Prep Work

 

This is a photo of an old project but this is about the state the new warp is at right now.

I have two task lights at the front of the loom set up to shine into the work space (where the heddles are actually being threaded) and one at the back of the loom so I can see the bouts of yarn taped to the stick I used to pull them from the beam to behind the heddles.  This gives me good light at both the front and the back of the loom.  I remove the breast beam, reed and beater top.

Good lighting is essential, especially when working with finer threads.  They are hard enough to see even when the light is good, never mind if it is a dark dreary winter day.

Yesterday I managed to thread 3/4s of the current warp.  I print out the draft and put it onto a typists stand so that I can see it with just a glance over my shoulder.  As I finish each group of ends, I mark the draft (which is printed out completely so that I just follow it, from start to end), look at the next group, then pull those ends and thread them.  Mark off, check for next group, pull, thread, repeat.

Most of my threadings are over 16 shafts, and it gets difficult to keep them 'straight', so I have numbered the shafts on the top of the piece of wood at the bottom of the shafts.  The draft prints out using the actual number of the shaft, so it's fairly easy to note the numbers of the shafts in the next group, pull the appropriate number of heddles and stack them in the order that they will be used, then enter the ends into the heddles.  A quick 'check' to make sure I've got them into the heddle, slip tie the group together, mark off, etc.

I prefer to slip tie each initial group as it makes sorting out the ends into the reed easier.  And the way I tie the slip knot takes one simple motion.  (Apologies for the ad.  You Tube puts ads on some video clips, not me - I don't make any money from my You Tube 'channel'.)

The current draft has sections of 'satin' and it was very easy to break the sequence down into 3 threads, then thread those heddles, and then tie that group of 3 off and do the next group of three.  I don't do the same number of ends for each group - I may take 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - or as in the satin areas, 3 ends at a time.  Grouping them by tying a slip knot in the group makes sleying the reed much easier.

This warp is essentially a 'test' warp for the article I'm hoping to write.  It may require a re-sleying, which I really don't like to do because all of my little groups will be undone and the threads all individual and loose.  I find I get a lot more sleying errors when I do a re-sleying, so it is something I try not to do if I don't absolutely need to do.

So I'm hoping that this warp will give me the information I need to determine the set up for the article project.

If you are interested in more information about how I approach my designing, The Intentional Weaver has a lot of information, but Stories From The Matrix takes a deeper dive into some things.  Both are available at blurb in either print or pdf versions.  And if you are in the US, the books are printed in the US so the current postal strike isn't an issue for you.  :)  

If you want to buy something from my ko-fi shop, I will pull your order and mail as soon as the mail is moving again.