Another One Bites the Dust

 

I wasn't exactly sure how many towels I would get off of this warp - it depends on the length of the repeat.  Turns out, it was 22.

I was busy with a Zoom guild presentation this morning, but my energy held and I wove one towel after lunch, then went back down after a wee break and a snack to see if there was warp left for two more towels.  I was pretty sure there wasn't, and if I could cut it off today, that would make me feel very happy.

So I finished off the towel and lo and behold, the knots were just coming over the back beam.  

I have just now cut and serged the six towels and they are in the washing machine.  I'll get them through the dryer until damp yet today, then let them 'steep' in a plastic bucket overnight so that they are evenly damp for best pressing.

Recently someone on line was asking about what size reeds they should have, or could you double up the number of ends in a dent?

Yes, you can double, treble or even quadruple ends in a dent.  I've even done 5 and 6 when working with really fine yarns.

The above photo shows the beige towel just cut off the loom and the red one which has already been wet finished.

In the before towel, you can clearly see the reed marks marching through the length of the towel.  They looked even more obvious under tension on the loom.  But after wet finishing, the threads have moved to areas of least resistance - the gap where the dent moved through the warp - and filled it in.

Sometimes the marks will not disappear entirely, but they will be diminished if not eliminated.  If I look really closely at the red towel, I can still see slight gaps between the threads, but stand back a foot or two and they basically disappear.

If you don't have a reed that allows you to be consistent with the number of ends in the dents, you can do what is called a compound sleying such as:  221221221 or 232323 or any other combination that will give you the density that you need for your project.  Many books have charts in the back showing various combinations, or look on line as a number of weavers have posted charts for people to access.

If you can't be 'perfect', be consistent.

Currently reading the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce.  The first book has spinning, and now magical weaving.  I'm enjoying the series very much.