bin for the next step.

No, I don't chain the warp.  Notice I did not tie any other part of the warp.  This warp is only 5 meters, and really doesn't need any gathering ties.  Notice I did not say 'choke' ties.  When I *do* tie along the length of a longer warp.  I don't tie them very tightly, just enough to prevent yarns from straying from their path, too much.

Also note, I do not have studio pets that will be tempted to stick their nose or claws into my yarns.  Your mileage may vary.

Truth be told, it is taking me longer to type this out than actually winding the warp.  

If anyone wants more info on warp beaming and warping valets, I have plenty of posts - just use the tag in the long list of tags and click on warping valet.  I've written multiple times about the process I use, and people constantly question why I do what I do.  Isn't it annoying?  Fiddly?  Confusing?  No.  No.  No.  What it does is give me consistent results that provide for happy weaving.

What will that look like for you?  Don't know.  Everyone gets to choose what they want to do.  So if something I do doesn't resonate with someone else?  I am not the weaving police.  If you are happy, bless you.  If you are not?  Maybe think about what you are doing and start to examine your processes, maybe change a few things.

One last thing - I don't aim to control every single individual thread in a warp.  A warp is a collective.  There may be tiny differences, but for most handweavers in the 21st century, they are not end of the earth failures.  Most times a little faith will go a long ways towards successfully completing a project.  And take some time to be thoughtful about what you are doing.  Only then will you really learn what you need to do.  And of course, change one thing?  And everything can change.  

Understanding that one simple principle will go a long way towards understanding what you are doing, and when you might need to change something to better serve your objectives.